Palin timeline

Is Sarah Palin ready to lead the world? I have sketched a timeline incorporating various scandals and family and career milestones that could -- in any conceivable way -- concern the fitness of the vice-presidential candidate for a) the Republican ticket or b) in the event of the death or incapacitation of a "President McCain" -- to successfully execute the office of President of the United States.

Only documented events are included on the timeline.

Color-coded Timeline of major events concerning McCain VP pick Sarah Palin

Notes: My timeline draws only on incidents documented by newspapers, state records, or other documents. For example, whereas I consulted Wikipedia, I went back to check out the citations. The fact I have named and color-coded a particular controversy does not imply that I think the scandal is true (or untrue); it simply means that an attempt has been made to assemble the potentially relevant facts about it chronologically.

Tip: try reading the timeline one color at a time.

LEGEND

life-transition/family/career/other (BLACK)

• federal earmarks, Sen. Stevens-related, etc. (MONEY GREEN)
• bridge to nowhere (WATER BLUE)
• authoritarian leadership style (ROYAL PURPLE)
• Chrisitianist or far right-wing agenda (BLOOD RED)
• sale of jet (SKY BLUE)
• troopergate (BROWN)
• baby questions (PINK)
• Junea storm and power crisis (POWDER SNOW BLUE)
  
• exaggeration of foreign policy credentials (GREY)
• Alaska Independence Party activities (YELLOW)
• Socialism (COMMIE RED)
  

1964-1990
1964 - born
1964 - parents, Mr. and Mrs. Heath, move to Alaska from Idaho
1976 - baptized in Litter Beaver Lake, Alaska
1982 - her high school basketball team wins state championship
1982 - attended Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu
1983 - attended North Idaho College (a two year school), general studies major
1984 - wins "Miss Wasilla" pageant along with the title of "Miss Congeniality"
1984 - second-place finish in Miss Alaska beauty contest
1984-5 - attended U of Idaho
1985 - attended Matanuska-Susitna College in Palmer, Alaska
1986 - attended Idaho
1986- Todd Palin arrested for drunk driving
1987 - attended U of Idahograduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho
1988 - worked as a sports reporter
1988 - August 29 eloped with Todd Palin
1989 - Track born
1990 - Bristol born

1991-1995

1992-6 - "Wasilla had received few if any earmarks before Palin became mayor. " (LAT)

1992 - Oct - elected to 3-year term on Wasilla town council
1994 - Palin and husband allegedly attend Alaska Independence Party (AKIP) conference
1994 - Wasilla police chief Stambaugh nominated by Wasilla to be Alaska’s Municipal Employee of the Year.
1995 - Willow born
1995 - Oct - re-election for second 3-year term on Wasilla town council (Sarah Palin only completed one-year of this term before she was elected Mayor)

1996-1999

1996-2000 - Wasilla benefited from $26.9 million in Federal earmarks.
1996 - sum - In the interest of preventing highway fatalities, the Wasilla council debated whether to mandate an earlier closing times for the bars.The police chief was among those calling for closing the taverns earlier. "Because bars in Anchorage closed earlier, some people drove to Wasilla to keep drinking, endangering themselves and others, Stambaugh argued." Palin sided with the bar owners.
1996 - Sep - ran for mayor of Wasilla, pop. 6,000
1996 - Sep - campaign for mayor of her small town endorsed by the NRA, while the state Republican party ran advertisements on her behalf. Palin campaigned on a pro-life, religion, conservative-values platform.
1996 - Sep - Palin campaign ad for mayor of Wasilla included photo of Palin with the owners of the Mug Shot Saloon and the Wasilla Bar, two taverns that stayed open until 5:30 a.m.
1996 - Oct - elected mayor of Wasilla
1996 - Oct - brought in an outside attorney, with city funds, to advise on the transition.
1996 - Oct - sends letter requesting town librarian, police chief Stambaugh, public works director Jack felton, and finance director Duane Dvorak submit letter of resignation. "She said she would then decide which to accept." Palin tells newspaper that the resignations were requested to test their loyalty.
1996 - Oct - imposed gag order, prohibiting city personnel from talking to the press.
1996 - Dec - the chief librarian for Wasilla tells a newspaper that Palin asked her 3 times -- starting before she was sworn in -- about possibly removing objectionable books from the library if the need arose.
1997 - Jan - terminates job of the head of city museum, John Cooper, who then resigns

1997 - Jan 30 - notified the police chief and the town librarian that they were being fired.
1997 - spring - public works director and another director quits.
1997 - Oct - raises issue of banning some library books at a Wasilla council meeting.
1999 - Sep -campaign for re-election as mayor of Wisilla.
1999 - Oct - overwhelmingly re-elected as mayor.
1999 - although she had campaigned to cut her own salary and once elected she cut her salary by 6%, unexpectedly she "hired a city administrator, John Cramer, adding a salary to the payroll."

