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An internal government document has been obtained by ABC News which directly contradicts Sarah Palin's most recent explanation for why she fired her public safety commissioner Walt Monegan, the move which prompted the contested state probe into what has come to be known as "Troopergate." Fighting allegations that she may have fired Monegan for refusing to go along with a personal vendetta against her former brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten, Palin claimed that she fired Monegan because he had a "rogue mentality" and planned an unauthorized trip to Washington DC to seek federal funds for an aggressive anti-sexual-violence program. According to an Alaska Department of Public Safety travel document released Friday, however, the governor's office did authorized the trip. Signed by Palin's chief of staff, the document authorizes Monegan to travel to Washington "to attend meeting with Senator Murkowski" at state expense (see also CBS News). Even as the McCain/Palin campaign attempts to adjust their explanation for Monegan's dismissal, it seems obvious that Palin's lies are catching up with her.
Meanwhile, John McCain's tendency to confuse things has aired itself once again in a gaffe caught by political blogger David Hulen at the Anchorage Daily News and put into national circulation by the Huffington Post. It seems McCain confused the Army and the National Guard at a town hall event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Wednesday, as Hulen observes:Candidates spend a lot of time talking, and they all misspeak sometimes. But did anyone else notice this, from Wednesday's much-covered McCain-Palin Town Hall event in Grand Rapids, Mich., where Palin answered questions from people in the audience? McCain said this near the end of the clip below, as he's talking up Palin's foreign policy/national security credentials:"I also know, if I might remind you, that she is commander of the Alaska National Guard. In fact, you may know that on Sept. 11 a large contingent of the Alaska Guard deployed to Iraq and her son happened to be one of them. So I think she understands our national security challenges..."
The ceremony Palin attended at Fort Wainwright last week didn't involve the Alaska National Guard. Palin's son is in the Army, and his unit - 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division - deployed to Iraq.
Oops....
Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com
