Palin, the Putin of Alaska, Rewarding the Inner Circle

Daily we are stunned at what the McCain team is willing to do to manipulate perceptions (like in their false crowd size estimates), trusting that people will be too distracted by daily life (and the problems he should be focusing on) to pay close attention. 

And when observers point out the lies, and when caught, the Cain team quickly releases statements of outrage themselves, accusing Obama of invisible slanders, making much nonsense over Obama's "lipstick on a pig" statement to describe Cain's putting old wine in new bottles.

The biggest lie thus far has been Cain's attempt to give us Palin as the antidote to all his failures (in theme, in grabbing a crowd, in getting the support of his own base, in drawing attention), and it is difficult to fathom a person less qualified. One has to discount and trivilalize a lot of Obama's policy and world experience to make Palin worthy of the position in question, and this from the Cain team that spent the first wave of their losing campaign focusing on Obama's experience.

In the same manner that Cain has rewarded (and used) Palin for his own last chance efforts to run the country, so too Palin as Alaska's governor often reached out to the underqualified to fill positions:

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.

Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.

The New York Times examines her governing style, and there is a lot that we should be concerned about: the hiring of friends, the attempts at avoiding examination by using personal email for state business, the habit of attacking foes.

 The response from Team Cain? What do you think?

Ms. Palin declined to grant an interview for this article. The McCain-Palin campaign responded to some questions on her behalf and that of her husband, while referring others to the governor’s spokespeople, who did not respond.

and

As Ms. Palin’s star ascends, the McCain campaign, as often happens in national races, is controlling the words of those who know her well. Her mother-in-law, Faye Palin, has been asked not to speak to reporters, and aides sit in on interviews with old friends.

Ah, not a surprise at all. Speak for Palin lest she trip herself up, or respond not at all. Chalk it up to media attacks and then attribute it to sexism or Obama..