We might actually get some good candidates once in a while then wouldn't we?

you're so far off.

Not proven. At least not that she used any of the states money which would be the only crime of consequence to any rational thinking person.

And the clothes stuff is meaningless. It wasn't tax payer money and she's not the only politician in this election to make money from their party.

Not new news. Palin has been battling accusations of current spending since before you heard of her.

Not sure where that oil check idea came from, couldn't find anything about that with a Google search but I've emailed a friend who lived there much of the 90's.

Still the highest rated and if you read this article you'll see the drop is more related to her VP candidacy then anything else.


You've consistently misrepresented the facts and our blind to impartiality, you'll never have credibility or make a point arguing that way.

You're a smart and interesting kid but your self perceived confidence and conviction comes across as arrogance and stubbornness and totally devalues your message.

A noble suggestion.

Excuse me? the VP candidate under investigation for abuse of power isnt relevant to the election? How exactly are you going to back up that statement?

Over and over again on this board, people have thrown around the idea that what the candidates say they will do has no meaning over what their behavior in the past has indicated they will do. Now if Palin is under serious and very real allegations of abusing her power as a Governor, how can you say that that is not real news or of any relevance to the election?

Every single corrupt politician in history has made abuse of power a staple in their dealings to run their countries into the ground. Are you really that unconcerned about the possibility that this has been a recurring incident for the possible VP of the united states, and lets face it, with McCain's health, the President?

You might have SOME footing to stand on by saying that her $150K wardrobe isnt of consequence to the election. But saying that the troopergate scandal and the other allegations that have since been brought forth are not relevant is baffling.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on several points, mainly that this is not new news. New news is either something that is entirely new, or something that reveals a new development in a story previously reported. The fact that she has allegedly abused her power as a governor by spending state money for personal gain is DEFINITELY newsworthy. It is not a newspaper's job to decide weather she is guilty or not. It is not a newspaper's job to hold off on reporting new developments until the entire court proceeding has finished. News agencies have only been reporting the facts as they come to light, and the facts are that she has allegedly broken the law by using state funds for her own gain.

As for her drop in approval, it could very easily be argued that that drop is related to all the new allegations that have come to light since her becoming VP. You even almost alluded to the same fact yourself, yet you failed to comment on the significance of this. It could very easily be argued that the people polled did not know enough about her until her candidacy thrust her into the limelight, and she went under a LOT more scrutiny than she had been previously. I think the relevant fact is that her approval rating has dropped significantly after all these allegations became known to the public, which may have been a result of her being chosen as the VP candidate. Having said that, I strongly believe that had these same allegations been brought forth even had she not been named McCain's VP choice, her approval rating would have plummeted all the same.

and one last thing. A quick bit of searching provided plenty of info about the dividend cheques that every alaskan citizen is receiving. It's similar to the "ralph bucks" albertans got for oil revenues when klein was our premiere, only alaskans get substantially more than we did.

here's an msnbc article profiling it, and here's a wikipedia article that goes a bit more in depth as to where the money is coming from.

Alaskans get $1,107 — just for living there! - Wonderful World - MSNBC.com

Alaska Permanent Fund - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, in my views, ethan points out a very valid argument as to why Palin's approval rating was so high. Alaska is a huge republican majority, this would bode very well for the republican demographic feeling that their state's revenues were being put directly back into their pockets, as opposed to being reinvested in state programs.

First because I'm so far removed from the original argument, I am not a Pro-Palin advocate or anything here, my argument was that Ethan showed extreme bias towards Obama\Biden and it devalued his argument.

Everything your arguing in the initial post is subjective we're both speculating on why the numbers dropped, the article gives examples of many people who still feel she is a qualified governor. As strongly as you believe, I disagree because I know I wouldn't care about it and most people I know either don't care or are unaware of the details.

The drop was not that significant something like 73 to 68. It says her rating had been in the 80's as recently as July and the article examines the reasons and a lot of people view her as a qualified governor, but are not sure she's qualified to be VP. And drop or no drop she is still number one.

What is she alleged to have used state funds on?

Finally,
As for the follow-up post thanks for the links. That's not a whole lot of money and it something they had before Palin and will have after her so I don't see how it'd impact her approval rating.

I see where you're coming on every point but your second paragraph. I'm wondering which incident you don't think is important, the fact that she has been found to abuse her power as governor of alaska, or the fact that she has had $150K spent on her wardrobe. If the latter, I can accept that as a matter of personal opinion. If the former, I really hope that there are not many people who hold the same opinion as you for fear of how people with that mindset might influence the current election and the future of what is still the most powerful country on earth.

Abuse of power is a reality with all administrations in our lifetimes.

It's not that I am apathetic towards it, it's that I understand I can't change it and no matter who gets into office the process is too corrupt to produce a legitimate, honest leader. I don't even know how Palin abused her power as governor, I've heard this headline attached to so many candidates on both sides of the isle that I am numb to it.

My solution is thus not to select a less of two evils candidate but instead discuss solutions on how to better the system through higher expectations of candidates.

Here's a quick rundown. Palin wanted a police officer fired. That police officer had recently divorced her sister. It screams of conflict of interest, but it can not be proven that that was her actual motive. The illegal part happened when she and her husband bullied said police officer's superior to fire the guy. When he refused, she fired him. As governor, she has the right to fire and hire at will, that was not the issue. the issue was that she used her position of power to bully the police chief, and because of that, was found to have abused her power.

Now, I am not as cynical as you are with regards to politicians. Yes, every political system has been marred with some sort of scandal. Yet, as of yet, there is no strong evidence of Obama or Biden actually abusing their power as members of the senate. Just because you don't feel you can fix it, does not mean that you have to be apathetic about it.

Your idea of how to improve the system is a good one, and yet it takes time. You can't overhaul the system in one night just by wishing it. I'd like to know what you have heard attached to Obama and Biden in terms of abuse of power, because I certainly have heard no indication of it.