Palin Hired Friends

NYTimes attempts a hatchet job on Palin When Ms. Palin had to cut her first state budget, she avoided the legion of frustrated legislators and mayors. Instead, she huddled with her budget director and her husband, Todd, an oil field worker who is not a state employee, and vetoed millions of dollars of legislative projects.

Would it be ok for her to consult with her husband if he was a state employee, but is it wrong for her to do it because she has not put him on the payroll?

.... Ms. Palin has many supporters. As a two-term mayor she paved roads and built an ice rink, and as governor she has pushed through higher taxes on the oil companies that dominate one-third of the state’s economy. She stirs deep emotions. In Wasilla, many residents display unflagging affection, cheering "our Sarah" and hissing at her critics. "She is bright and has unfailing political instincts," said Steve Haycox, a history professor at the University of Alaska. "She taps very directly into anxieties about the economic future." "But," he added, "her governing style raises a lot of hard questions."

Sounds like the sort of person we want for Vice President.

Ms. Palin declined to grant an interview for this article.

Would it have been a puff piece rather than a hatchet job if she had granted you the interview?

The McCain-Palin campaign responded to some questions on her behalf and that of her husband, while referring others to the governor’s spokespeople, who did not respond. Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell said Ms. Palin had conducted an accessible and effective administration in the public’s interest. "Everything she does is for the ordinary working people of Alaska," he said.

A conservative populist.

.... And, her supporters say, she cleaned out the municipal closet, firing veteran officials to make way for her own team. "She had an agenda for change and for doing things differently," said Judy Patrick, a City Council member at the time.

That sounds like a good reason to clean house. And it probably upset the entrenched people that wanted to continue doing what she wanted changed.

But careers were turned upside down. The mayor quickly fired the town’s museum director, John Cooper. Later, she sent an aide to the museum to talk to the three remaining employees. "He told us they only wanted two,"

It is called "Smaller Government"

recalled Esther West, one of the three, "and we had to pick who was going to be laid off." The three quit as one.

Smaller than intended, but she could always hire new people.

Ms. Palin cited budget difficulties for the museum cuts. Mr. Cooper thought differently, saying the museum had become a microcosm of class and cultural conflicts in town. "It represented that the town was becoming more progressive, and they didn’t want that," he said.

Maybe it was becoming too progressive for the majority.

.... As she assembled her cabinet and made other state appointments, those with insider credentials were now on the outs. But a new pattern became clear. She surrounded herself with people she has known since grade school and members of her church.

And is she the firt politician to do that? In the unlikely event Obama is elected President, do you think he is going to keep Bush's cabinet ecretaries? Do you even think McCain will?

Mr. Parnell, the lieutenant governor, praised Ms. Palin’s appointments. "The people she hires are competent, qualified, top-notch people," he said.

That is what is important.

.... Ms. Palin and aides use their private e-mail addresses for state business. A campaign spokesman said the governor copied e-mail messages to her state account "when there was significant state business." On Feb. 7, Frank Bailey, a high-level aide, wrote to Ms. Palin’s state e-mail address to discuss appointments. Another aide fired back: "Frank, this is not the governor’s personal account." Mr. Bailey responded: "Whoops~!"

Most politician use state assents for their personal business. The NYT is castigating Palin for using her personal e-mail address for state business.