There are only 570 or so weekdays in 19 months. this means she spent more than half of her term at home? Or that she was charging per diem for weekend days at home?

Steve, you sexist!

Although this story does interfere with the McCain campaign's storytelling, what is needed even more is to shatter the image of likability that she projects.

For instance, while mayor of Wasilla she made rape victims pay for their own forensic tests. This came at the same time that she was driving the city into debt to construct a multimillion-dollar sports complex. These are the acts of an ideologically-driven, incompetent official.

http://www.americablog.com/2008/09/wasilla-charged-rape-victims-for-their.html

I read the letters section of the article and they are running around 90% against mooseMcburger.
I suspect the recent polls are missing something or someone is gaming them (Ya Think?)

I think we need to really push the idea of Palin constantly puffing up her resume and claiming things about herself that aren't true.

And I hate to be pedantic about this, but I don't think spendthrift means what you think it does.

The word "spendthrift" doesn't make sense within the context of your post. Does it?

By all appearances, Palin did not violate any laws or ethics regulations.

Alaska has no ethics regulations against charging a travel per diem for days you stay at home? Because the company I work for sure has 'em.

Yes - The new direction for the Obama campaign is great and hopefully not too late. As Josh Marshall notes, the meme is starting to take hold that Palin's image and her record are at odds, to put it mildly. Steve - If you have any contacts in the Obama camp, please, someone, anyone, get to Barak and tell him to stop equivacating. Frankly I thought he came across horribly on Olbermann. He has to show he is willing to fight for this job. Leadership starts from the top. I feel like I am watching Kerry all over again. The rate its going, Barack will give a passionate speech in 2012 and everyone will go - Where was that guy in 2008. I don't like Cohen, but his column was spot on today. Somebody get to this guy before its too late.

Only the little people exercise fiscal restraint.

I would agree that this is largely a non-issue. What does draw my attention from the WaPo paper version is that she originally was listing Lodging - Wasilla to file for the per diem. But then she stopped referencing it, but continued to collect. That suggests that she wondered about the propriety of the expense, but erred on the side of deception. It's like Steve said last night on Rachel Maddow's show - she's the "stylistic heir of George W Bush."

Steve: When lining up the various Palin-related scandals, the questionable per-diem charges still fall well short of the ongoing abuse of power investigation, in terms of seriousness.

It's OK to list her gaffes, scandals and lies without unnecessary qualifiers about how they may not be as serious as her other gaffes, scandals and lies. Really. It's OK. Let the McCain campaign dismiss their seriousness. For us, we have no idea what will stick with the lethargic American public. Maybe they'll think that is was fine for her to try to fire her moron brother-in-law trooper, no matter what means she used, but this little "per diem" thingy may strike a cord. No need to bend over backwards to appear reasonable Steve.
____________________________________________

"spendthrift" does not mean what you think it means.

Sarah Palin is a spendthrift. Especially with other people's money.

Paul is correct -- a spendthrift wastes money -- which is probably not the image that Sarah Palin was touting to her constituents.

Paul is correct -- a spendthrift wastes money -- which is probably not the image that Sarah Palin was touting to her constituents.

spendthrift - extravagant: recklessly wasteful; "prodigal in their expenditures"

Steve- some legitimate points, but please drop the "jet on ebay" nonsense. As we all know, Palin said she "put it on ebay", not that she "sold it on ebay", which is, in fact true. People still pushing this one just make themselves look like morons.

It's OK to list her gaffes, scandals and lies without unnecessary qualifiers about how they may not be as serious as her other gaffes, scandals and lies. Really. It's OK.

Word. It's all of a piece with Palin's abuse of power, and the Republican proclivity toward abuse of power writ large.

Abusing her power to fire the public safety chief may be worse, but everyone understands that padding your expense account is a no-no.

Maybe you should try "penurious" or "frugal" if you want to use 25 cent words.

I don't think the election is going to hinge on Sara Palin, and I am concerned she is becomming a distraction to hammering at McCain. It doesn't hurt to keep putting the message out that she's an earmark queen (gee, why won't they let me write the ads!) but the campaign needs to move on to bigger game.

