December 2, 2008 7:38:18 PM CST
(Newser) – Alaska, with its short history as a state and its independent spirit, continues to earn its nickname as America’s “last frontier.” But it’s the state’s oil revenues, corruption, and very local politics that enabled Sarah Palin to thrive, the New York Times reports. And as governor it's left her with unique challenges. For instance, high energy prices fueled a $5 billion budget surplus while the rest of the country faced shortfalls.
Palin upended Alaska’s political machine, whose members were around for the state's founding, but benefited from pre-existing ill-will toward the establishment. Noted one professor: “She had the morals and intellectual acumen to do that, but the situation was just waiting for someone to take advantage.” Others say Palin strong-armed opponents to enact reform. “People were afraid to vote ‘no’ against her,” a state official recalled.
Source New York Times
Nov 5, 08 6:58 PM CST Oh, what a tangled web Ted Stevens is weaving in Alaska. This much we know: In his bid to become the first felon re-elected to the Senate, Stevens leads Mark Begich by a few thousand votes. But with 60,000 absentee ballots still to be counted, it could be a week or more before we know the winner. If Stevens hangs on, that's when things get sticky regarding his Senate seat, the Washington Post reports. More »
Oct 28, 08 2:09 PM CDT John McCain and Sarah Palin delivered Ted Stevens a synchronized shooing toward the Senate door today, Politico reports. McCain said the 84-year-old Republican senator, convicted yesterday of corruption, “should now step down,” while Palin—who stopped short last night of urging her fellow Alaskan to resign—said today “he needs to step aside,” ABC News adds. More »
Oct 2, 08 11:34 AM CDT A federal judge sent the jury in Ted Stevens’ Washington corruption trial home today as he considers declaring a mistrial for the Alaska senator, the AP reports. Stevens’ lawyers claimed that prosecutors attempted to withhold FBI reports about the government’s key witness, former oil exec Bill Allen, that they say would’ve helped their defense. More »
Sep 24, 08 10:13 AM CDT Alaska is melting, but Sarah Palin doesn’t believe man’s to blame. Then again, McCain’s VP pick is also skeptical about evolution, “which is like not believing in gravity,” writes Robert F. Kennedy Jr in the LA Times. Kennedy recalls his childhood, when Virginia had ski slopes and uncle JFK would come toboggan in his top coat. More »
Sep 21, 08 8:30 AM CDT Alaskans seeking answers or help from their governor are sick and tired of being referred to John McCain's campaign headquarters 4,300 miles away, reports the Los Angeles Times. "Why did the McCain campaign take over the governor's office?" the Anchorage Daily News demanded in an editorial yesterday. "Is it too much to ask that Alaska's governor speak for herself, directly to Alaskans, about her actions as Alaska's governor?" More »
Sarah Palin • Alaska • Ted Stevens • governor • federal spending • Big Oil
