Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Sarah Palin

Given the fact that I still can't believe Huggy Bear and the Republicans were stupid enough to put the certifiably moronic Sarah Palin, America's Clown Car, on their presidential ticket last year, it always makes me smile to see further political misfortune befall the Alaska governor. So today I have a big grin on my face, as Sarah America finds herself behind the eight-ball with the IRS:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) owes income taxes on nearly $17,000 paid to her as travel reimbursements when she spent nights in her Wasilla residence, according to a state legal opinion that the payments were not legitimate business expenses, a state official said yesterday.

During her first 19 months in office, Palin charged the state $16,951 in "per diem" allowances for spending 312 nights in her home. The allowances were intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while she was traveling on state business.

The state this week reversed a policy that had treated the payments as legitimate business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code, said state administrator Annette Kreitzer. Payments to employees charging "per diem" expenses to stay in their own homes will be treated as income subject to taxes, Kreitzer said, and the state will update the employees' W-2 forms.

[...]

Palin said many of the per diem expenses occurred while plumbing was being repaired in the governor's mansion in Juneau. She said she could have billed the state for hotel or apartment lodging but opted against that, "knowing that we're going to spend quite a bit of time here [in Wasilla], especially those months where the remodels were taking place in the governor's mansion. And we would disclose my per diem, we wouldn't try to hide it."

On the initial expense reports, Palin wrote "Lodging -- own residence" or "Lodging -- Wasilla residence" more than 30 times on the days she charged a per diem, the reports show. But in two dozen undated amendments, the governor deleted the references to her residence or home.

Oopsie! How are the Republicans, who spent an inordinate amount of time bleating about tax problems by former Cabinet nominee Tom Daschle and new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, among others, going to defend their sweetheart on this one? And more to the point, how will Gov. Palin explain her apparent attempt to cover her tracks?

Oh, I'm sure the mainstream corporate media ultimately will treat this as they do all GOP scandals -- by mostly ignoring it. But that won't absolve Gov. Palin from responsibility ... and maybe it would be a good idea to launch an investigation into those amended records, hmmm? Or is it just another case of IOKIYAR*? (I fear the latter ...)

Well, no matter what happens from here, the bespectacled governor's reputation will take a hit, and her supporters will have to contort themselves pretty wildly to establish how this differs from the other recent income tax incidents. Still, Sarah, you should take solace in one fact: this award includes no taxable income! So celebrate, Sarah, because today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!

---

* "It's OK If You're A Republican," for the uninitiated.

He's only human, born to make mistakes

I'm not happy to see the Obama administration hiccupping its way through key appointments, with both HHS nominee Tom Daschle and chief performance officer Nancy Killefer having to withdraw their names because of furor over unpaid taxes, but I have to admit that it's refreshing to see a president who can admit mistakes.

"Did I screw up in this situation? Absolutely. I'm willing to take my lumps," Obama told NBC's Brian Williams, one of five interviews he gave yesterday afternoon. Obama told the network anchors that there are "not two sets of rules" for people, and said that average taxpayers deserve to have public officials who pay their taxes on time.

[...]

Clay Johnson III, who ran President George W. Bush's transition team and later served in the White House as presidential personnel director, said he is surprised to see three of Obama's nominees weighed down by tax troubles considering that paying -- or not paying -- taxes has long been the top concern for vetters.

"It's huge," Johnson said. "Do you pay your taxes? . . . It is something that is checked religiously."

Well, yes, the tax issue is critical. It goes directly to trust in our elected and appointed officials, and irregularities impugn the credibility of those found in arrears. However, setting aside the rampant corruption of the Bush crime syndicate, I honestly can't recall a single instance of Drunky McStagger ever admitting that he was wrong, at least not immediately, directly, and sincerely. Can you?

Yeah, he should have done a better job of oversight, but gee, our president is human. Imagine that.

Travelogue

I'm on the road today, on the long (but eminently worthwhile) trek up America's Wang™ from Teh Glans™ to Teh Taint™ (how about that imagery, folks?!). Naturally, I'm missing a pretty huge political news day.

I'd love to share my thoughts about President Obama's nomination of Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) to be Commerce Secretary (I don't like it), Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's statement that he'll decide about running for the U.S. Senate after the current legislative session ends ... in May (I'm nonplussed), former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle's (D-S.D.) decision to withdraw his name from consideration for secretary of Health and Human Services (I'm disappointed), and the persistent rumors that Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) will resign from the Senate before his term expires to become the president of Florida International University (I'm cringing). Hell, I'd settle for being able to give you links to all of that.

But, as I'm writing from my Blackberry as I hurtle northward on I-75 (maybe you saw the DFHmobile between, say, Gainesville and Lake City?), it's rather impractical. (Yeah, and not all that safe, either, I know -- but at least I'm not doing my makeup at the same time.) So I'll do my best to catch up on all this stuff later.

In the meantime, I'll just remind you that Google News is your friend. Thanks for your patience.

Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Peggy Noonan

Former Reagan speechwriter and ongoing Reagan casket humper wanna-be* Peggy Noonan -- I'm pointing and laughing at you today ... I mean, I like pointing and laughing at you all the time, but today you get special recognition as I'm reminded of a typically slobbering, grotesque column you wrote in the Wall Street Journal following the 2004 election. You remember it, don't you, Nooners? It's the one where you said:

The Democrats have lost their leader in the Senate, Tom Daschle. I do not know what the Democratic Party spent, in toto, on the 2004 election, but what they seem to have gotten for it is Barack Obama. Let us savor.

An old, rancid pile of dog vomit is more desirable than you, Peggy, and twice as intelligent.

I'm not going to "savor" anything that you suggested in that column, Peggy -- not your allegation that the "nonelites of Old Europe" celebrated Drunky McStagger's election; not your suggestion that people who worked hard for Kerry (as I did) were paid volunteers like the "Hessians of King George III's army;" and especially not your drool-covered adulation of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham. Gag.

No, instead, I'm going to savor the fact that what, according to you, the Democratic Party spent in 2004 will be bringing us our next president. That's right, Peggy -- President Barack Obama. I hate to mix metaphors regarding stupid wingnut pundits, but: Suck. On. That.

Oh, and Peggy? Suck on this, too: today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!

(h/t res ipsa loquitur)

---

* Seriously. Read just about anything Noonan's written, especially about Reagan. It's disgusting. If it weren't for the fact that Nancy Reagan was so busy humping her late husband's casket at his funeral, Nooners would have been all over it.