Palin Defends Her Initial Support For Bridge To Nowhere

ABC News has just sent out the next crop of excerpts from its interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. These things can be tricky to judge just from reading (Palin, for instance, came off much better on paper than on camera during last night's installment) but from the looks of it, it seems that Charlie Gibson got her to acknowledge that she was, in fact, once in favor of the Bridge to Nowhere.
Here is the transcript.
CHARLES GIBSON: But you turned against it after Congress had basically pulled the plug on it; after it became apparent that the state was going to have to pay for it, not the Congress; and after it became a national embarrassment to the state of Alaska. So do you want to revise and extend your remarks.
SARAH PALIN: It has always been an embarrassment that abuse of the ear form -- earmark process has been accepted in Congress. And that's what John McCain has fought. And that's what I joined him in fighting. It's been an embarrassment, not just Alaska's projects. But McCain gives example after example after example. I mean, every state has their embarrassment.
CHARLES GIBSON: But you were for it before you were against it. You were solidly for it for quite some period of time...
SARAH PALIN: I was...
CHARLES GIBSON: ... until Congress pulled the plug.
SARAH PALIN: I was for infrastructure being built in the state. And it's not inappropriate for a mayor or for a governor to request and to work with their Congress and their congressmen, their congresswomen, to plug into the federal budget along with every other state a share of the federal budget for infrastructure.
CHARLES GIBSON: Right. LinkHere

Todd Palin Subpoenaed

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to subpoena the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in a move that transformed a messy state personnel issue into a national campaign controversy.
The lawmakers acted at the request of Stephen Branchflower, who is in the midst of an investigation into the governor's dismissal of the state's director of public safety.
Branchflower said he also wants to interview the governor, but omitted her from the 13-person list of subpoena targets he presented to the lawmakers overseeing his investigation.
Branchflower said Todd Palin is "such a central figure. ... I think one should be issued for him."
Thomas Van Flein, a private attorney hired to represent the governor, did not immediately return calls for comment. LinkHere

Pentagon Told Palin To Watch Language At Fort

WASHINGTON — Before Sarah Palin spoke at a ceremony Thursday for her son's Army brigade, bound for Iraq, the Pentagon sent a message of its own to the Republican vice presidential candidate: Watch your language.
During campaign season, the Defense Department is quick to remind those running for office about its long-standing rule barring them from using U.S. military bases and personnel as election-year props. That means no political talk while they're on military property.
"What we're trying to avoid is our troops being used as political pawns in a campaign and our bases being used as stages for electioneering," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. "The military has to stay out of the fray of politics; it has to remain apolitical. We go to great lengths to ensure that."
Palin, Alaska's Republican governor, was invited to speak at the Sept. 11 ceremony at Fort Wainwright, a large Army installation near Fairbanks, long before Sen. John McCain selected her as his running mate.
The deployment ceremony honored Fort Wainwright's 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The brigade, a 4,000-soldier unit that includes Private First Class Track Palin, is heading to northern Iraq for a yearlong assignment. Track, 19, is Palin's oldest son. LinkHere