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Palin Repeatedly Professed Desire To Renew Federal Funding For ‘Bridge To Nowhere’
Think Progress — ... Palin’s desire to have federal funding directed toward pet projects in Alaska, however, did not diminish. As recently as March 2008 — around the time she first met McCain — her special counsel, John Katz, wrote in the Juneau Empire that despite recognizing increased scrutiny of such spending, Palin was not “not abandoning earmarks altogether.” While McCain expressed high-profile disdain for earmarks, the Palin administration held that: [E]armarks are not bad in themselves. In ...

McCain and Graham Repeat False Claim That Palin Opposed The ‘Bridge To Nowhere’
Think Progress — ... projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now–while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist. When Palin finally canceled the project in 2007, she expressed regret that Congress had not been more forthcoming with federal funding. Moreover, as recently as March 2008, her administration was publicly defending its frequent requests for the same kind of earmark spending that McCain himself often rails against.

The ambiguities of 'reform'
Political Animal — THE AMBIGUITIES OF 'REFORM'.... In his acceptance speech last night, John McCain once again emphasized his desire to " reform government ." He wasn't specific about what kind of reform, or even what he thinks "reform" means. There was a point, about a decade or so ago, that McCain was best known for his work with Russ Feingold on campaign-finance reform. It was one of the signature issues of his 2000 presidential campaign, when McCain got so much mileage out of his reform spiel, then-Gov. George W. Bush, worried about watching the nomination slip away, labeled himself a "reformer with results" -- as if to say that McCain talks about reform, but can't deliver. (Bush ...

Nicholas Stephanopoulos: Plans Versus Platitudes
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — Government reform issues have emerged as unlikely hotspots in this presidential campaign. Earmarks, the influence of lobbyists, governmental transparency, campaign finance - all topics typically of interest only to incorrigible policy wonks - are now the subject of dueling ads and intense media scrutiny. I therefore decided to take a close look at Obama and McCain's government reform platforms, in order both to discern their content and to see what they might tell us about each man's candidacy. At first glance, there are striking similarities between the two platforms. Obama wants to "shine the light on Washington lobbying" while McCain promises ...