Alaska Politics Blog : Morning after

Alaska Politics Blog

This is the place to talk about Alaska politics -- state, local, national. Public life in the Last Frontier has probably never been more interesting than right now -- the governor as candidate for vice president, the broad and still-evolving corruption investigation, a big election, powerful members of Congress under scrutiny, and the usual hardball Alaska politics. Come here for news, tidbits and information, and join the discussion. Keep your comments civil and on point. Avoid personal attacks. Do not use profanity. Posts that violate the Terms of Use will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be banned.

Contributors

Erika Bolstad

Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau in 2007, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.

Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He spent three years based in Juneau for the ADN before joining the Tacoma News-Tribune to write about Washington state politics. He went to Iraq twice for the News Tribune, and previously wrote about Alaska government and politics for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers politics and other stories for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously was a reporter at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com

Features

SECTION

Alaska political corruption

The FBI raided state legislatures offices in Aug. 2006, and the fallout since has been epic in Alaska's political world.

Morning after

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: September 4, 2008 - 6:51 am

Commentary from Michael Carey in St. Paul --

Gov. Sarah Palin’s address to the Republican convention was carefully composed, confidently delivered and enthusiastically received. Sen. John McCain made a huge gamble in choosing Palin as his vice-presidential nominee. Wednesday, his gamble paid off.

Those who dismissed Palin as governor girl in go-go boots who would stumble on the national stage had to be disappointed.

Palin seemed to approach the speech like a competitive runner who is determined to run her race no matter what the circumstances. She tried to keep things simple, biographical and traditional. By biographical I mean using herself and her family – but also using John McCain’s biography. By traditional, look at her allusions to patriotism, service and small-town virtues.

Columnist Maureen Dowd recently called her a “zealot.” There was little for a zealot to celebrate in the speech, and her record proves she is not one.

Palin’s policy discussion was standard fare for a Republican. Yet she might more plausibly be called a vegan than a zealot because there wasn’t much meat. The audience loved her sallies at the media, but Palin is in good measure a media creation. This has been clear during the last few days as the media has gone all-Palin, all-the-time.

Palin returned again and again to John McCain, perhaps using him for security – it’s easy to talk about McCain, especially before Republicans, but the references to the party nominee also are expected of the vice-presidential candidate.

Her jabs at the Democrats, specifically Barack Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid were greeted with wild applause, but they seemed unnatural to me. Palin has never been known as a partisan; she gets along well with Democrats in the Alaska Legislature and could not have passed legislation important to her without their help. She was never this harsh when campaigning against Tony Knowles in the 2006 gubernatorial race. A successful actress knows her lines, however, and Palin delivered these lines well.

The end of the speech, the reference to McCain’s experience as a prisoner of war, was totally predictable. The audience loved it. The afterward, when Sen. McCain joined her on stage, seemed limp. It definitely was not rehearsed. We can be sure both will do better next time.

I will be called sexist for commenting on appearance, but I thought she was unnecessarily understated. I suppose this was to guarantee she came across as a suburban mom, not a girl from nowhere auditioning for “Sex in the City.”

If I could have watched Palin’s speech with anyone, it would have been former president Bill Clinton, the finest public speaker of our time and like Palin, someone who began his career as an unappreciated outsider. Bill, I am sure, would be compelling on Sarah.

The early reviews of Sarah Palin’s performance are favorable. Alaskans expected nothing less.

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7 September 5, 2008 - 3:34pm | citcate

Barracuda

How can a person be proud of being a barracuda? The Online Dictionary's 2nd definition is "a treacherous, greedy person". I guess this says it all.

