Top notch investigative work by a group of bloggers has discovered that the Palin smear campaign traces back to close associates of Barry Obama. Michelle Malkin summarizes it better than I could.

First, read this. Read the whole thing. Rusty Shackleford — with help from Jane of Armies of Liberation, Stable Hand, the Jawa team, Dan Riehl, Ace of Spades, and Patterico – traced a Palin-bashing YouTube video to a Democrat public relations firm, Winner and Associates, and one of its employees, Ethan S. Winner. They believe the voiceover for the ad — which spreads the lie that Sarah Palin belonged to a fringe third party, the Alaska Independence Party — was done by a professional whose voice they believe was also featured in several Obama ads and other spots produced by Obama top strategist and astroturfer extraordinaire David Axelrod’s firm.

The press has inundated Alaska with reporters and will have shortly interviewed every single person belonging to the 20% that do not rate Sarah Palin highly. Many of the reporters have flocked to the state capital of Juneau. Yes, Alaska has a state capital and it is Juneau.

Shocking, well, shocked reports are hitting the press about the inner workings of the Alaskan state government. No one should be shocked, however, since it is obvious that the Alaskan government operates pretty much like every other state government in the nation. Spend some time learning about your state government if you do not believe me.

The problem with state governments is called “Washington Syndrome“. It is highly contagious, infecting 90% or more of those exposed. It can also be genetically inherited.

The symptoms of “Washington Syndrome” are as follows:

• At the time the city was designated the capital, it made geographic or commercial sense. The location has not made sense, however, for a long time.
• The major industry of the capital city is government. The people of the metro area either work for the government or for businesses that support governmental operations like bars, law firms or caterers.
• The government of the city where the capital is located is treated as the red-headed stepchild. It is assumed that the sole purpose of the city government is to support the functions of the capital.
• Many of those who work in the capital maintain personal residences in other places. They have developed mechanisms that compensate them for traveling to and from their legal residences.
• Many of those who work in the capital maintain residences in and around the capital city’s metro area. They have developed mechanisms that compensate them for living away from their legal residences. Many of these same people spend more time in the capital than they do at their legal residences.
• Activities and beliefs that are normal, popular, seen as virtuous and desirable outside the capital are seen as abnormal, repulsive and criminal in the capital.
• Activities and beliefs that are abnormal, criminal, repulsive and unpopular outside the capital are seen as normal, virtuous and desirable in the capital.
• Those who work in the capital are willing to gossip, spread rumor and innuendo, and lie regardless of who they support. The capital functions on the ability to betray or avoid betrayal.
• The capital’s city is often charming in its own right but tourism is focused on the capital itself.
• The capital is the center of the universe and anything that happens outside the capital is viewed solely as to its effects on the capital.

There are many more symptoms than can be listed here. Diagnosis is easy since self-importance and delusions of grandeur are often so pronounced that the ordinary voter can distinguish them. The condition weakens in some cases after exposure to the capital ceases but other cases remain quite active for decades after.

For those of you having trouble understanding the Presidential campaign, here’s a little help. The use of “code words” to conceal your true meaning has complicated things. Here are those “code words” and their real meanings.

• community organizer = black
• Jesus = Barry Obama
• pig = women opposing Barry Obama, Sarah Palin
• sweetie = any woman Barry Obama wltf
• children = Barry Obama’s children
• retard = Sarah Palin’s child
• family = Barry Obama’s successful American wife and children
• black = Barry Obama’s Muslim / white upbringing in Indonesia, Hawaii and Kansas, Yale education, rich white friends
• lies = refusal to use “code words”
• hope and change = Chicago machine rule and Biden’s spending a generation in the Senate

I am not a Second Amendment blogger. I do not own a firearm or hunt. No objection to either but was not brought up that way.

Palin hunts. It seems that her hunting goes for food. Good. She eats what she kills. I approve.

Politico

Democrat Joe Biden, in what he intended as self-deprecating remark, observed, “There’s a gigantic difference between John McCain and Barack Obama and between me and I suspect my vice presidential opponent.” …

What do you suppose he said the difference was? Energy policy, executive experience, age?

“She’s good looking.”

That’s the gigantic difference between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

Joe, I know what you meant to say, and I don’t think it’s going to turn out to be gigantic at all. [/sarcasm]