2000
2000-2003 - Wasilla receives 11.9 million in federal earmarks (20 times per-capita average in other states)

2000 - Jan - writes glowing letter of reference for Wooten to become a state trooper. Palin called him "a fine role model."
2000 - hired a Washington lobbyist to secure federal earmarks for her community (Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens)
2000 - May - new state law passed that would force Wasilla to pay cost of medical examinations for rape victims. Under Palin, Wasilla expected victims to pay for these tests, and the Wasilla Police Chief Fannon vehimently objected to the new legislation

2001
2001 - marriage between Palin's sister Molly and trooper Wooten.
2001 - McCain list of spending "that had been approved without the normal budget scrutiny included a $500,000 earmark for a public transportation project in Wasilla."
2001 - fee paid by Wasilla to Mr. Silver pf the lobby firm raised from $24,000 to $36,000.
2001 - piper born

2002
2002 - leaves Assemblies of God church, an Evangelical church which she had attended since the age of four.
2002 - McCain objects to $1 million for Wasillla "in a 2002 spending bill for an emergency communications center in town -- one that local law enforcement has said is redundant and creates confusion."
2002 - "As Palin campaigned unsuccessfully in 2002 to become lieutenant governor, she received contributions from executives at VECO Corp., a powerful Alaska oil field services company.(IHT)"
2002 - unsuccessful in her campaign for lieutenant governor.
2002 - Oct - Palin's second term as mayor of Wasilla ends.

2003
2003 - McCain criticized $450,000 for an "agricultural processing facility in Wasilla that was requested during Palin's tenure as mayor."

2003 - Feb - Palin, although she did not have an oil and gas background, was named chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission "with the $125,000-a-year seat designated for a "public" member."

2003-4 - Chairwoman, AOGCC
2003 - Nov - Ruedrich resigned from the AOGCC. "Palin, acting as chairwoman and ethics supervisor, passed complaints up the ladder to the attorney general and the governor's office." Press accounts make Palin the hero.

2004

2004 - Jan - Palin resigns AOGCC in protest "over what she called the 'lack of ethics' of fellow Republican members."

2004 - Mar 16 - a study by the Energy Information Agency "found that the oil in Alaska Natural Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would only cut cost of gasoline by 3.5 cents by 2027." Palin strongly supports drilling in the ANWR. According to Time, "Even if the drilling were flawless, exploration would destroy much of what makes ANWR special. As Peter Matthiessen wrote of the reserve, it is 'one of the last places on earth when a human being can kneel down and drink from a wild stream without being measurably more poisoned or polluted than before.'"
2004 - Mar 17 - founding of a mysterious 527political organization named "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service Inc." Palin one of the three founding directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc."This "527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors" is described as a "boot camp for Republican women" in Alaska.WaPo reports "The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported that several experts called the group an example of the fine legal line between a legal effort to conduct political activity and then-new prohibitions against raising unlimited soft-money." (WaPo article incorrectly states group was founded in 2003. Proof 03-17-2004 is actual founding date here and here).
2004 - Jun - Republican Ruedrich, who Palin had helped get fired, admits to breaking ethics laws, fined. Palin is vindicated in the media.

2005

2005 - Apr 11 Palin's younger sister (wife of Wooten) filed for divorce
2005 - Apr 11 Palin's father, Chuck Heath, filed police complaint about Wooten. He handed the phone to his daughter Molly, who told state police that her husband had threatened her father's life.

2005 - Apr 11 - On the phone with her sister Molly, Sarah Palin overheard Mike Wooten make death threat against her father. When interviewed by Police about the incident Palin said that overhearing the threat, she drove up to their house, watched Mike yelling at Molly through a window a neighbor, and then asked the neighbor to continue watching on her behalf, explaining "I had ah a meeting I couldn't miss." Palin does not call the police

2005 - Apr - investigation of Sarah Palin's brother-in-law Mike Wooten by Alaskan State Troopers begins: allegation of misconduct involving family members over two year period.
2005 - May - domestic complaint incident involving Mike Wooten and Sarah's sister Molly Wooten, Sarah and Todd Palin.
2005 - Jun - resigns from Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service Inc.

