GOP vice presidential pick Sarah Palin accepted at least $4,500 in campaign contributions in the same fundraising scheme at the center of a public corruption scandal that led to the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens.

The contributions, made during Palin’s failed 2002 bid to become Alaska’s lieutenant governor, were not illegal for her to accept. But they show how Palin, a self-proclaimed reformer who has bucked Stevens and his allies, is nonetheless a product of a political system in Alaska now under the cloud of an ongoing FBI investigation.

It’s the latest in a string of revelations that have forced John McCain’s campaign to defend his choice and the thoroughness of the background check of Palin, 44, a little-known governor who is new to the national stage. Palin stunned delegates at the GOP convention Monday when she announced through the McCain campaign that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant.

With the convention still abuzz, the list of potentially embarrassing details grew Tuesday:

_Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her city and state, contrary to her reformist image.

_Her husband once belonged to a fringe political group in Alaska with some members supporting secession from the United States.

_A private attorney has been authorized to spend $95,000 to defend her against accusations of abuse of power.

_She has acknowledged smoking marijuana in the past.

And this: Bristol Palin’s boyfriend, Levi Johnston, plans to join the family of the Republican vice presidential candidate at the GOP convention, the boy’s mother said. He left Alaska on Tuesday morning to join the Palin family in St. Paul, Minn.

Defending his choice and the team that helped pick her, McCain said Tuesday that “the vetting process was completely thorough.” Campaign advisers at the convention in St. Paul, Minn., said Palin filled out a survey with 70 questions, including: Have you ever paid for sex? Have you been faithful in your marriage? Have you ever used or purchased drugs? Have you ever downloaded pornography?

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin

Sens. Ted Stevens of Alaska, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine all face tough re-election campaigns. Two others, Wayne Allard of Colorado and Larry Craig of Idaho, are retiring.

Granted, Ted Stevens will most likely be in court fighting to keep his butt out of jail, but it’s pretty obvious why Smith, Dole and Collins want to stay as far away as possible from George Bush and the rest of their party. Hell, Gordon Smith is even running ads in which he touts his relationship with Barack Obama. What does it say about the GOP when it’s most vulnerable members can’t get far enough away from its leaders?

Indeed, after President Bush decided not to call Congress back into session after the GOP charade over gas prices on the House floor, John Boehner is now ripping him as “Beijing George” and accusing him of throwing House Republicans “under the bone-dry bus” on his way to the Olympics in China. How stupid do these people think we are? They spend eight years enabling Bush’s worst transgressions, and then they coordinate a fake, stupid and cynical stunt and expect everyone to forget they are in lock-step with Bush? Seriously? Wow.

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