http://www.adn.com/troopergate/
This link with take you the the Anchorage Daily News Coverage of "Troopergate", the investigation into whether or not Gov. Palin abused her powers when she fired Walt Monegan, Public Safety Commissioner in Alaska.
Many Alaskans weren't that concerned about the investigation. It seemed odd that Monegan was fired seemingly out of the blue, but Governors make changes to staff, especially those appointed by a predecessor. There was a huge outcry in support of Monegan seemed to fade away - especially when his replacement appointed by Palin had to resign after two weeks because of sexual harassment charges filed against him while Chief of Police in Kenai, AK. Talk shifted from Monegan to questions about how could Palin's staff have missed such a glaring red flag. People I talked to thought that it was inappropriate of Palin to use her position to carry on a family feud but there didn't seem to be clear consensus about whether or not she had abused her power. The investigation undertaken by the legislature seemed like a good idea. Palin promised transparency, here you go.
Following the surprise announcement of Palin as McCain's running mate, Troopergate went from a bipartisan investigation with Palin promising to cooperate, into an all out attempt on the part of Alaska Republican Legislators, the Alaska Attorney General (who also serves as Gov. Palin's pleasure) and the McCain campaign to stone wall, if not block it entirely.
This about face on Palin's part and lack of cooperation by the Alaska Attorney General is a clear indication of what happens when an unknown Governor hits the big leagues and has to play ball with the big boys. I am incredulous whenever I hear her portray herself as one of the everyday, ordinary Americans with so much at stake in this election. She certainly has a lot at stake but it's her own political career. When she and McCain are defeated and she has to come home and go back to being a Govenor from a small state, I think people here will remember the stretched truths and misrepresentations of what has happened during her tenure.
We should know more in the next two days about troopergate. In the big picture, maybe it doesn't really matter if a VP candidate has this type of problem. But it is clearly within the big picture that Palin and McCain have tried to derail the investigation making her admiration of VP Cheney even more of a concern. That McCain has allowed this to happen shows that he is after all one of Washington's establishment and certainly no maverick, and is further evidence of his eratic, unpredicatble behaviour by choosing Palin as a running mate in the first place.