2005 - Aug 10 - sent an angry, three-page e-mail to Col. Julia Grimes, head of the state police, complaining about lack of action taken against Wooten, describing death threat she witnessed Wooden make against her father.
2005 - Aug - Sarah and Todd Palin interviewed again by investigators.
2005 - Oct - Palin's sister's divorce trial to end marriage to Wooten.
2005- Oct 27 - Anchorage Superior Court Judge John Suddock reviewed the complaints filed by Palin and her family. The judge "expressed puzzlement about why the family was trying to get Wooten fired, since depriving the trooper of a job would harm his ability to pay family support to Palin's sister." Judge Suddock warned Palin and her faimly that "disparaging" of relatives "would not be tolerated," calling it "a form of child abuse."
2005 - Nov 16 - Republicans in US Congress stipulate that $442 million does not have to be spent on Alaska's maligned "bridge to nowhere." However, Alaska would now get to keep the money "with no strings attached."

2006
2006 - Feb - private meeting with McCain in a National Governors Association meeting

2006 - Palin and husband allegedly attend Alaska Independence Party(AKIP) conference
2006 - joins Feminists for Life
2006 - Sen. Stevens films campaign commercial with Palin. It is "a last moment endorsement."
2006 - supports abstinence-only education in Alaskan schools
2006 - Mar 1 -Grimes suspends trooper Mike Wooten for 3 days.
2006 - Sep - Gubernatorial election. "Palin campaigned on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them 'nowhere.' . . . said the bridge was essential for the town’s prosperity."
2006 - Oct 2 - interview with the KDN "There needs to be a link between Ketchikan and its future and its future opportunities and progress, opening up land in this area," she said. ("Critics of the bridge projects pointed out that members of the Murkowski family own land on Gravina Island and business associates of Stevens and Young, as well as a member of Young's family, own land that would be accessed by the Knik Arm Bridge" TW (and this TPM post).
2006 - Fall - wins Republican primary, defeating Gov. Frank Murkowski
2006 - Fall - during debate, Palin declared her opposition to stem cell research
2006 - Nov 3 - reported in ADN that Palin said that even if her daughter were raped, "I would choose life." Palin said that she would support abortion only if the mother's life were in danger.
2006 - Dec - assumed office of Governor of Alaska, pop. 600,000
2006 - Dec - appointed Monegan Public Safety Commissioner, a cabinet position
2006 - Dec - jobs go "to friends and appointed lobbyists to oversee industries they used to represent (Newsweek).
2006 - Dec - now governing a state with 2 international borders: Canada and Russia

2007

2007 - Jan - Palin's husband Todd invites Monegan to Governor's office and asks him to look into the Wooten matter. "Monegan did and later told Todd there was nothing he could do because the matter was closed." (WaPo)
2007 - Jan "called Monegan a few days later on his cellphone, and that he told her the same thing." (WaPo)
2007 - Feb brings Wooten matter up again with Monegan "in the state capitol building and Monegan warned her to stay at arm's length. Palin backs off, but indirectly mentions matter in some emails. (WaPo)
2007 - March 1 - "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq." (quoted in Alaska Business Monthly)
2007 - Apr - husband Todd calls Wooten's boss, Col. Audie Holloway, to give her pictures of Wooten driving a snowmobile when he was out on a worker's compensation claim (WaPo) How did Todd know about the compensation claim?.
2007 - May - named her own physician Cathy Baldwin-Johnson to the Alaska Health Care Strategies Planning Council.
2007 - Jun - signed into law a $6.6 billion operating budget—the largest in Alaska's history
2007 - Jul 4 - new board of Alaska State Creamery -- appointed by Palin after she fired the old board because it had wanted to close Matanusaka Maid dairy against her wishes -- voted to over turn decision to close the dairy. (Eventually the dairy would have to be closed anyway and no bidder would be found to buy it).
2007 - Jul - applied for a US passport
2007 - Jul - visited Kuwait and Germany where she meets with wounded members of Alaska's National Guard. Palin visits Dublin airport (plane refueling).
2007 - Aug - sold government jet to Larry Reynolds of Valdez who paid $2.1 million for the jet ($2.7 million had been the purchase price). (Plane had not been sold on Ebay as McCain would later claim)
2007 - Aug - I-35W bridge in Minnesote collapses, killing 13 people
2007 - Aug - McCain talked about I-35W and slammed the Ketchikan "bridge to nowhere"
2007 - Sep - Track enlisted in the U.S. Army
2007 - Sep 24 - canceled "Bridge to Nowhere" because of cost overruns (WaPo) and its "national notoriety. Canceling work on the bridge will free up about $36 million in federal funds that may be used on other Alaska transportation projects, the governor said" TW . A three-mile road on sparsely populated Gravina Island built with $25 million of the original bridge money -- integral to the original plan -- because otherwise "money would have had to be returned to the federal government."
2007 - fall - Monegan said Palin indirectly mentioned Wooten to him again (WaPo). Monegan said he also got telephone calls from three Palin appointees
2007 - Oct - tax increase plan on oil companies operating in Alaska -- including a windfall profits tax -- called the "Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share" (ACES) plan. This money handed over to taxpayers. Oil and gas exploration is reported to have subsequently declined.
2007 - Oct - took Bristol to NYC, state paid for their 3 nights in a $707/night hotel room
2007 - Oct 31 - Wal-Mart opens in Wasilla as state's largest store. (Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny holds Palin responsible for having turned Wasilla into "a wasteland of big box stores.")
2007 - Sept 11 - opposes Lieberman's bill to prevent arctic refuge drilling. (Letter to Sen. Akaka 11/9/07)
2007 Nov 22 (Thanksgiving Day) - charged the state a per diem for working. The reason given, according to the expense report, was the Great Alaska Shootout,l NCAA college basketball tournament held in Anchorage
2007 - Dec - daughter Bristol transferred from school in Wasilla to West Anchorage. Bristol away from school for 5 months
2007 - Dec - posed for Vogue Magazine.

