Saturday, October 11, 2008

Palin Report Released

The big news this morning is the 263 page report from Alaska state legislative investigator Stephen Branchflower, which is said to be released today and contains a finding that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaskan Governor. How has the MSM done in the early coverage of this scandal?

The Washington Post's piece (linked above,) relates the charges and finding that Palin and her husband Todd, abused both their positions-Todd as the husband of the Governor, and Palin as the one with executive power,) when they launched a campaign to get her ex-brother in law bounced from the state police. I enjoyed the accompanying video package because it does a fairly good job succinctly outlining the whole story.

Politico's " The Arena," which is a new feature on the site- gathers a collection of policy makers and "opinion makers," and debates the news. This morning the discussion is about "Trooper Gate" and the investigative report. Fred Barbash is the moderator and guides folks such as Tim Griffin, Republican attorney and strategist, through a debate on whether or not the finding that Palin "abused her power," will effect the GOP campaign. I liked the expert insight provided by these people who are strategists from both parties, and who have differing opinions.

"Trooper-gate is small potatoes in and of itself. But it will remind people again about McCain’s tendency to make impulsive decisions without sufficient vetting" said Rosabeth Moss Kanter on The Arena.

These two pieces by the media are good examples of interesting, semi-unconventional (not really anymore,) attempts at covering a burgoning problem seeping up from the ground and into McCain's campaign.

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