I wonder how this ties in with the "let the chef at the governor's mansion go" because she "prefers cooking for her family"? Of course, the first part of that has already been debunked - she didn't "let the chef go"; the chef apparently continued to work when Palin was in Juneau, at least during legislative sessions. Sounds more like the chef's hours were cut way back, because Palin was so often not in Juneau and didn't want to board the chef at her home in Wasilla. Though she still billed for the family's food (via the per diem) when she was at home.

The overall narrative that's brewing here is one of extreme pettiness. That was a real issue with Huckabee in Arkansas too - he illegally charged the taxpayers for family groceries (lots of Cheese Whiz) and pizza deliveries while he and the family were living in the governor's mansion. Is this just a general trait of fundies? Maybe so. They do seem to have a real sense of entitlement and are the first to claim victimization whenever they don't get their way.

Palin the Perk Mom, doing it all at your cost.

but please drop the "jet on ebay" nonsense.

Actually, McCain said she sold it on ibay. But it's easy to understand how he would make that mistake, since "I put it on ebay" seemed to imply the same thing. But technically Bill is right.

One important thing here is that Sarah Palin refuses to recognize Juneau as the capital of Alaska. As Wasilla mayor, she campaigned to officially move the capital out of Juneau. She is the only governor not to be sworn in in the capital. All of her cabinet officials live in and work in Anchorage, which means a lot of plane flights and costly per diem to commute to Juneau during legislative sessions and for regular business. She refuses to live in the Governor's Mansion and work in Juneau - the chef was reduced to an admin assistant not because Sarah can cook but because she had no intention of conducting the business of government, including receptions, in Juneau.

This is a rigid, egotistical, ideological woman who, like George Bush (with his stock-less "ranch" in Texas), is in love with power, but short on the brains and interest to govern.

Charging the State of Alaska per diem to live in her home and to trot her five permanent campaign mascots around the state is immoral, if not illegal, and it is an affront to the residents of the state and the dignity of the office.

I'm waiting for the proposal to move the Naval Obbservatory to Wasilla.

So, once Sarah Palin came to the governor's mansion, she let the cook and chauffeur go, eh? Do we really want a governor with time on his or her hands to cook every meal and drive themselves around? Does the governor of Alaska not entertain dignitaries?

And when Hillary Clinton showed a hint of cleavage during a debate, the right-wing media went freakin' haywire! Why have they not shown the same righteous indignation for Caribou Barbie's "Do Me" pumps? [My wife kicked in that last question. I know nothing about women's shoes.]

This is NOT a distraction from going after McCain. This was his first presidential decision - and he picked an unvetted, incompetent and, now it appears corrupt individual.

And, yes, I do mean corrupt. What else is it when you charge the state for per diem for being home on Thanksgiving Day and for what is close to half of her term?

This issue speaks volumes about her integrity and that of the Republican party. And the Obama campaign and surrogates should blast her and McCain for it like crazy. This is not reform or country first; it's feeding at the government trough for one's own benefit. If the Obama campaign doesn't make a big deal about it, we all should by writing letters to the editor about it.

In other blogs, the GOP trolls are bring up the point "well, previous governors did it TOO!"

Okay, and what party were those governors? I thought Palin was supposed to be about changing the previous culture of entitlement and corruption, getting rid of planes, chefs, etc.

Only, when it comes to OUR cash in HER pocket, not so much. Yeah, it's peanuts, but it says a lot about CHARACTER, HONESTY and INTEGRETY.

Or the lack thereof.

McCain said she sold it on eBay for a profit, when the truth is that the State sold it through a broker at a half-million dollar loss:

"You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay -- and made a profit!" McCain declared in Wisconsin at a campaign stop on Friday.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/05/plane_not_sold_on_ebay.html

So, okay, Palin just shaded the truth in an effort to mislead the voters. It took McCain to turn it into an outright lie. Remind me, which one is running for president?

Stories like this are why the Democrats are not doing as well as they should.

There is no THERE THERE.

Palin didn't break the rules, Palin didn't go overboard. Palin was perfectly reasonable in her actions.

Read the whole story.

If the Democrats make a big deal about things like this then they will end up hurting themselves.

Steve, issue a correction.

This story never should have been on the front page of WashingtonPost.com. This story never should have made it to your blog, period.

Go ahead a flame me. It won't help Obama. Spend your time on real stories like McCain's lies about vetting Palin or the bridge to nowhere.

