Governor Palin attempts damage control in Per Diem allegations. And fails.

Clearly the constant drumbeat of criticism surrounding Sarah Palin's Per Diem charges for staying in her own home and the food she ate while in her own home have rattled the Governor who has sent her lap dog Bill McAllister out shovel bullshit at us until we stop talking about it. (Here is the video.)

Nice try.

Gov. Sarah Palin, under scrutiny for charging the state for expenses while living in her Wasilla home, is actually living much more inexpensively than her two immediate predecessors, according to an analysis provided Monday by her staff.

Officials compared Palin's expenses for items including travel, lodging, and meals to that of former Govs. Frank Murkowski and Tony Knowles. They said she's spent about $900,000 less in her first two years than Murkowski did his last two years.

Big deal! Murkowski was a crook and that is why his political career came to a screeching halt. Comparing yourself to a criminal to demonstrate you are less guilty and therefore innocent is not a very effective strategy.

Her expenses were also lower than for Knowles his last two years, though the difference was not as dramatic.

This statement is made without explaining that the reasons for Knowles higher expenses seem to stem from the fact that while in Anchorage he rented a hotel room because his RESIDENCE WAS IN JUNEAU! NOT WASILLA! Tony Knowles actually spent a great deal of time in the Capitol doing the states business, imagine that.

Most of the criticism of Palin and her living expenses concerns the $60-a-day for meals and incidentals she collects when she works outside her assigned duty station, which is Juneau. That money will now be taxed as income.

Since taking office in December 2006, she's collected more than $18,000 in meal money during the time she was staying in her Wasilla home. That figure is higher than has been previously reported because it includes charges through Dec. 14.

So to get this straight the Governor charged the state of Alaska for food she bought and prepared IN HER OWN HOME. Now if she had been living in Juneau and, because of the demands of her job, had to eat in Anchorage, then this would have been acceptable. But the only reason that she did this IS BECAUSE SHE CAN. She doesn't need to charge the state, both she and Todd make plenty of money to feed their family, she did it because there is a loophole in the Per Diem rules that allows her to take advantage of the citizens of Alaska. Period!

McAllister said that meal money is minor in the scheme of things, and that she's saving more than enough in other areas to make up for it.

No Mr. McAllister is not "minor in the scheme of things". It is "major in the scheme of things" because it demonstrates a certain sense of entitlement that the Governor seems to possess and which we see demonstrated in her Vice Presidential run, her interactions with the press, and the manner in which she treats her job. This Governor seems to spend the majority of her time explaining why the things she does are not as bad as they seem, and hardly any time doing her damn job! If her job were simply photo ops and mall openings, she would be the best Governor ever. But our state is facing some very serious problems and Sarah Palin cannot stop making sure "she gets hers" long enough to help provide any real solutions.

Update: Here is the PDF that compares the expenses of all three Governors.