Palin bubble already bursting

After just two short weeks since the nomination announcement from John McCain, it appears that the "bubble" that has surrounded Sarah Palin and catapulted her to the national scene will likely be bursting far sooner than anyone had imagined.

In Alaska, one short hour after cheering crowds greet Gov. Palin, hundreds just as eagerly jeer and protest her policy initiatives at a time when most Alaskans say they are "proud of" but are also worried about Palin's rising stardom.

To top it off, her short terms in office are now appearing to be tainted with back-door dealings, private e-mails designed to avoid public scrutiny, and dozens of inside government workers all perplexed at her strong-arm tactics and propensity to make gubernatorial matters personal.

Government workers remark candidly at being told not to respond to reporters and to fudge on the details. And according to insiders, Palin was advised to use her personal e-mail accounts for government business to avoid investigation probes in the future. It appears that anyone thought to be not "on board" with Palin policy is often found fired, or ridiculed, including a radio talk-show host who indicated in a recent New York Times article that after questioning Palin about her about oil company tax hikes he was labeled a "hater", which is the Palin administration's name for those who don't agree with Palin's policies.

According to the same New York Times article requests to meet with friends of Palin results in the Governor's aides sitting in on the interviews, and Palin's mother was instructed to refuse reporter interviews all together. Although this may not be unusual for a national campaign the private e-mails, hiring classmates to high positions with little experience, holding personal grudges and using government resources to "get even" appears to now be taking center stage. It is difficult to imagine how the McCain campaign will be able to successfully dodge all these obvious issues, in addition to troopergate, and still maintain the small leads they now enjoy.

Given the multitude of individuals who have come forward with similar accounts of Palin's leadership, and the myriad of questionable tactics used by the Palin administration, it appears likely that Palin's inexperience has become moot. It now appears in fact that Palin has had at least enough experiences to have forged a network of Alaskans to be "proud" yet hopeful that she will not succeed in November.

With so much going on, and so little time before the elections in November, it becomes very clear why the McCain campaign is keeping Palin so secluded and away from the media. And according to the New York Times article, this is nothing new for the Palin administration. Legislators in fact were prone to wear "Where is Sarah" buttons, because of her continual absenses from government affairs.

Now that the whole picture begins to come clear it appears in fact that Palin does have a "record" in civil service. Obviously that record is far from pristine, and if the avoidance of the media is any indication, there is far more where that came from for the Palin camp to be concerned about.

It appears to me that the Palin bubble is about to burst. That sure didn't last long did it.