McCain/Republican Party is/are facing some tough "news" stories since they announced running mate Sarah Palin last Friday....

Will they drop her ?

McCain More Likely to Drop Palin, Bookmakers Say

By Mark Deen

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The smart money thinks there's a better chance today than yesterday that John McCain will dump Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

Before the Republican senator's presidential campaign disclosed the pregnancy of Palin's 17-year-old daughter, bookmakers in Britain and Ireland were offering 20-1 odds or higher on a bet that she would be forced off the ticket, meaning a 1 pound ($1.78) bet would pay 20 pounds. Now that same bet will pay no more than 8 pounds.

``While it is rare that a VP candidate gets dropped, it's not completely impossible,'' said Ken Robertson, political betting analyst at Paddy Power Plc, a Dublin-based gambling company. ``Lots of our punters are betting `Shocking' Sarah's days are numbered,'' he added, using a nickname he came up with for the first-term Alaska governor.

The odds, based on wagers made online with Paddy Power and William Hill Plc and in their betting shops, also suggest that McCain is less likely to win the White House because of his vice-presidential running-mate choice, announced Aug. 29. Both gambling houses, along with rival Ladbrokes Plc, place Democrat Barack Obama, 47, as the favorite to triumph in the contest.

``Ever since he appointed her, people have stopped betting on McCain,'' said David Williams of Ladbrokes in London. ``He went down like a sack of potatoes as far as the punters are concerned.''

Odds for Palin

Today, William Hill cut the odds that Palin, 44, would be sacked to 8-1 from 20-1. Paddy Power now puts the odds of Palin leaving the ticket at 14-1, compared to 28-1 before yesterday's disclosure about Bristol Palin, the daughter. The Paddy Power betting house is also offering 33-1 odds that she will go by the end of this week. Ladbrokes is offering 10-1 odds that Palin will quit the race.

Intrade, a Dublin-based peer-to-peer betting Web site, opened a contract on Palin to be withdrawn as the Republican vice presidential nominee. The latest price was 12 cents, up 9 cents today. Each contract at that price will pay 88 cents per contract if Palin leaves the ticket.

Political betting on financial markets outperforms polling as an elections predictor, according to a University of North Carolina study and figures from the Iowa Electronic Markets. Only twice in the century through 2004 -- the 1916 election and the 2000 contest between Bush and Democrat Al Gore -- did the betting markets get it wrong on the popular vote.

Eagleton's Demise

The last time a vice presidential candidate was dropped from the ticket was in 1972, when George McGovern's pick for the job, Tom Eagleton, left the Democratic campaign after disclosures he had undergone treatment for depression. McGovern went on to lose the election to Republican Richard Nixon.

``It would be disastrous for his campaign were McCain to sack Palin, but it is not impossible that she could stand down should party chiefs feel that she is too controversial a choice who might end up costing McCain votes,'' said William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe.

The betting houses also say punters are shifting toward an eventual Obama victory in November. Paddy Power said Obama is now favored 4-9 compared with 1-2 before the Palin appointment. William Hill said Obama's odds shifted last week to 4-9, where they now remain, from 4-11 on Aug. 21 and 2-5 before that.

Ladbrokes also puts Obama as the 4-9 favorite.

Victory Odds

Odds on victory for McCain, who is 72, are 13-8, according to both Paddy Power and William Hill. Ladbrokes gives McCain a slightly better chance of winning, offering 6 pounds for every four bet on that outcome.

McCain advisers Stephen Schmidt and Mark Salter told reporters in St. Paul, Minnesota, yesterday that the campaign learned of Bristol's pregnancy when the mother was vetted.

Obama, campaigning in Monroe, Michigan, said yesterday Palin's children should be ``off limits'' and cited his own mother, who gave birth to Obama when she was 18. Obama named Senator Joe Biden as his running mate last month.

Polls show Obama ahead of McCain since the Democratic convention in Denver wrapped up last week. Obama leads McCain by a margin of 50 percent to 43 percent in a USA Today/Gallup survey conducted Aug. 30-31. The Illinois senator is ahead by 6- points in a poll by American Research Group.

Republicans gathered for the second day today for their own convention in St. Paul. Conventions historically boost poll ratings.

---Bloomberg

LaoPo

It's a sad reflection of the state of Republican politics that she was selected at all.

The task was to find someone who would withstand public scrutiny and some clown said, "she's from Alaska, what could she get up to there?"

There'll be a thousand reporters up there now going through every decision she made as a small town mayor and State governor.

The tragic part about it is that all her sins will be small ones.

Personally, my attitude is, "thank f### there's only 60 more days to go".

It's a sad reflection of the state of Republican politics that she was selected at all.

The task was to find someone who would withstand public scrutiny and some clown said, "she's from Alaska, what could she get up to there?"

There'll be a thousand reporters up there now going through every decision she made as a small town mayor and State governor.

The tragic part about it is that all her sins will be small ones.

Personally, my attitude is, "thank f### there's only 60 more days to go".

