Word: alaskas
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Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down By Kaylene Johnson Epicenter Press; 158 pages...
...Johnson had access to Palin and her family that a reporter could only dream about now, although even some of her candid statements sound eerily like late-2008 talking points. Referring to her unsuccessful run for the lieutenant governorship of Alaska in 2002, Palin told the author, "There was a lot of talk about the fact that I didn't have years of experience. Leadership shouldn't be based on years of public experience - it should be based on vision and example...
...also plenty to pore over about Palin as an Alaskan politico, including an analysis of her controversial decision, soon after becoming mayor of Wasilla, to fire all of its incumbent municipal department heads. In fact, the author includes so much about local politics that anyone who is not from Alaska or a total political junkie will be tempted to flip pages...
...There is a curious omission in the book: Johnson doesn't write about Palin's beauty queen days, when she came in second in the Miss Alaska contest and was named Miss Congeniality. The reader wonders why that was left out - and whether it might have contrasted with Palin's crusading politician backstory. Likewise, there is no mention of her pro-life stance, or her views on creationism. But her religious beliefs, including her baptism at 12 years old, are mentioned with approval...
...Bush opposes earmarks too, but spending and deficits have soared on his watch. McCain was right to fight the Bridge to Nowhere, but it's worth keeping in mind that when Palin finally gave up on it, the money didn't go back to the Treasury - it stayed in Alaska to be used for a different project. Most pork, even egregious pork, doesn't go Nowhere...