Attention To Detail

WASILLA, Alaska -- The biggest project that Sarah Palin undertook as mayor of this small town was an indoor sports complex, where locals played hockey, soccer, and basketball, especially during the long, dark Alaskan winters.

The only catch was that the city began building roads and installing utilities for the project before it had unchallenged title to the land. The misstep led to years of litigation and at least $1.3 million in extra costs for a small municipality with a small budget. What was to be Ms. Palin's legacy has turned into a financial mess that continues to plague Wasilla.

"It's too bad that the city of Wasilla didn't do their homework and secure the land before they began construction," said Kathy Wells, a longtime activist here. "She was not your ceremonial mayor; she was in charge of running the city. So it was her job to make sure things were done correctly."

Executive experience. Heh.

The Wall Street Journal (!) has the sordid details. Someone else wanted the same property, and when the city never got around to signing the papers, the owner sold it to the other party. Palin took it to court, floated a bond measure on the belief that she'd win, and ended up losing. Turns out, signing the papers is kind of important in real estate. Who'd have guessed?

Well, actually, I bet a certain 'community organizer', who was a Harvard Law School graduate and law instructor at the University of Chicago, probably would have. Even without "executive experience".