I'm a registered Republican but never vote completely along party lines. My opinion is that the Republicans are a morally bankrupt party and have been that way for the last 15 years. I know John McCain personally and he is a fine man with an incredible amount of personal integrity. However, I don't think the Republicans deserve to stay in office. The United States needs a breath of fresh air and a renewed sense of enthusiasm and idealism. I think a lot of Americans feel the same way. It is Obama's race to lose. And I agree with you, this Presidential election process has become endless. Oh, and by the way Sceadugenga, I have no problem at all with Sarah Palin. I don't understand your statement "It's a sad reflection of the state of Republican politics that she was selected at all." On what basis do you say this? I actually would rather have seen McCain select Joe Lieberman, who would have been an historic selection, but Palin is fine.

I don't think the Republicans deserve to stay in office. The United States needs a breath of fresh air

You mean that the rumor I heard that Obama's wife is a ladyboy are true?

The possible future Vice Presidential son-in-law introduces himself on MySpace.

Here's part of his entry before it was made private:

'I'm a f--kin' redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s--t and just f--kin' chillin' I guess. Ya <deleted>> with me I'll kick ass."

Status: ``In a relationship.''

Children: ``I don't want kids.''

Link

It's a sad reflection of the state of Republican politics that she was selected at all.

The task was to find someone who would withstand public scrutiny and some clown said, "she's from Alaska, what could she get up to there?"

There'll be a thousand reporters up there now going through every decision she made as a small town mayor and State governor.

The tragic part about it is that all her sins will be small ones.

Personally, my attitude is, "thank f### there's only 60 more days to go".

I'm a registered Republican but never vote completely along party lines. My opinion is that the Republicans are a morally bankrupt party and have been that way for the last 15 years. I know John McCain personally and he is a fine man with an incredible amount of personal integrity. However, I don't think the Republicans deserve to stay in office. The United States needs a breath of fresh air and a renewed sense of enthusiasm and idealism. I think a lot of Americans feel the same way. It is Obama's race to lose. And I agree with you, this Presidential election process has become endless. Oh, and by the way Sceadugenga, I have no problem at all with Sarah Palin. I don't understand your statement "It's a sad reflection of the state of Republican politics that she was selected at all." On what basis do you say this? I actually would rather have seen McCain select Joe Lieberman, who would have been an historic selection, but Palin is fine.

The position of Vice President is an enormously important one particularly when faced with an aging president.

Sarah Palin was chosen because none of the other candidates could stand too much public scrutiny, she's an unknown, even to her own party, hugely inexperienced and the potential for disaster will always be there.

The job now will be to sell her to the electorate who will quite rightly want to know what she believes and what she wants for America.

The real job should be to sell McCain.

I don't think the Republicans deserve to stay in office. The United States needs a breath of fresh air

You mean that the rumor I heard that Obama's wife is a ladyboy are true?

Hehehe. No wonder I find her attractive. There is a theory floating around the Barack might be an AC/DC kind of guy. That would certainly secure my vote.

I don't think the Republicans deserve to stay in office. The United States needs a breath of fresh air

You mean that the rumor I heard that Obama's wife is a ladyboy is true?

Hehehe. No wonder I find her attractive. There is a theory floating around the Barack might be an AC/DC kind of guy. That would certainly secure my vote.

No wonder you are ready to renounce the Republicans!

I don't think the Republicans deserve to stay in office. The United States needs a breath of fresh air

You mean that the rumor I heard that Obama's wife is a ladyboy is true?

Hehehe. No wonder I find her attractive. There is a theory floating around the Barack might be an AC/DC kind of guy. That would certainly secure my vote.

No wonder you are ready to renounce the Republicans!

UG, I just figure that the Republicans have had their turn in the box. Now let's see what the Democrats can do. I worry about Obama's lack of experience and I also worry about handing the keys to Congress and the White House to the Democrats. But they can't do any worse than the Grand Old Party has.

The worlds greatest cartoonist says...

Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain's presidential bid, insisted that the presidential race will be decided more over personalities than issues during an interview with Post editors this morning.

"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

Davis added that issues will no doubt play a major role in the decisions undecided voters will make but that they won't ultimately be conclusive. He added that the campaign has "ultimate faith" in the idea that the more voters get to know McCain and Barack Obama, the better the Republican nominee will do.

Err.. could you say that again slowly please Rick?

In reaction to Rick Davis' comments about the election not being about issues, Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe released the following statement: "We appreciate Senator McCain's campaign manager finally admitting that his campaign is not in fact about the issues the American people care about, which is exactly the kind of cynical old politics people are ready to change."

Sanity prevails.

Link

Running mate.?????

Hmmmmmmmm, rooming mate........... or more

It's a sad reflection of the state of Republican politics that she was selected at all.

The task was to find someone who would withstand public scrutiny and some clown said, "she's from Alaska, what could she get up to there?"

There'll be a thousand reporters up there now going through every decision she made as a small town mayor and State governor.

The tragic part about it is that all her sins will be small ones.

Personally, my attitude is, "thank f### there's only 60 more days to go".

