VP nomination hurting Palin in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's status as the Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee is straining her ability to govern in her home state, observers say.

Local residents say they resent the way the campaign of her running mate, GOP presidential nominee John McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, has allegedly co-opted the apparatus of the Alaska statehouse, screening calls from constituents and reporters and advising how to deal with the so-called "Troopergate" investigation, The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

"This Palin VP thing has Alaskans all stirred up. Much like Palin divided the Republican Party, she has managed to divide the state over her national candidacy," conservative talk-show host Dan Fagan said in a commentary last week.

Anchorage Daily News wrote an editorial Saturday reading in part: "Why did the McCain campaign take over the governor's office? Is it too much to ask that Alaska's governor speak for herself, directly to Alaskans, about her actions as Alaska's governor?"

Alaska Democrats, who were instrumental in helping Palin pass several important reforms in her two years as governor, told the Times her partisan actions as a vice presidential nominee have put an effective end to that partnership.