After a week that saw the media primarily concern itself with the various absurdities and outright lies (lies!) put forth by the McCain campaign, the liberal elites over at the New York Times decided to get their hands dirty doing some actual investigative journalism.  (Shouldn’t those jerks have been covering Daniel Radcliffe getting naked on Broadway or something?)

In Office, Palin Hired Friends and Hit Critics

The article, published today, is definitely a must-read.

The article goes into detail on the tenure of Palin as Mayor and Governor.  Many of those interviewed gave less than glowing assessments of the governor on a variety of fronts.

One charge is that Palin has often hired old friends for positions, rather then people who are, like, qualified. (Emphasis mine)

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.

Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.

Cows.  But wait! There’s more.

Ms. Palin chose Talis Colberg, a borough assemblyman from the Matanuska valley, as her attorney general, provoking a bewildered question from the legal community: “Who?” Mr. Colberg, who did not return calls, moved from a one-room building in the valley to one of the most powerful offices in the state, supervising some 500 people.

“I called him and asked, ‘Do you know how to supervise people?’ ” said a family friend, Kathy Wells. “He said, ‘No, but I think I’ll get some help.’ ”

I’m sensing another…

The Wasilla High School yearbook archive now doubles as a veritable directory of state government. Ms. Palin appointed Mr. Bitney, her former junior high school band-mate, as her legislative director and chose another classmate, Joe Austerman, to manage the economic development office for $82,908 a year. Mr. Austerman had established an Alaska franchise for Mailboxes Etc.

Palin also had issues with attendance in Juneau that would make U of M students look responsible:

During the last legislative session, some lawmakers became so frustrated with her absences that they took to wearing “Where’s Sarah?” pins.

The article also discusses her sometimes Nixonian paranoia that included sending emails on private accounts to avoid possible subpoena, and questionable firings to go along with the great hiring decisions above.  Rather than me excerpting more, just go read it.  Seriously.