Palin's questionable personnel decisions will get sucked down the same black hole Dubya's fake National Guard duty disappeared into. Look, over there, a Down Syndrome baby!!!

"I'm waiting for the proposal to move the Naval Obbservatory to Wasilla." ghillie

Something I have thought about too. If elected I suspect that Palin will be one of the most absentee VPs to hit the stage. As much as she and her husband love Alaska the environment in DC will likely be a very alienating and depressing place for them. They would not miss an opportunity to spend as much time in Alaska as possible, courtesy of you humble servants humping for them.

Re: The jet on e-bay. Yes it's technically true that she put it on e-bay, apparently standard procedure for selling off assets in Alaska, but she didn't sell it at a profit on e-bay, which was clearly the message the GOP was trying to put out. I still find it deceptive and think the facts should be made known (see Daily Howler for more details).

Re: the per diem. As a government employee, I don't get too bothered about it. You take per diem when it's legal and figure it makes up for the times that you can't take it for one reason or another and wind up with out-of-pocket expenses. And 125K a year really isn't much to be governor of a state with all the miscellaneous expenses that come with such a position.

However, this is the kind of story that resonates with the man on the street. He can't understand billion dollar wars and bailouts, but a few hundred bucks a day he can understand. This is the kind of story that can knock them off their game, and don't think for a minute that their side wouldn't milk it for all its worth if the roles were reversed.

Bill Smugs, John McCain said she sold it on Ebay for a profit. Totally wrong. It was sold by a broker for a loss.

Steve, the per diem charge might seem small potatoes to you, but it isn't. Damn near everybody who travels on business knows you don't charge for nights spent at home. My company makes that is a firing offense, and the employees know it.

Sarah Palin, petty corruption we can believe in.

She defrauded the people of Alaska for thousands of dollars in "official" business involving her family. This is not an insignificant story. Her husband's expenses alone would have most people arrested. Wow. I guess she figured this was one more thing that would not come out. Still waiting on her medical records too. ...

Are you guys kidding? This is the sort of thing Republicans love to see. They want their officials to rip off the government. Less money for welfare or whatever. That is why they voted for a President who has spent about one quarter of his term on vacation.

By all appearances, Palin did not violate any laws or ethics regulations.

Then you look stupid talking about it. You can do better than fake but accurate.

One important thing here is that Sarah Palin refuses to recognize Juneau as the capital of Alaska. As Wasilla mayor, she campaigned to officially move the capital out of Juneau.

Juneau is like if Michigan put their capital on the far reaches of the Upper Peninsula, or Hawaii put its capital on Niihau, or Rhode Island moved its capital to Block island. It's a stupid, stupid location.

I work at home two days a week; I think my company would get pretty cranky if I billed them for room and board.

And what does Palin's husband DO, anyway? Other than ride his wife's bedazzled coattails? Do we have a clear answer on that?

Sam Wang: I absolutely agree that we have to expose just how unlikeable she is. Her aggressive stance on shooting wolves from airplanes would help too. Put a few shots of that in women's magazines and see how much they like her.

Why are the taxpayers paying Palin's family at all? Most reputable politicians who want to take family members on official trips will reimburse the taxpayer costs out of their own pocket or out of their campaign funds, they don't try and stick the taxpayers with the bill. Hell, if I want to take my wife along on a business trip I have to pay her costs myself, why are the Palins any different than me?

This Time article is excellent:

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1839724,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-full-nation

Sorry, I don't know how to post links, but it's worth reading. Palin's Alaskan Economics

...allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

How does one travel by "staying at home?" Is she toking the dope and doing spirit-journeys or something?

...charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions.

Is Alaska exempt from federal child-labor laws?

...her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

What else can I say, except that "the family that "nepotism-izes" together "hypocrite-izes" together....

Hell, if I want to take my wife along on a business trip I have to pay her costs myself, why are the Palins any different than me?
Posted by: The Other Ed

On the federal side, because under the Joint Federal Travel Regulations it is permitted, if the family member will be executing official duties (ribbon cuttings, boat launchings, family conferences, etc.) I expect the State of Alaska permits similar.

Re: the per diem. As a government employee, I don't get too bothered about it. You take per diem when it's legal and figure it makes up for the times that you can't take it for one reason or another and wind up with out-of-pocket expenses. And 125K a year really isn't much to be governor of a state with all the miscellaneous expenses that come with such a position.