I'm a registered Republican but never vote completely along party lines. My opinion is that the Republicans are a morally bankrupt party and have been that way for the last 15 years. I know John McCain personally and he is a fine man with an incredible amount of personal integrity. However, I don't think the Republicans deserve to stay in office. The United States needs a breath of fresh air and a renewed sense of enthusiasm and idealism. I think a lot of Americans feel the same way. It is Obama's race to lose. And I agree with you, this Presidential election process has become endless. Oh, and by the way Sceadugenga, I have no problem at all with Sarah Palin. I don't understand your statement "It's a sad reflection of the state of Republican politics that she was selected at all." On what basis do you say this? I actually would rather have seen McCain select Joe Lieberman, who would have been an historic selection, but Palin is fine.

She was choosen because is she a woman, nothing more. A way to make the Republicans look more enlightened and minority friendly.

An attractive, well-spoken woman with an extreme right-wing agenda.

An attractive, well-spoken woman with an extreme right-wing agenda.

She is a Fundie!!! I am sick of these people showing up in government. What these nut jobs put forth is not Republican in the least. They do not suport smaller government at all. Republicans have not since before Reagan, the biggest small government ever. With jokers like these guys, Obama included, America is doomed.

This is the first time that I've ever like both candidates in my life. I even liked Hillary.

How can you complain?

An attractive, well-spoken woman with an extreme right-wing agenda.

She is a Fundie!!! I am sick of these people showing up in government. What these nut jobs put forth is not Republican in the least. They do not suport smaller government at all. Republicans have not since before Reagan, the biggest small government ever. With jokers like these guys, Obama included, America is doomed.

Take a look at Boaters new topic here pronouncing that Britain is doomed.

All you doomsayers seem to have most of the world doomed while there have been far worse times in the past and the US and Britain has muddled through.

Italy's been doomed since the Fall of the Roman Empire but it's still a great country!

What about Greece? Doomed since the fall of Constantinople but they muddle through.

Germany? The reunification doomed them, they just wont lie down.

Personally I think that it would be good for the US to break up into three smaller components. Calexico, Biblebeltia and Sanebutstaidia. They could fight little wars against each other and the rest of the world could provide them with LendLease and other loans at low interest rates.

That would definitely lower the doomed rate.

This is the first time that I've ever like both candidates in my life. I even liked Hillary.

How can you complain?

Stunned.

Still stunned.

An attractive, well-spoken woman with an extreme right-wing agenda.

She is a Fundie!!! I am sick of these people showing up in government. What these nut jobs put forth is not Republican in the least. They do not suport smaller government at all. Republicans have not since before Reagan, the biggest small government ever. With jokers like these guys, Obama included, America is doomed.

Take a look at Boaters new topic here pronouncing that Britain is doomed.

All you doomsayers seem to have most of the world doomed while there have been far worse times in the past and the US and Britain has muddled through.

Italy's been doomed since the Fall of the Roman Empire but it's still a great country!

What about Greece? Doomed since the fall of Constantinople but they muddle through.

Germany? The reunification doomed them, they just wont lie down.

Personally I think that it would be good for the US to break up into three smaller components. Calexico, Biblebeltia and Sanebutstaidia. They could fight little wars against each other and the rest of the world could provide them with LendLease and other loans at low interest rates.

That would definitely lower the doomed rate.

We already did that.

Better start designing flags then and lobbying God to take sides. (Actually you could share out the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost!).

Better start designing flags then and lobbying God to take sides. (Actually you could share out the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost!).

Lincoln said he wasn't concerned over whose side God was on, but rather was the Union on God's side.

Profound.

Profound.

Yes, is he one of my American history idols. Him and Jefferson.

I didn't know Lincoln could sing?

I didn't know Lincoln could sing?

Great folk duo, Lincoln and Jefferson!

Here's a little political music, something guaranteed to offend everyone.

Time For Some Campaigning

I didn't know Lincoln could sing?

Great folk duo, Lincoln and Jefferson!

Other chap seems to like AC/DC ( must be the shorts )

The Sarah Palin I Know

by Anne Kilkenny, at 5:01 PM on August 30th, 2008.

A long-time Wasilla resident who has known Palin for 16 years shares her own views on the Vice Presidential candidate.

The following is an email missive probably read by millions of people by Anne Kilkenny, a long-time resident of Wasilla Alaska, who has known Sarah Palin for 16 years. The author's identity has been confirmed in the press: "Kilkenny, a registered Democrat, sent the note Aug. 30, the day after Republican presidential candidate John McCain picked Palin to be his running mate. She said she sent it to 30 relatives and friends outside Alaska to answer the questions she was getting about Palin. She signed her name and asked that it not be posted, but it went viral across the Internet almost instantly."

****

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.

She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later-to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.

She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal-loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects-which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance-but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT

"Hockey mom": true for a few years

"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since

"NRA supporter": absolutely true

social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional). pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.

"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation

"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000. political maverick: not at all

gutsy: absolutely!

open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.

has a developed philosophy of public policy: no "a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR. fiscal conservative: not by my definition! pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards. pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents

pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.

pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS

I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall-they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000?, up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.

Anne Kilkenny

August 31, 2008

I saw this on another site, is there a link or is it doing the rounds by email?

Edit...

Palin’s Start in Alaska: Not Politics as Usual

Link