6 September 4, 2008 - 2:11pm | inawe1

yea

5 September 4, 2008 - 12:44pm | msimonian

Michael Carey please stop

Michael Carey please stop writing and telling the national press that Palin is not a zealot. She is, like most politicians, extremely driven, competitive and egotistical. She is whatever she needs to be to win. She played down the pit-bull, right-wing conservative against Tony Knowles because she didn't need it, and it might have caused people to take a much closer look at her. She also needed the democrats in the legislature to get her gas tax, AGIA, and ethics reform so being the christian crusader might have turned them off.
There is no denying that her reception in that hall and her reason for being there are first and foremost about the extreme conservative aspects of her resume. It should come as no surpise that Palin tried to fire Wasilla's librarian because she would not agree to censor books. That is, by definition, a zealot. Given your vocation Mr. Carey, as a reporter and commentator who is supposed to respect and hold dear the First Amendment, I would expect public library censorship to a be a litmus test of zealotry. Please be a true commentator and real reporter and look beyond the image she is projecting. She is either a zealot or a fake. I know she is a great speaker with charisma and poise. I don't need your vapid analysis to tell me that and you shouldn't use your position as an Alaskan in the "know" to perpetuate misunderstandings about the true Palin.

September 4, 2008 - 1:26pm | robindevoe

Yes

I agree Carey totally rolled over on this one, apparently not immune to the Palin "charm". But I wish he would grow a pair and give some decent, balanced analysis instead of blowing smoke up the Prom Queen's dress like he does here.

4 September 4, 2008 - 11:31am | watchman

Step backwards

Palin's speech was a nostalgic return to the culture wars of Karl Rove, a strategy which cost the Republicans dearly in 2006. The speech failed to engage the real domestic issues on the table of middle class Americans. McCain's own party would not let him choose a Vice President at the political center. The Republicans seem pleased, but the speech was no more relevant than watching an old Superbowl won by your favorite team.

September 4, 2008 - 12:01pm | wodat

The Liquid

dreams of stunned, lost and fearfull Democrats the world over.

Yeah, Yeah, the glass is half full....... the US is a terrible country, if you work for a living or fight for this country you're a duped hick from Hooterville. Vote for our Messiah and he will see to it you will be taken care of from cradle to grave. Get real!

September 4, 2008 - 12:50pm | watchman

Real issues

are on my family's kitchen table, and for our business, a business built with our own heads and hands. We need to move forward into competition in global markets, not a return to narrow extreme views which isolate our country and divide our citizens. While extreme right Republicans shadow box nonexistent threats, the rest of the country is ready to move on. McCain and Palin do not have the answers.

September 4, 2008 - 2:32pm | wodat

Yep, Grow business

through more taxation and bigger Government then appease foreigners so they'l like us an buy or products.
I remember that plan from 1977 to 1981. Worked real well, Stagflation and all.

September 6, 2008 - 12:39am | cigi

I Think You Are Misinformed ....

I respect your right to your view, but the biggest growth in our GOVERNMENT and the LARGEST NATIONAL DEBT in our Country's history has been under Geroge Bush and the Republican Congress and Senate. Bush/Cheney have contracted out as much of the jobs in Government that they could to their cronies, do a little research on Black Water and Halliburton. They have been given BILLIONS of dollars in NO BID Contracts since 9/11. There are now more contractors working for the US Government than civil servants. 26 of our military serving in Iraq have been electrocuted in showers and using power washers to clean humvees because of the shoddy work that Halliburton and their subcontractors have done. That should NEVER happen!

My son leaves for Iraq in January and I worry about him being killed in a shower as easily as running over an IED. This whole war thing was a money grab by every big corporation that could get a deal with the government.

You want to fix government and pay less taxes??? Ask our elected officials to STOP doling out Corporate Welfare to multinational corporations like Accenture. This Company offshored itself to avoid paying taxes to America. I don't find that clever or smart, just unethical. Then Accenture was awarded a huge contract to change out the computer systems in the IRS, which turned out to be a debacle with due dates not met and costs overruns. Stop this senseless war and we will save anywhere from $10-12 Billion dollars of tax payers money monthly....we could use that money now, here at home. I am not saying, dump the Iraqis but they are sitting with a few 100 Billion in oil revenue reserves...let them step up and start leading their own country and bring our troops home. Our troops are way overdue because they won this war by May of 2003...I believe that was when George Bush declared "Mission accomplished."

