Speeches are written by speechwriters in backrooms, sometimes before they even know who they are writing for.  But can we learn more about the real person, the person behind the candidate, from what they write in their legal papers? 

If so, then we may have someone in this campaign who actually understands what the criminal justice system is really all about, and doesn’t pray at the alter of law enforcement.  Who could that be, you ask?  Well, check this out:



And more:



This passages come from the submission of Gov. Sarah Palin in response to the Alaska ethics complaint against her. 

Of course, when someone is personally involved, it tends to taint their view somewhat.  But these words could well have been written by any criminal defense lawyer, and it’s good to see them flow from a candidate for high office. 

It would be good to know if these words are a better reflection of the lipsticked bulldog than the speeches crafted for her in advance.  H/T to Walter Olsen at Overlawyered.

On another interesting note, this post at Viewsday by Michelle Chen raises an important question about this photo:

Is someone in the Republican camp missing the point about having a woman as the candidates, rather than the “lady”? 

While the first reaction might be to blame Palin for hanging out with the girls, rather than having hubby Todd chatting up recipes and swapping kid stories, this was certainly a photo-op crafted by a political handler intended to show something about the VP pick.  So what was the point?

Does this mean that Todd is tossing back brewskies and smoking cigars with John and George in the Oval Office?  Unlikely.  But it clearly puts Sarah Palin in the parlor with the wimmenfolk.