An independent investigator has found evidence that Alsaka Gov. Sarah Palin (R) "may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts," Associated Press.What you hear is the sound of the other shoe dropping.
The investigator says that "there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of a trust as the 'official' legal defense fund."
The appeal of Palin never ceases to interest me. I don't think it's any one thing. I think that different groups and different people see different things in her. I think that her Down's syndrome child is largely responsible for her popularity with pro-lifers, but I also think, like Ross Douthat, that her family, with its elements of both stability and instability, reflects what a lot of downscale conservatives see around them. I think her looks are helpful to the Fox News-watching older (sexist) wingnuts who really like seeing young and attractive women on the teevee. And her disconnect from reality appeals to some of the hard-core fundies, as Andrew Sullivan has suggested. But she doesn't have much to offer to the elites, country clubbers, or moderates. In a way, McCain was savvy to pick someone who would appeal to so many aspects of the base, while McCain theoretically still had moderate support enough to keep being taken seriously. It was a cunning plan that might have worked, were it not for Palin turning out to be batshit insane. That is the risk you run by putting in power someone you met once for ten minutes.
