Great article on "Troopergate"

So the panel decided that Sarah Palin abused the power of her office by trying to get her state trooper ex-brother-in-law fired. But what does it mean? Here is an excerpt from an excellent article from Time Magazine's web site. Just click on the text to get the full article:

Did Governor Sarah Palin abuse the power of her office in trying to get her former brother-in-law, State Trooper Mike Wooten, fired? Yes.

Was the refusal to fire Mike Wooten the reason Palin fired Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan? Not exclusively, and it was within her rights as the states' chief executive to fire him for just about any reason, even without cause.

Those answers were expected, given that most of the best pieces of evidence have been part of the public record for months. The result is not a mortal wound to Palin, nor does it put her at much risk of being forced to leave the ticket her presence succeeded in energizing.

But the Branchflower report still makes for good reading, if only because it convincingly answers a question nobody had even thought to ask: Is the Palin administration shockingly amateurish? Yes, it is. Disturbingly so.

I have seen some people say that this entire investigation was some sort of partisan witch hunt to hurt Mrs. Palin and John McCain's chances of winning the presidential election. Please let's not forget that this investigation was undertaken before she was tabbed as McCain's running mate. Let's also remember that:

The REPUBLICAN Alaska legislature commissioned the investigation.

The REPUBLICAN commission moved with almost unanimity; REPUBLICANS controlled the committee.

The REPUBLICAN appointed Alaska Supreme Court was the end-all be-all on whether that report was released.

And this time line should be mentioned as well:

July 11th - Monegan fired.
July 19th - Monegan tells Anchorage paper he was pressured to fire Wooten.
July 28 - A bi-partisan republican dominate legislative council board vote unanimously to investigate the claims. Oct 31, 2008 is the deadline for a report to be completed.

Thanks to parsifal and jaymcb over at the Current Affairs forum at STLToday.com for that info.