Todd Palin Is Alaska's (Unelected) Cheney

'First Dude' had say in virtually every aspect of Sarah Palin's administration

(NEWSER) - Todd Palin had a massive amount of power in his wife’s administration in Alaska, recently released emails confirm. The missives, obtained by NBC through the state’s public records law, show the “first dude” was heavily involved in judicial appointments, contract negotiations with public employees, and state board appointments. He also received background checks on a corporate CEO, and passed financial information marked “confidential” from the oil company that employed him to a state attorney. More»

(NEWSER) - Levi Johnston continues his gripping expose of the Palin family in an interview with Vanity Fair. Some choice revelations from Bristol's ex, who lived with the family for two months following the election:

• "There wasn't much parenting in that house": The Palin parents were too busy to care for their children, so "the kids would do it all themselves: cook, clean, do the laundry," Johnston says. He chipped in, too: "I’d barbecue chicken or steak on the grill."

Affairs, work stress caused marriage to deteriorate

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin denied a report today that she and former “First Dude” Todd Palin are getting a divorce: "Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story," Palin's spokeswoman writes on Facebook. "There is no truth to the recent 'story' ... that the Palins are divorcing." But AlaskaReport cites “multiple sources” in Wasilla and Anchorage that the pair are splitting up. More»

Journalists begin plowing through 24K pages

(NEWSER) - Some 24,000 pages of eagerly awaited emails from Sarah Palin’s time as governor have been released, and journalists are diving in—some with public volunteers, notes the Anchorage Daily News . So far, no headlines; indeed, a Palin rep is encouraging “everyone” to read them. The reporters need no encouragement, it seems: Around 30 of them were jammed in a small room in a Juneau state building with three camera crews, all awaiting the boxes, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

The bipartisan reformist disappeared in 2008: Atlantic profile

(NEWSER) - A new profile of Sarah Palin in the Atlantic by Joshua Green offers a surprising (at least to non-Alaskans and her legions of critics) assessment of her tenure as governor. It's downright flattering in parts, explaining how she took on entrenched oil interests and her own party to improve Alaska's finances. "Palin demonstrated many of the qualities we expect in our best leaders," writes Green. "She set aside private concerns for the greater good, forgoing a focus on social issues to confront the great problem plaguing Alaska, its corrupt oil-and-gas politics. She did this in a way that seems wildly out of character today—by cooperating with Democrats and moderate Republicans to raise taxes on Big Business." More»