Um, if it wasn't enough for her, then maybe she shouldn't have taken the position but should instead have used her vast executive skills learned as mayor of Wasilla and educational experience (five, count 'em, five colleges!) to secure a high-paying job on Wall Street.

You don't, however, take a job in public service, then complain that it's not paying you enough and use that to justify dipping into the taxpayers' money to enrich yourself under the table, and then tout yourself as some kind of reformer....well, correction, you do do that if you're a Republican.

Ed: When I travel with my husband, I also pay for myself. This is the kind of issue that may seem petty, but I think it resonates with people, like the McCain house thing.

"Orwell" wrote: Come on folks, quit acting like you have never enjoyed a business perk.

Enjoying a business perk is one thing. Enjoying a business perk you aren't entitled to -- such as claiming travel expenses for days you stayed at home -- is something else. In a word, it's stealing -- and in Palin's case, stealing taxpayer's money.

On the federal side, because under the Joint Federal Travel Regulations it is permitted, if the family member will be executing official duties (ribbon cuttings, boat launchings, family conferences, etc.) I expect the State of Alaska permits similar.

What "official duties" were her children performing?

I expect the State of Alaska permits similar.

You "expect" or you know?

Hey, I expect they don't.

Nope. "Spendthrift" means the opposite of what Benen thinks it means. A correction really IS in order.

Don't be so quick to pass innocence, Steve. The IRS very much cares about whether Governor Palin did or did not pay all federal taxes on all taxable income. Taxable income includes fake "per diems" which the Governor is not entitled to receive according to IRS regulations.

Income is also a federal legal issue. Do you know where Governor Palin's tax returns are? (Where are they?)

...her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

What else can I say, except that "the family that "nepotism-izes" together "hypocrite-izes" together....
Posted by: Steve

Perfectly legal and appropriate, and only a moron would do official travel at his own expense.

You think he should pay his own airfare when he travels on behalf of the State of Alaska? Really?

Gov. Palin has spent far less on her personal travel than her predecessor: $93,000 on airfare in 2007, compared with $463,000 spent the year before by her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. He traveled often in an executive jet that Palin called an extravagance during her campaign. She sold it after she was sworn into office.

Spent only a 1/4th as much as the last Governor.

I don't actually understand the WaPo story. Did she charge for "lodging" while staying at home, as if she had been staying at a hotel? Or did she just charge for meals and other small stuff while staying at home? If it's lodging, then I don't care if it's legal or not, it looks horrible. If it's just meals, I don't think it's as big a story, but it still dramatically undercuts her reformer story.

Either way, the story can and should be headlined (by Democrats) as "Palin charges state for nights spent at home." The details don't matter--the (fair) headline is what will cut through to regular folks. Republicans will hem and haw about "no ethics violations," "well within bounds," "consistent with previous governors' practices," but progressive pundits should be able to easily swat that away by simply saying, "the fact is, she charged the government for nights she spent at home, and you can't dispute that fact."

And I disagree with the consensus that ignoring Palin and focusing on McCain is bad strategy for Obama--Obama doesn't have to make the attacks, but his surrogates (including Bidan) can, and they don't have to attack Palin directly, they can attack McCain for having "poor judgement" in picking a corrupt Alaska governor. They could easily say "It's the same poor judgement that Bush has shown as he's run the economy into the ground and isolated America from all its friends."

It would be a great way to link McCain to Bush and take away the uplift McCain's getting from Palin at the same time.

Steve -- Brother you misused the word spendthrift which basically means the opposite of how you used it. The definition from wikipedia is below:

A spendthrift (also called profligate) is someone who spends money prodigiously and who is extravagant and recklessly wasteful. The origin of the word is someone who is able to spend money acquired by the thrift of predecessors or ancestors.

I meant to say

"I disagree with the consensus that ignoring Palin and focusing on McCain is good strategy."

I'm curious, exactly how is Todd Palin, the unelected husband of the governor, doing anything on behalf of the State of Alaska?

Spent only a 1/4th as much as the last Governor.

A very corrupt republican. Palin probably spent still spent twice as much as Gov. Knowles - the governor before that. Setting the bar pretty low, eh?

