As much as the political muckraking degrades from the more important but admittedly more boring conversation of "how will they lead us," one can't help but wonder, as the media barrage against Governor Palin continues, what a blunder the McCain camp seems to have made with his pick for a running-mate. Naturally the biggest oversight was by 5 months...of pregnancy in Palin's 17-year-old unwed daughter. But as the media investigation continues, more and more unsavory tidbits are leaking out and altering America's palette for the Alaskan beauty queen turned governor.

The latest discovery appeals more to OhMyGov! readers and all those with a disdain for pork projects (not to be confused with delectable pork products). During her introductory speech late last week, Palin aligned herself with McCain in his war on earmarks, stating she opposed such unnecessary federal spending projects and citing the infamous Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere" as an example of government waste at its finest.

Well, the media giveth and the media taketh away. Within days, reports whirled that Palin had not only supported the $233 million "Bridge to Nowhere" while running for governor before later denouncing it following her election, but she was also a major pork barrel legislator.

According to the irreverent government spending watchdog, Citizens Against Government Waste, Palin requested 31 federal earmarks worth $198 million from Congress this year and $550 million the year prior for her Alaskan constituents. That equates to $295 per Alaska resident, or $261 per person more than the national average of $34. The group also charged that Palin hired a major Washington lobbying firm while Mayor of the 9,000-person Alaskan town of Wasilla (part of her "executive experience") and subsequently procured $27 million in federal earmarks.

So it appears both McCain and his vetting staff have a lot of explaining to do. Rumors are emerging that the vetting of Palin wasn't as thorough as some would have liked because the campaign tried to keep the VP pick a secret. At the end of the day, it matters not. Palin's secrets are coming to the limelight and the straight talk express, for the moment, seems quite derailed.

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