How Troopergate affects Palin

Sarah Palin "would be wise to quit trying to spin her way out of" the Troopergate mess, said The Dallas Morning News in an editorial. Claiming vindication after the release of a "fairly damning" Alaska legislature's report on her role, as governor, in the firing of her ex-brother-in-law could give even many McCain-Palin supporters pause. She'd be better off if she "admitted error."

"If we weren't in the midst of an election right now," said John McCormack in The Weekly Standard online, most people would agree that firing Trooper Michael Wooten was the right thing to do. The man "physically abused his 10-year-old stepson by tasering him," and threatened Palin's father. The public is better off with him off the force, regardless of how Palin felt about the matter.

That's beside the point, said The Washington Post in an editorial. Palin's "refusal to cooperate reflects poorly on her," as does her "mischaracterization" of the report by saying it found she did nothing "unethical." The worst of it is that she "does not understand—or chooses not to acknowledge—the seriousness of the mess she helped create."