Regardless of the logic behind having Juneau as the state seat, it doesn't give the governor the de facto legal right to change the state seat to his/her whim. So, Palin, not comfortable with living in Juneau, essentially changed the state of Alaska to fund a second capital. How fiscally sound.

Spent only a 1/4th as much as the last Governor.

Yeah, you're going to want to look at the governor before the last one. The valid comparison is Knowles, not Murkowski. Comparing the Repub who got kicked out for corruption to the "reformer" Repub currently milking the taxpayers ("She's X percent less venal!") ain't going to fly with voters.

I'm curious, exactly how is Todd Palin, the unelected husband of the governor, doing anything on behalf of the State of Alaska?

No one ever seems to know what Toddy's "official business" is, other than interfering in state personnel decisions. I do love that he gets a copy of all emails sent to her, though. Someone interested in exploring her "strong woman" creds might have a lot of fun with that.

You think he should pay his own airfare when he travels on behalf of the State of Alaska? Really?

What does the spouse of the governor do on behalf of the State of Alaska?

I seems like you could get more traction with the Public Safety Commissioner's firing if you called him the "top cop". I think she fired the top cop in Wasilla as well.

Even if she had a bad reason to do so, what you really need when you fire folks like this is a "very good reason". Petty disputes could even be considered as just an excuse to get rid of someone and send a message. So digging into the abuse of power thing seems like a distraction.

It is like firing the librarian. It is hard to think of a reason to do something like that, and the transparent pettiness is, I think, part of the point (the one she is actually trying to make).

I think there should be a big push on the per diem story because it's something people can easily grasp. Shout loudly that Palin charged taxpayers for staying at home and put it on the McCain camp to explain it. Whether or not it's technically legal in AK is irrelevant because she is being built up as someone who is looking out for the taxpayer regardless of the legality. The McCain camp will, of course, lie about it, but it's easily verified and completely undercuts the image they are trying to construct.

"...Todd Palin to go on "information gathering" errands...". Hey - going out on weekends to get the Sunday paper can get pretty expensive! The Sunday edition always weighs more - having valuable flyers and coupons, the coupons alone that she gains - barely offset his time and effort.

What does her husband do? Write emails. That she's keeping away from the abuse-of-power inquiry. Because nothing says "I've got nothing to hide" like hiding stuff.

It just destroys the urban left when heartland sensibilities are in ascension. You guys always act startled, if not miffed, when Americans remind you that a majority of us do not believe a handful of heavily populated urban areas should control our country. You uppity urban people can't control violence, crime, civil responsibility (people ignoring their neighbors pleas for help), or your out-of-control risky behavior populations.

The secular progressive paradigm has caught the clap (or worse) and is trying to give it to everyone else before they get the cure they are running from: two big needles full of antibiotics in their collective (pun intended) hind end, named John McCain and Sarah Palin!

Wow...Rural Americans - I am impressed. A "Kitty Genovese" reference... There ARE better trolls over here at WM vs. the esteemed, shelved CarpetBaggerReport.

Orange IS the Color Forever!

big scandal... Alaska up in arms... no... wait... we aren't.

Cause we know how to read expense documents.

She charged per diem for working in Anchorage. She did not charge lodging for staying in Wasilla.

The "own home" is her explanation for why she didn't claim lodging --- even though she was legally entitled to it.

Next controversy.

rory @ parentalcation @ 12:27 PM posted "...She charged per diem for working in Anchorage...".
Sorry, but that just doesn't fly. There is a perfectly good Governor's Mansion in Juneau; which, I understand, is where the state capital is also located.
If Gov. Palin doesn't want to work in Juneau, she shouldn't have run for governor. If she wants the capital moved to Anchorage, then she should campaign for that, while residing in the house that the taxpayers of the state (and the rest of the US?) are paying for.
By not doing so, Gov. Palin is wasting state funds. Per diem for her husband when he is on "information gathering" trips may be valid, but then any email he sends during any such trips become the property of the Alaskan government until they are determined not to contain any "governmental" business.
There is absolutely no valid excuse for per diem for her children. She should immediately reimburse Alaska for any monies received on their behalf (wonder if the children ever saw any of it?).
And yes, this will resonate with the average voter; billions and trillions are difficult to comprehend, but fleecing the government out of a few thousands of dollars is easily understood - and resented even more just because of that comprehensibility.