This is not the 80s and I think your comparison to that time is not relevant to what you think you are saying here. The Chinese Communist Government now owns our DEBT for this war as they buy our bonds...each month we pay them interest on those bonds...which the Chinese are now buying oil from Iran with...they struck a $3 Billion deal with the Iranians this week. So we are dealing with Communists now who spend our tax dollars to buy oil from a country that we have labeled terrorists. Don't you just love globalization??? Sure makes strange bed fellows for sure! In the mean time those Corporate entitites are laughing all the way to the bank...Walmart stands out in my mind and we smucky Americans are afraid that we might become isolationists...will never happen.. that is just more of Republican FUD...fear, uncertainy and doubt.

September 4, 2008 - 4:00pm | watchman

Wrong

The high tech companies whose governments have slightly higher corporate tax rates and provide what would otherwise be very expensive services, such as Universal Health Care, Technical Education, and Higher Education, are eating our lunch in head-to-head competition due to lower total overhead costs. Obama-Biden understand the problem and the solution. McCain-Palin understand neither, and moreover, are distracted off onto the same old values war again. All McCain-Palin offer is 4 more years of polarized gridlock.

September 4, 2008 - 6:22pm | wodat

No I understand perfectly

the code words used by Neo -Marxist. "lower overhead costs" means price controls. Well tell me comrade who is going to do the R&D and capital investment if there's no or reduced profit??? What's to motivate someone to develop something if they can't gain from their work?? Now I know for neo-marxists Profit is a bad word as they believe in the zero sum economic model. But the fact is wealth is created by individuals and not through Government distribution. That's why the UK's GDP is near zero yet the US's is 3%.............the UK is highly socialistic and the US is as of yet moderately socialistic. What generates jobs, and wealth is Government getting the hell out of MY way, not taking from those according to their ability and redistributing to those according their need.

September 6, 2008 - 12:47am | cigi

Oh...the Neo Marxist theory

So dealing with Commies and terrorists with our tax dollars is soooooooooo much smarter as long as multination corporations make a profit???. If you have no concern for our country, then do you understand the legacy you are leaving your children/grandchildren to clean this mess up and believe me, the piper will be paid?

After the Vietnam war ended, it took more than a decade to settle that debt....interests rates soared in the 80's and Ronald Reagan had to raise taxes, seven times during his administration, after he had cut the taxes. You have a choice in economics, you can have guns or butter, but you can't have them both and sustain a viable economy. I am not impressed with Bush's militaristic views and McCain/Palin represent more of the same in that department.

September 4, 2008 - 7:43pm | watchman

Wrong Again

You are lost in ideology somewhere. I am not certain what you are trying to say or to whom you speaking. I do know that I am the one generating jobs through competition.

This business owner bids high tech contracts in the Pacific Rim, competing with businesses from the USA, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan. Our American companies are at a competitive disadvantage. We don't need ideology, and we don't need preconceived notions of how the markets should work. What we need is problem-solving based on a practical understanding of international commerce and how the markets actually work. That understanding and those solutions are coming from Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

September 5, 2008 - 6:37am | wodat

Nope, you're wrong

I'm steeped in Economic knowledge, you're the one lost in ideology.........Neo-Marxist nonsense ideology.

My friend there's only 2 ways to keep prices low: Competition or Price Controls. Just like there are only two possible taxes; production taxes or consumption taxes. A heavy graduated income tax on business or people is a production tax and it also happens to be a pillar of Marx's ideology. That's it, there's no other way. You put lipstick on the pig and use whatever code words you want a pig is a pig.

Also your first pre-assumption that other countries have lower corporate production taxes is false....look it up instead of spouting assumptions. Companies primarily go off shore because of Government, Government production taxes which increase the cost of goods and services making them less competitive internationally.

