Facts it is then. Sarah Palin quote:

"The individual inquiries taken by themselves are one thing. Many of these inquiries were completely appropriate; however, the serial nature of the contacts understandably could be perceived as some kind of pressure, presumably at my direction"

You cannot be a clean politician and fire a person who you have just admitted had very good reason to think they were being illegally forced into manipulating the courts.

Can you imagine being in this man's shoes? Lets assume its all some big mistake, and there was no attempt on Palin's part to win favor for his sister's case.

But the man who was being asked to fire the trooper has every reason to think that he was the center of such a conspiracy ... these are Palin's own words!

What does she do then? She fires him.

Best case scenario, this is dirty politics that is standard Washington fare.

More likely, this is something completely new and sinister.

Either way, how can you say that this measures up to John McCain's standards? I have been waiting 8 years to vote for this man, I don't want the ticket to fail, but Palin is a non-starter any way you look at it.