Unlike the rest of America, they really do know her -- perhaps too well. Since Friday (as chronicled here), several Alaska newspapers have been publishing stories raising questions about new GOP veep choice Sarah Palin. Now she's even losing a hometown poll.
The Frontiersman newspaper in her hometown Wasilla -- where she is beloved, according to the national media -- has put up a poll on its Web site. So far the votes against her are running at 50% (861), vs. the supporters at 43% (741) and 7% holding out saying it is too early to say. Online polls are always sketchy but this may have more validity than most since few in the outside world are aware of the tiny local weekly.
Incidentally, the top story on the newspaper's site, beyond Palin coverage, carries the headline, "Pilfered Piglet Returned."
Meanwhile, Vince Beltrami, the leader of the state AFL-CIO has called for support for Obama, asserting that a vote for McCain is a vote against the working man.
"We are 100 percent on board for supporting Barack Obama," he said in a speech at a Labor Day picnic in Fairbanks hosted by about 30 organized labor groups.
The Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks reports: "Organized labor has had a generally good relationship with Palin, but that doesn't change the fact that labor has to support the candidate who best supports working families, Beltrami said.
The organization also supports Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich in his campaign to unseat long-time U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.