2008 - JAN

2008 - FEB

2008 - Feb 5 - does not endorse any candidate at Alaska Caucus, but dismissive of McCain's opposition to drilling in ANWR.
2008 - Feb - office sent Sen. Stevens outline for "$200 million worth of new funding requests for Alaska."
2008 - Feb - tape recording made that showed Frank Bailey, the state’s director of boards and commissions, called Lt. Rodney Dial at the State Troopers about Wooten. (Listen to call here)

2008 - MAR
2008 - Mar 5 - staff and Alaska press, and family, told Palin 7 months pregnant (NY Times story).

2008 - Mar 31 - established "a $150 bounty to the state sanctioned airborne wolf hunters as an added incentive to increase their kills," soon overturned by the Alaska State Court.

2008 - APR

2008 - Apr 16 - 04:00 - Avalanches took out five transmission towers at the Snettisham hydroelectric power plant near Juneau that provides the primary source of electric power to the citizens of Juneau. Estimates indicated the hydroelectric power will not be restored for approximately three months.
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - 05:00 - National Weather Service in Juneau issued a Heavy Snow Warning for Juneau. "Heavy snow could pose a threat to life and property" it advised
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - Day's low temperature for Juneau was 21 F (-6C); record snowfall for Southeast Alaska for April 17.
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - 04:00 - told family physician Cathy Baldwin-Johnson: passing water, contractions. (two risk factors: premature at week 36 week, has Downs Syndrome)
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - ??:00 - keynote speech at energy conference in Dallas
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - ??:00 - plane departs Dallas
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - ??:00 - plane stops in Seattle
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - 17:00 - Juneau city government declared the loss of its hydroelectricity a "disaster," then asked the state for aid. (Passes Resolution 2440: a Resolution Ratifying the City Manager’s Declaration of Emergency). The Resolution requested "that the Governor of Alaska seek appropriate Federal assistance to help the City and Borough recover from this event". Further it asks "that the Governor of Alaska declare a Disaster Emergency to exist as provided in AS 26.23.140, to provide such State assistance as may be available, and to request additional assistance from Federal agencies where State capability is not adequate."
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - 18:00 -- Juneau's legislative delegation sent a letter to Gov. Palin supporting a state disaster declaration and asked her office to hire an expert to assist with Juneau's response."The one in five area households that heat solely with electricity face a terrible burden.
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - ??:00 - plane lands in Anchorage.
2008 - Apr 17 - Thu - ??:00 - one hour drive to Wasilla, driving past NICU hospitals.
2008 - Apr 18 - Fri - day's low temperature in Juneau Alaska is 17F (-8C); Record low temperatures for Southeast Alaska for April 18.
2008 - Apr 18 - Fri - Trig born.
2008 - Apr 18 - Fri - 18:00 - Alaskan comments: "It boggles my mind how quiet the Governor's office has been. I think this is all part of a plan by her office and some legislators to move the capital."
2008 - Apr 18 - Fri - 23:00 - Alaskan comments: "Since the governor just gave birth, I guess I should excuse the silence from the mansion. Congratulations Sarah!"
2008 - Apr 19 - Sat - day's low temperature in Juneau Alaska is 19F (-7C)
2008 - Apr 19 - Sat - 01:00 - Alaskan comments: "Regarding the Governor, I can understand her being indisposed, new baby and all, but where's her spokesperson?"
2008 - Apr 19 - Sat - hospital.
2008 - Apr 20 - Sun - day's low temperature in Juneau Alaska is 24F (-4C)
2008 - Apr 20 - Sun - hospital?
2008 - Apr 21 - Mon - day's low temperature in Juneau Alaska is 27F (-3C)
2008 - Apr 21 - Mon - attended pipeline meeting.