September 5, 2008 - 8:36am | watchman

Ideological nonsense

that has nothing to do with running a business on a day to day basis. Such is the problem with the extreme right. You try to apply an ideology without understanding the real problem.

Second, your reading skills need improvement. I did not say that other countries have "lower corporate production taxes." In fact I said just the opposite - other countries who are beating us in competition have slightly higher corporate taxes, accompanied by better services, thereby lowering their total overhead cost.

And therein lies the advantage of the Obama-Biden ticket. Obama and Biden see the world the way it really works, not through the distorted lenses of ideology.

September 4, 2008 - 12:12pm | Emperor

The US is the greatest...

...country in the world, or at least we were. The last eight years have tarnished our image abroad and how we view ourselves. We could be so much better. Unfortunately, we have been led astray by the Republicans. We need to set a new course to return to being the envy of the world once again.

September 4, 2008 - 2:34pm | wodat

Yep,

America is just a horrible horrible place, and the world hates us because we've let the gun toting red neck bible thumping ogars run amuk. Got it. That's a extremely positive message you're put'n out there partner;)

September 6, 2008 - 1:37pm | Emperor

Truth...

...is often unflattering.

Our economy is in deep trouble. Our system of education isn't producing people that can compete world wide. Our health care system is leaving too many without care. Our national infrastructure is crumbling. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are draining our resources, putting us deeper in debt and tarnishing our image around the world. Many of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our constitution are under attack by those that would trade them away in the name of security.

The positive message is that we can change all of that, if we have the will and the leadership. I'm not sure if Obama/Biden is the answer but I know McCain/Palin isn't.

September 6, 2008 - 12:54am | cigi

Just more of the same...

Why do Republicans have such a hard time with honest and constructive criticism? There are countries who do do things better than us, so try to get past your bias. France has one of the best healthcare systems in the industrialized world. Check out your facts, even Brazil is ahead of us on healthcare. We can do a lot of good things in this country if individuals can get past thier puritianical, judgemental, incremental problem solving, self interests. I don't believe it is negative to try to improve any process. American ingenuity is here, all we need is the will.

3 September 4, 2008 - 11:18am | rfn

Being reported elsewhere

that the TelePrompTer failed - kept running during applause. This put it wildly ahead of where Governor Palin was in her speech, rendering it useless.

Once that happened any comparison to Obama (whose similar machine failure left him stammering) was gone and it was pure Sarah!

September 4, 2008 - 11:27am | jacekones

False report.

Much like her bridge to nowhere story.

September 4, 2008 - 11:31am | rfn

Sad that so many

are commenting who apparently did not watch the speech. There were minimum three camera shots from behind Ms. Palin; each showed the TelePrompTer screen over her shoulder.

The problem developed around 1/3 to 1/2 of the way into the speech but was at first a minor synchronization problem. by the time the third (and I believe final) "over the shoulder" shot anyone paying attention to other than Ms. Palin's coif would have been able to notice.

Perhaps I was less interested in hairstyle than some so it was a bit more obvious to me than to others.

September 4, 2008 - 11:34am | jacekones

coiffed

You are the only one mentioning her hairstyle.

September 4, 2008 - 12:58pm | rfn

Perhaps

those who were so caught up in shoes and suits a few months ago and obviously were focused on hair last night...or who just were not watching but false claim to have been...are ashamed that they failed to notice the TelePrompTer problem.

More likely they just didn't care.

2 September 4, 2008 - 10:44am | wodat

Bill Clinton the finest

public speaker of our time??? Only if "our time" began after 1989 and ended in 2008. Prior to 89 it was by all means Ronald Reagan, and as of last night it is Sarah Palin.

1 September 4, 2008 - 7:28am | Himself

Palin's message

From Utah I ask, was Gov Palin's message
really "I'm an outsider and I'm going to Washington to clean up the corruption of the Republican party and the oil companies."?

September 4, 2008 - 8:27am | ak_iceman2003

Yeah... and how will she do

Yeah... and how will she do it? By taking advice from Karl Rove and money from Exxon!

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