Palin's Questionable Practices

An investigation surrounding the firing of Walt Monegan, the public safety commissioner in Alaska, has become a central topic related to the presidential campaign and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. This firing has come under scrutiny because of the possibility that Monegan was fired by Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as punishment; Palin had wanted Monegan to fire or punish one of his troopers, Michael Wooten. Wooten also happens to be Palin’s sister’s ex-husband, and the couple underwent a difficult and unpleasant child custody battle in court after they divorced. Allegations say that Palin wanted Monegan to fire Wooten because of this personal conflict, and that Monegan’s subsequent firing was therefore unjustified.

Palin’s administration kept a close watch on Wooten; phone calls and meetings on the topic of Wooten were very frequent. According to Palin’s sister and Wooten’s ex-wife, Wooten intimidated his ex-wife and threatened his former father in law and former sister in law (Palin). However, even after Wooten was given a suspension for these charges, the investigations about him continued far beyond the conclusion of his punishment. “In all, the commissioner and his aides were contacted about Mr. Wooten three dozen times over 19 months by the governor, her husband and seven administration officials, interviews and documents show” (1). Monegan recalled getting many calls from Palin, her aides, and even her husband on the topic, and said, “I hung up wondering how long I could keep my job if I tick off my boss’s husband” (2). Wooten is still a trooper in Alaska today, but Monegan was fired on July 11. The Palin administration cited the need for “a new direction” (3) in the department when they fired him, and Palin herself has given varied accounts of her reasons for Monegan’s firing since the topic came into prominent view. Tellingly, Palin hasn’t cooperated with bipartisan investigations into the matter.

The issue surrounding Palin’s influence in Monegan’s firing is very complicated, but I believe that it boils down to a few truths about the vice presidential candidate. The first reality is that making Palin his running mate was a poor choice for McCain. Disregarding any questions about her merit as a vice president, McCain chose to involve a legislative investigation in his campaign when he chose Palin for his vice presidential candidate. If McCain unconsciously brought this problem into his campaign, then I believe it is obvious that he didn’t do the necessary research and background checks before choosing a vice president. On the other hand, if McCain was aware of the problem involving Sarah Palin when he chose her as his running mate, then he clearly was not concerned with his vice president’s record or method of conducting business, and he picked her simply to gain media attention.

The second problem that Palin’s investigation brings up is the problem of how the Alaskan governor conducts herself in office. I believe that bringing personal matters, such as family divorces, into one’s work is inappropriate and a poor way of doing business. Furthermore, it is unacceptable when these personal matters target one person, such as Wooten, and involve taking a private grudge out on him in a public and job-threatening way. If Palin is a politician who rules by threatening her enemies, preventing her enemies from talking about their disagreements with her, and potentially causing her enemies to lose their jobs, then I believe she is the last politician we need in the White House.

Work Cited:

Kovaleski, Serge F. “Palins Repeatedly Pressed Case Against Trooper.” New York Times 10 Oct 2008: A1.

Link to Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/us/10trooper.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp