Observation No 13: The country's favorite governor

It is intriguing how the actions of one state’s governor can totally captivate the attention of the American public, and even the world. One week, there’s South Carolina governor Mark Sanford jetting off to Argentina to hook up with a lover http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE56652M20090707.
The next week, my own governor up and quits.

She back to running this state this week, albeit from a variety of locations around the state. Like the ADN and , I follow Governor Palin on Twitter.

Here are a few of the Tweets from the last day or so:
AKGovSarahPalin: The 9th Circuit had to dissolve injunction; barrier to Kensington Mine project is gone- good jobs on the way; stand by 4 press announcement

AKGovSarahPalin: Today,try this: "Act in accordance to your conscience -risk- by pursuing larger vision in opposition to popular, powerful pressure"-unknown (about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry)

AKGovSarahPalin: Grateful Todd left fishing grnds to join me this wkend; but now he's back slaying salmon & working the kids @ the site; anxious to join 'em! (07/05/2009 3:01:53 PM from TwitterBerry)

AKGovSarahPalin: Refreshing to be in Kotzebue to honor VPSOs; Native dancers, whaling captains, lots of beautiful kids loving the annual Trade Fair- perfect! (07/07/2009 5:01:28 PM from TwitterBerry)

Sigh.

Now, I’d like to tell you that Alaska is not as transfixed as the rest of the country when it comes to our governor. But that would be a lie. By strange coincidence, I pulled into Wasilla during the governor’s press conference on Friday, as she was delivering her “I’m quitting but not quitting speech.” It was immediately the talk of the town, with the grocery store clerks swapping the latest with people as they stocked up on hotdogs and chips for the holiday weekend. Another friend who was on a remote island for the holiday weekend reported seeing herds of people flocking to the island’s tip—the only place where cell phones get coverage—to get the latest news.

I think the state is just as flummoxed as to why she’s quitting as the rest of the country. The best analysis I read of this was a story from Time magazine that suggests reasons why she might have quit. The story features quotes from policy expert and former journalist Larry Persily, who I sat in on a meeting with a couple weeks ago. Persily is smart with the dry sense of humor only developed in a newsroom.

This Time article also discusses what made Palin appealing to so many when they elected her in 2006. Here’s a shock—it wasn’t because she was a gun-toting, hardline conservative. Contrary to popular belief (and the New Girl’s own expectations), Alaska has some blue voters, including in Anchorage, where Senator Mark Begich served as mayor before his successful bid against Sen. Ted Stevens. Many of the rural communities continue to elect Democrats to office.

An source close to Palin suggested to the Wall Street Journal that the mainstream media, including MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow (Here’s the story picked up by the Alaska Standard) has missed the point and Governor Palin was paralyzed by a barrage of Freedom of Information Act requests that prohibited her from governing effectively.

From the New Girl's perch, Alaska will benefit from seating a governor ready and able to work on state issues. We need more cooperation and bi-partisanship and not less. Whatever Governor Palin's story is, Alaska will no doubt wait with baited breath to see what happens next.

New Girl Observation No. 1:

I’d intended to start this blog sometime ago… We’ll blame the 18 hours of darkness a day in December, that weird Chinook (a mid-winter warming spell, ‘o southern readers), and a newfound love of box wine for the slow start.

Here’s the back story. I arrived in Anchorage, Alaska with husband and dog six months ago and spent my time trying to figure out how to get off and on the Seward Highway without killing myself and finding a grocery store with fresh vegetables in winter (Help, anyone?)

Happily, the New Girl has emerged from winter slumber, moved closer to downtown and is now ready to sally forth to discover her new village.

But first, a brief recap of winter’s highlights:

I was mugged! Everyone I have told here in Anchorage believes that I am the first and only person to be the victim of a purse snatcher in downtown Anchorage. This is a city of barely 300,000 where you run into the lady that sold you a dresser the next day at the grocery store! I believe the perpetrator saw the large neon sign over my head which read something like, “This person just moved here from a Colorado town of 1,500 and does not have firm hold of her purse.” I chased him through a back alley with a friend tottering behind in high heels and yelling for help. Alas, he got away with the precious iPhone and a lot of old receipts. I still haven’t seen him at the grocery store but the cops did spy him twiddling with said iPhone while attempting to make withdraws on the New Girl’s accounts at the Hilton.

I saw the winter sunset in Barrow, Alaska!

Great skiing! A friend asked me to join the volunteer team for Anchorage Nordic Ski Club’s Ski Train to Curry, Alaska. All I can say is that you haven’t done the Chicken Dance while speeding down a track at 70 MPH with 100 people crammed into a tiny, tiny space, you have not lived. And that’s all I’ll say on the subject.

I’ve met many people who didn’t vote for Sarah Palin! All I’ve found is Dems, Dems, Dems in this supposedly red, red state. Maybe it's because I'm hanging out at the yoga studio and REI. My summer goal will be to reach out the other side of the virtual aisle and see if we can find some red-blooded Republicans.

That’s all for now kids…I’ll be posting frequently for the next 2 months.