Reining in the Venom

There's been a lot written about Palin and I've read an awful lot of it and blogged about a fair amount of it but not all. I've avoided some things I've read about her since I didn't believe them, but the venom has been overwhelming. Here are a few posts today that I think set the record straight on some of them...

In describing what a community organizer does I linked to a Joe Klein article and included a quote from him that ended " (as opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a 'task from God.')". In another post I showed video of her saying this without any commentary. The Volokh Conspiracy writes in Did Palin Actually Say That Iraq is "a Task . . . from God"? writes there is a "difference between praying for something you hope is true and stating that it is true". This is what she said:

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do also what is right for this country – that our leaders, our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure we are praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”

Here's another post that rips into the Washington Post article titled Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home.

"You have to read the article carefully to figure this out, but what the story ultimately reveals is that Palin (a) billed the state for most expenses allowed by law, including per diem when she stayed in her own home (her "duty station" was the state capitol of Juneau) in Wasilla; (b) didn't bill the state for other expenses, when she could have done so lawfully, such as per diems for her children; and (c) spent a lot less money on expenses than did her predecessor, especially on travel and by ridding herself of the state's personal chef. [FWIW, she apparently maintained two residences, the governor's mansion in Juneau, which by state law is her official work "base" and where assumedly she didn't get a per diem [update: confirmed here] (but where her predecessor had a personal chef whom she let go), and Wasilla, from where she commuted to Anchorage for work when the legislature wasn't in session. Saintly to take the per diem she was legally entitled to when in the second residence? No. Worthy of the lead headline on Washingtonpost.com? Please! Not illegal, not unethical, and not a scandal.]"

Along the same lines I don't think I've mentioned McCain saying he wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years (he didn't really). Also I don't think he flip-flopped on torture. I said his vote early this year was because "he didn't want the CIA limited to using the techniques of the Army Field Manual".