ADN: AP Palin story on pipeline bids was "remarkably skewed" (Justin Pritchard, Garance Burke)

The Anchorage Daily News - a paper that's endorsed Obama - offers "Misfire at Palin" (link) about last week's Associated Press "investigation" from Justin Pritchard and Garance Burke about bids for a major Alaskan pipeline project [1].

This report from The Associated Press is a remarkably skewed account with little new information to support the charge it implies. Presumably, readers are supposed to conclude that Palin tilted the gas line bidding toward a favored company, one that had previously employed one of her key staffers.

Here's the truth: The pipeline terms were not "Palin's." They were the terms requested by the sovereign state of Alaska, as provided in the Alaska Constitution.

While Palin did indeed start by proposing very similar bid terms, all of Alaska's key decisions about those terms and the contract award itself were made through an unusually open public process that culminated in formal and enthusiastic approval from the Alaska Legislature.

10/18/09 UPDATE: On October 29, 2008, the Juneau Empire offered "Democrats join defense of Palin, natural gas pipeline/Lawmakers say report by Associated Press was unfair to governor" (link):

"I thought it was a pretty shoddy reporting job, honestly," said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, among many Democrats and supporters of Barack Obama who are coming to Palin's defense.

...Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, Senate minority leader, called the story "way off base."

...The AP story quoted only two legislators, Senate President Lyda Green, R-Wasilla, and Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, both in the minority who voted against the TransCanada deal.

Juneau Rep. Beth Kerttula said AP reporter Burke talked with her, but didn't include her defense of Palin.

"I don't believe Gov. Palin should become vice president, but I don't think this story was fair and accurate," she said.

[1] "Palin pipeline terms curbed bids"
huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/25/palins-pipeline-deal-flaw_n_137825.html

Politics · Sat, 11/01/2008 - 14:24 · · Importance: 19