Fortunately, embarrassment is politics

An editorial in today's Anchorage Daily News says that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin could have said, in response to the Troopergate report: "I'm gratified that the report confirmed what I said all along, that I had the authority to terminate Walt Monegan as public safety commissioner. I absolutely disagree that I violated state ethics law. In repeatedly complaining about trooper Mike Wooten, Todd and I were not pursuing a personal vendetta. We were trying to protect the integrity of the Alaska State Troopers from having an arrogant, almost-out-of-control law-breaker in their ranks. Because the action we were seeking was in the public interest, not purely our personal interest, there is no ethics law violation."
But instead, the paper says, "Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation. She claims the report 'vindicates' her. She said that the investigation found 'no unlawful or unethical activity on my part.' Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian... if she had actually read it, she couldn't claim 'vindication' with a straight face...You asked us to hold you accountable, Governor Palin. Did you mean it?"

Rico says this would all be a lot funnier if Palin wasn't liable to become vice president...