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Palin Earmarks Total $453M in 2 Years

Alaska guv fails the earmarks-per-day test she applies to Obama

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Sep 15, 2008 8:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – Sarah Palin called them "un-American" and John McCain denied again Friday that she requested them as governor of Alaska. But the Wall Street Journal, doing the math on earmarks, finds that Palin sought $453 million of them for her state since taking office, including $197 million in the current fiscal year. And using the same calculation she applies to Barack Obama—earmark dollars sought per day in office—her record is worse than his.

Obama requested a total of $860 million in earmarks in his Senate years, the Journal says, but using the McCain campaign's strategy of dividing requests by days in office, Palin sought $980,000 per workday, compared to his roughly $893,000. McCain has never requested earmarks for the state of Arizona, and claimed on The View again Friday the same was true of his running mate. The campaign told the Journal, "If he gave viewers a mistaken impression, it certainly wasn't intentional," adding that she had cut back on earmarks requests compared to her predecessor.

[Images (3)]

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Sarah Palin with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Monday, Aug. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, talks about her running mate, Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sept. 13, 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Matt Hage)

Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reaches out to shakes hands and sign autographs at a rally in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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The abuse of earmarks, it's un-American, it's undemocratic, and it's not going to be accepted in a McCain-Palin administration. Earmark abuse will stop. - Sarah Palin

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Palin Earmarks Total $453M in 2 Years