This is "reform"?

The whole narrative that McCain's gimmick revolves around is that he chose Palin because she is a "reformer" and "maverick" and so is he. I thought mavericks bucked their party's orthodoxy, rather than representing an extreme version of them, but hey, what do I know?

The problem with that is these damned stubborn facts.

They're shutting down the investigation into how she used her office to punish subordinates in a way very reminiscent of King George's use of power in the Justice Dept. That's hardly the sort of transparency in government and ethics reform we'd expect from this supposed duo of do-goodism.

In addition, with the facts piling up about Palin's use of pork and advocacy of the "Bridge to Nowhere", opposing it only late in the game and keeping the money after the project itself was shut down, it is becoming a literal laughingstock to call this woman an agent of reform against earmarking. She lies.

Besides this, there's the fascist way she used her position as mayor and governor to try to censor the town's library and fire political opponents.

Like it or not, despite the cable news lovefest for her, the disaster that is Sarah Palin will continue to linger like a stench over this election.

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

John Adams, 'Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,' December 1770 (source)

In the same way that the Right insisted on looking at Obama's record and proposals rather than his character, let's look at the facts surrounding Palin's "reformer" label rather than her biography.