In Alaska, many pine for the old Palin

One of her first actions was to veto a bill that blocked health benefits for same-sex domestic partners of state workers. She allied with Democrats to raise taxes on oil companies and chart what she and supporters said was a path to a natural-gas pipeline that would not be controlled by the dominant oil producers.

She signed robust budgets that boosted spending on education, capital projects, and other services and facilities that lawmakers agreed had languished during the penny-pinching, low-oil-price years. She and lawmakers collaborated to pass an ethics reform package, amid a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation of Alaska’s politicians.

Some of her policies irked businesses, especially Big Oil. Critics likened her to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

But overall, the early Palin days were hopeful, says state Sen. Lesil McGuire (R). “Everybody was behind this governor – the first female, the youngest, a lifelong Alaskan, her family – what is there not to like?” Now, she says, “I see a lot of squandered opportunity.”

Senator McGuire is among many who doubt that Palin will run for re-election.

“Every indication points to the governor doing something in the next couple of years between 2010 and 2012 that’s going to prepare her for running for president,” McGuire says. But governing Alaska “really takes somebody who’s willing to make this their full-time job every single day.”

Dave Dittman, an Anchorage-based Republican pollster and consultant, predicts that Palin will run for reelection – and win easily. It’s only natural that her high ratings have deflated somewhat, he says.

But he says he can’t understand why she told Fox News host Sean Hannity, during her East Coast trip last month, that less oil revenue for Alaska “is good for our families and for the private sector.” That contradicts her prior position and the views of most Alaskans, he notes.

“There must be a context,” Mr. Dittman says. “I don’t think less oil revenue would be good for Alaska.”

Back in the governor's hometown

Palin fever remains strong in Wasilla, the rough-edged suburb that is the governor’s hometown. On a recent afternoon at the Mug Shot Saloon, an Old West-style bar in the midst of the strip malls that line the Parks Highway, the smoke was thick, cowboy music played in the background, Fox News was on the TV, and locals were defensive of their hometown girl. “She’s a great person. We love her. And they missed their chance. She should have been in there. And leave her alone now. That’s my opinion,” says bartender Dana Rush.

John Schwochert, a Palin family friend, acknowledges that the governor’s in-state popularity has diminished, but that is probably because she has settled into her job. “Everybody here’s pretty satisfied with what she’s done for the state,” he says.

If Palin doesn’t run for the US Senate next year, she is a “shoo-in” for reelection and will rise from there, Mr. Schwochert predicts. “I’m really quite sure she’s being groomed for a higher office.”

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