Palin: I'd come out ahead in run against Obama
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Palin: I'd come out ahead in run against Obama
By MARY PEMBERTON – 7 hours ago
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she'd come out ahead if she went one-on-one with fellow jogger President Barack Obama in a long run.
"I betcha I'd have more endurance," she told Runner's World magazine in an interview published online Tuesday.
"My one claim to fame in my own little internal running circle is a sub-four marathon" in Anchorage, she said, referring to her 2005 sprint in the Humpy's Marathon in which she beat the four-hour mark by 24 seconds. "What I lacked in physical strength or skill, I made up for in determination and endurance," she said.
The president, who stays fit by starting his day with a workout in the White House gym, is better known for his passion for basketball and has been a frequent golfer in recent weeks. Obama, however, recently acknowledged that he hasn't completely kicked his smoking habit, telling reporters that he does still "mess up" on his pledge to quit smoking.
Might Obama join the workout war of words? A message seeking comment Tuesday from the White House by The Associated Press wasn't immediately returned.
Palin, a 45-year-old former beauty queen who became the first woman and youngest person to be elected Alaska's governor, is featured in the August issue of the magazine for running aficionados. She was dubbed the country's "hottest" governor when she stole the show as U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential running mate in 2008.
In the interview, she talks about her fondness for running, which is perhaps why the mother of five who gave birth to a baby boy last year is able to keep trim. The magazine on Tuesday published an extended version on its Web site.
Palin said the exercise wasn't just a body thing and that it helps keep her emotionally and mentally in shape.
"I feel so crappy if I go more than a few days without running. No matter how rotten I feel before or during a run, it's always worth it to me afterward. Sweat is my sanity," Palin tells the magazine.
She said one of her biggest frustrations while campaigning with McCain was that the senator's staff didn't carve out time for Palin to get in a jog. But she recounted one memorable run at McCain's ranch in which she fell coming down a hill. The incident happened a few days before the debate with now Vice President Joe Biden.
"I was so stinkin' embarrassed that a golf cart full of Secret Service guys had to pull up beside me. My hands just got torn up, and I was dripping blood. In the debate, you could see a big ugly Band-Aid on my right hand," Palin said.
The governor also pointed out an advantage to running: When she's out, she's just another hockey mom in running shoes.
"When I run, I'm totally incognito because I'm not wearing a trough full of makeup. I can go running through a mob of tourists and they don't recognize me," Palin said.
And for her running soundtrack, Palin said she likes to crank up classic rock n' roll, usually Van Halen and AC/DC, then keep it mellow with a little country music. She wraps up with Amy Grant songs.
The August issue with Palin's interview goes on sale July 7.
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Elephants feel the fatal footfalls of poachers a hundred miles off. Cats exit the room when oysters are opened. On and on, and on and on. The unseen exists and has properties." - Richard Ford-"The Lay of the Land"
Brent Wolters
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Alex Romero
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/070109/sta_457304159.shtml
State spent nearly $300K fighting governor's ethics complaints
Most expensive investigation may have been driven by Palin herself
Alaska has spent nearly $300,000 investigating ethics complaints against Gov. Sarah Palin, who calls the complaints "harassment" against her and expensive for the state to defend.
Palin has accused bloggers and political opponents of bringing "frivolous" ethics charges against her.
"How much will this blogger's asinine political grandstanding cost all of us in time and money?" Palin asked after the state Personnel Board dismissed another complaint last spring.
Palin herself may be responsible for much of those costs, as indicated by a list of investigation costs for 13 separate cases the state Personnel Board released Tuesday in response to public records requests.
The minimalist list identifies cases only by the year and a three-digit case number. State Personnel Director Nicki Neal refused to identify them more specifically, so connections between known investigations and the costs released could not be verified.
However, the timing, scope and other factors of the single largest expense appear to fit the case Palin filed against herself that cost $187,797 to investigate. That's almost two-thirds of the total $296,042 of all Personnel Board investigations in the last two years.
The self-reported complaint was a means to have a legislative investigator's findings in the "Troopergate" case reexamined by a Personnel Board investigator. She said publicly that her self-reported complaint was without merit.
The Legislative Council, chaired by then-Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, had budgeted $100,000 for its independent investigation of Troopergate. Legislative investigator Stephen Branchflower concluded Palin abused her authority when she waged a campaign against a state trooper with whom she had a family dispute, but found she had the legitimate power to fire former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan who failed to take action against the trooper.
Branchflower's report came out Oct. 10, 2008, in the heat of a bitter presidential campaign. Then, Palin filed her complaint against herself on Troopergate with the Personnel Board. Its report, done by the Personnel Board-hired counsel Tim Petumenos, cleared Palin and came out the evening before the election.
Palin waived confidentiality to make that report public.
Petumenos' report said it included two other allegations against Palin. It was the only investigation in the newly released information in which three complaints were folded into one lump sum.
Palin and her staff have harshly criticized the numerous complaints against her, and maintain that all have so far been "resolved with no finding of a violation of the executive ethics act."
The flurry of ethics complaints has prompted a political ally of Palin's in the state Legislature to say he'll introduce legislation barring those who bring complaints from speaking publicly about them.
Some cases have been resolved with repayment of possibly improper expenses and other measures.
The second largest investigation expense, a 2008 case costing $43,028, may be the other case the board made public. In that case, a member of Palin's Governor's Office staff helped a Palin campaign supporter get a state job in Fairbanks.
No improper action was found on Palin's part, but the independent counsel recommended the staff member get additional ethics training and the matter be referred the Department of Law for possible violations of the Alaska Personnel Act. No outcome of that referral was available.
The listing of complaints against Palin includes some made against her staff members, but which appear primarily to be attacks on Palin.
Several of the complaints were resolved with little expense. Many failed to state an allegation of law violation, and were dismissed without further investigation, Palin staff said at the time.
One case cost nothing at all to investigate, but most of the smaller cases cost several thousand dollars each to investigate.
Kyle Curtis
How many Republicans ran against that President in the 1984 primaries again? Remind me....
Brent Wolters
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Kyle Curtis
I'll keep an eye out for them (sarc.)
Yes, I'm well aware of the Naders, who called Obama the continuation of the 3rd George W. Bush term and call him a neo-liberal. Which makes me ask.... why aren't you supporting him more?
Juneau Smog
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Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.