Palin's Old Pals Wonder: Where Did That Shy Girl Go?

Guess what famous family he's friends with?

(NEWSER) - A burned hotel room mattress, ruined bedding, a urine-stained chair, vomit on the carpet … but no, this was not the handiwork of a rock star on tour. Rather, Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard apparently got a little crazy on a business trip—then slipped the city the bill for the damages. Menard, who has had alcohol-related problems in the past, apologized publicly Monday night and said he is now “11 days sober and working on a program.” More»

Sarah Palin's threat of a libel suit goes a bit awry

(NEWSER) - Back in the day, public figures were cautioned not to pick fights with people who bought ink by the barrel—namely, newspaper publishers. In the age of the blogger, it's more important to guard against fueling your antagonists with the 21st-century version of ink: attention. Paging Sarah Palin: "The Wasilla whack-job was an obsessive reader of this blog," crows Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic . More»

Host has bashed sniping at Alaska governor by unnamed McCain sources

(NEWSER) - Fox News host Greta Van Susteren beat out a slew of prominent journalists for the first post-election interview with Sarah Palin, the Los Angeles Times reports. Van Susteren has defended the Alaska governor against a recent storm of criticism from unnamed McCain aides, and will allow the former candidate to respond to recent charges in chats taped Sunday and Monday for Monday broadcast. More»

GOP candidate aims for more conciliatory role in national politics

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin hopes to become a less divisive figure in national politics, assuming she’s not headed to Washington with John McCain, the vice-presidential nominee said after voting today in Alaska, CNN reports. “If there is a role in national politics, it won’t be so much partisan,” Palin said. “It would certainly be a uniter type of role.” More»

The pitbull with lipstick might've been a game-changer, but enough already

(NEWSER) - It's an inevitability of any election season: Some phrases will get bandied around so much that the hapless American, simply trying to do his civic duty by paying attention, will be crushed under the sheer weight of political verbiage. The Red Eye lists the worst offenders:

• Change: As in, change the channel now.
• Hockey mom: We're not in Alaska any more.
• Joe the Plumber: He's not a licensed plumber, not named Joe.