2008- Apr 21 - Mon - conservation groups called upon the Bush administration to stop delays in listing the Cook Inlet Beluga whale under the federal Endangered Species Act. Time reports that Palin "opposes strengthening protections for beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet, where oil and gas development has been proposed."
2008 - Apr 22 - Tue - day's low temperature in Juneau Alaska is 29F (-2C)
2008 - Apr 22 - Tue - Palin announced that multiple state agencies were working with the power company to asssess the damage and develop a plan to recover power to Juneau.
2008 - Apr 23 - Wed - day's low temperature in Juneau Alaska is 32F (0C)
2008 - Apr 23 - Wed - governor's disaster policy cabinet met to discuss Juneau disaster and discuss declaring a state disaster.
2008 - April 30 - Wed - governor's disaster policy cabinet met for a second time in Anchorage to consider the city's request and recommended to Palin that she not approve the declaration.

2008 - April (late) - small businesses uncertain how to cope with five-fold increase in electricity bill. Many poor and senior residents struggling even before the disaster.

2008 - MAY
2008 - May 1 - US Sen. Stevens spokesman Aaron Saunders said that a disaster declaration could make it possible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration to provide help in Juneau. "The state's disaster declaration is critical," said Kevin Simpson, legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
2008 - May 2 - announcement that Gov. Sarah Palin has rejected a request from the city of Juneau to issue a "disaster" declaration in response to the city's power crisis.

2008 - May - Palin objected to the federal government listing polar bears as an endangered species
2008 - May 27 - United Way of Southeast Alaska announced Thursday an increase in the eligibility pool for those impacted by Juneau disaster. It will include all those most at risk. They expect nearly 50 percent of the city to apply.

2008 - JUN
2008 - June 7 - Palin flies to Juneau to Wasilla. The return trip plane ticket costs $519.50. It will be billed to the state.
2008 - Jun 8 - Palin spoke at her former church. Regarding Iraq war she said: "there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan." Regarding a pipeline she said: "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built.
2008 - June 9 - Palin flies from Wasilla to Juneau. ADN reports "State records show that Palin submitted a travel authorization for a quick round-trip visit to attend the June 8 graduation of the Master's Commission program at the Wasilla Assembly." In addition to the plane ticket, she billed the state for expenses of $120.00
2008 - Jun 30 conservation groups file a lawsuit "against the Bush administration over what they claim is an illegal delay in listing the Cook Inlet beluga whale under the federal Endangered Species Act." Gov. Palin had requested the delay. (Lawsuit Pdf)

2008 - JUL

2008 - Jul 11 - relations between Palin and her mentor former Alaska Gov. Wally Hickel sour. Hickel insists on an “all-Alaska” pipeline (says "stand up to Canada!"), while Palin is pushing for a state license for TransCanada Corp.
2008 - Jul 11 - Palin fires Public Safety Commissioner and former police chief Walter Monegan, hires Charles M. Kopp
2008 - Jul 14 - "disappointed lawmakers let a bill die requiring girls under 17 to get parental consent for an abortion." (ADN)
2008 - Jul 19 - "Monegan went public, alleging that his firing was connected to his failure to remove Wooten."
2008 - Jul (3rd week) - Andrew Halco's blog highlights longstanding dispute between Palin family and Wooten.
2008 - Jul 25 - resignation of Charles M. Kopp (hired to replace chief Monegan) on sexual misconduct charges. He was given a $10,000 severance payment paid by the Gov.'s office.
2008 - Jul 29 - "The state legislature launches investigation, legislators agree to spend up to 100,000 to investigate Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of Public Safety Commissioner Monegan. The governor asked the attorney general's office to conduct an internal investigation. " WaPo and TPM
2008 - Jul (late) - prior to Stevens indictment, Palin holds joint news conference with Stevens to make clear she had not abandoned him politically.
2008 - Jul 31 - Alaska Sen. Stevens indicted on seven counts of corruption (accepting illegal gifts). "A federal grand jury accused Stevens of concealing on financial disclosure statements lucrative gifts from the now-defunct oil company Veco and its top executives." The Wasilla account had been handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver., -- a partner in Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, the firm Palin had hired (WaPo)

