Palin campaigned on a “build the bridge” to nowhere platform

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4647965.ece

When she made her debut speech on Friday she immediately touted her success in killing off the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere”, which would have connected Gravina Island with Ketchikan international airport, a project that had become a nationwide symbol of the wasteful, pork-barrel spending that Mr McCain has made a cornerstone of his campaign.

Yet in a first unsettling revelation – which the McCain camp will hope does not become a pattern – the Anchorage Daily News reported yesterday that when she ran for governor Mrs Palin campaigned on a “build the bridge” platform. The newspaper, in a reference to John Kerry’s alleged “flip-flopping” in the 2004 presidential campaign, said: “Palin was for the Bridge before she was against it.”

With growing concerns about her readiness to be Commander-in-Chief should anything befall Mr McCain, another Alaska newspaper, the Daily News-Miner, wrote in an editorial: “Republicans rightfully have criticised the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, for his lack of experience but Palin is a neophyte in comparison. Palin is not ready for the top job. It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance.”

On the political talk shows, Democratic surrogates for Mr Obama fanned out to decry Mrs Palin’s lack of experience and her staunch conservatism. She is pro-life, a global warming sceptic and favours drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, something even Mr McCain opposes.

Mr Kerry described her as a member of the “flat Earth caucus”, a “Cheneyesque social conservative” chosen to satisfy the Republican base. “John McCain is a prisoner of the right wing, not a maverick,” Mr Kerry said.

Even her mother-in-law, Faye Palin, who said she was still thinking of voting for Mr Obama, sounded sceptical. She said: “I’m not sure what she brings to the ticket, other than she’s a woman and a conservative.”