2008 - AUG

2008 - Aug - bill into law award TransCanada Pipelines $500 million license to operatae $26-billion pipeline
2008 - Aug - polls give Palin approval rating at 84 percent
2008 - Aug 13 - initial investigation found “14 members of her administration made more than 20 calls to Monegan and other public safety officials regarding Mike Wooten since she became governor in 2006.” WaPo notes "only one call was determined to be improper, a tape-recorded conversation between Palin's chief of boards and commissions, Frank Bailey, to a police lieutenant."
2008 - Aug 13 - "Palin suspended Bailey with pay, saying she knew nothing about the call" and that he had acted alone (WaPo). That call had, in fact, been taped (Listen here)
2008 - Aug (mid) - governor's office released the audiotape of Bailey: "Such evidence points to a violation of Wooten's privacy" according to State Sen. Hollis French (WaPo)
2008 - Aug 17 - Palin attended Jews for Jesus.
2008 - Aug 24 - McCain called Palin to discuss the VP.
2008 - Aug 27 - Palin visited McCain's vacation home near Sedona, Arizona, where she was offered VP. (no face-to-face discussion about it beforehand).
2008 - Aug 29 - Fri - ad showing Sen. Stevens endorsing Palin in 2006 removed from Gov's website (view ad).
2008 - Aug 29 - Fri - McCain introduces Palin as running-mate to crowd. "McCain emphasized Palin's role as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard."
2008 - Aug 29 - Fri - Palin told a cheering McCain crowd: "I've championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we'd build it ourselves."
2008 - Aug 29 - Fri - tells interviewer she doubts global warming is man-made

2008 - SEP
2008 - Sep 1 - Palin announced to country that her unmarried daughter Bristol is five months pregnant. Said Bristol intended to keep the baby and marry the father.
2008 - Sep 3 - Palin speech at RNC.
2008 - Sep 3 - McCain repeats "contention that Governor Palin rejected the controversial Bridge to Nowhere" in an interview with ABC News.
2008 - Sep 3 - The only occasions in which Palin retains "command authority over the 4,200-member Alaska National Guard are whenever the guard responds to in-state natural disasters and civic emergencies" (ADN)
2008 - Sep 5 - "She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay -- and made a profit!" McCain declared in Wisconsin. Although Palin had “put the plane on Ebay” it was not sold through Ebay but in the traditional way of working trough a broker. It was sold at a net loss -- for less than the purchase price.
2008 - Sep (early) - efforts by McCain campaign to derail Alaska State investigation into Palin firing of Monegan.
2008 - Sep 8 - WaPo reveals that "Palin billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business."
2008 - Sep - Palin to be kept away from press as part of a three-week "presidential training" period.

2008 - OCT

2008 - Oct 10 - new deadline set by investigation supervisor Hollis French for completion of Alaska State investigation into possible misconduct by Palin in firing of Monegan.
2008 - Oct -Target chain store will open in Wasilla, a town "filling with big box stores." Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny holds Palin responsible for having turned Wasilla into "a wasteland of big box stores."
2008 - Oct - Alaska legislative report on Palin firing of Monegan is due.


___
Notes: Helpful in my research was Wikipedia Palin politics; for troopergate Flopping Aces Washington Post and Talking Points Memo; articles in the NY Times and Boston.com conerning Palin's lack of foreign policy experience, and some articles about the pregnancy -- referenced by Jnail and Zimbo. Education history from CNN's Politicalticker. On the sale of jet, WaPo. This Frank Rich column was also helpful in the early stages. Concerning Palin's time as mayor, the Ann Kilkenny email provides context. Blogger Andrew Sullivan should be commended for his efforts to get the facts. Note that as my timeline has grown, I have increasingly elected to reference or link the original sources -- often Alaskan newspapers -- from within the timeline.

It is my intention to update this page as more information becomes available.