Alaska Gov

WHAT TO do about the war, what to do about the economy, what to do about those rimless glasses and that saucy updo? Style has never been more important than it is in this election. That's not just because this high-stakes political contest is being watched by a tabloid and celebrity-obsessed culture. It's also because this election now has so many powerful women on the national stage who are putting their message across with vastly different style strategies. For months, we've seen how polarizing style can be, dissecting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's gender-neutral pantsuits, Cindy McCain's $300,000 Oscar de la Renta-and-diamonds convention outfit and Michelle Obama's throwback Jackie O. shift dresses.

For decades, war has been waged over the holy grail of America's Arctic frontier, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The wide coastal plain on the edge of the Beaufort Sea contains stunning populations of caribou, grizzly, musk oxen and other wildlife -- and also an abundant pool of oil and gas. While Congress has periodically taken steps to consider opening up oil and gas development in the refuge, President Obama and many congressional Democrats...

Reporting from Honolulu Sarah Palin says she's still "some months" away from a decision about whether to seek the presidency in 2012, and that she won't be deterred by polls showing that she may not be the Republican Party's best candidate to beat President Obama. The former Alaska governor's comments about a White House run were not new, but the forum in which she discussed them was a departure. She spoke with ABC's Robin Roberts for a piece that aired Friday on "Good Morning America.

The death of any iconic global figure is often the occasion for colorful anecdotes, but the one that has been repeated Monday in the wake of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's death - that she snubbed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2011 - just doesn't pass the smell test with me. In 2011, as part of Palin's bid to be taken seriously as a political leader and potential presidential candidate after her difficult national coming...

Let's just get it out on the table: California, quite simply, has freakishly good-looking elected officials. Between the stunning Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and the gorgeous Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, this, as they say, is the objective truth. I'd like to think that's what President Obama was getting at today when, according to a transcript provided by the White House, he referred to Harris' good looks when he introduced her at an Atherton fundraiser at the home of philanthropist John Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir, and his wife Marcia: “You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you'd want in anybody who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake,” said Obama. “She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general in the country -- Kamala Harris is here.  (Applause.)

Levi Johnston: A photo caption in some editions of Thursday's Section A misspelled the last name of the fiance of Bristol Palin, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter. The fiance's name is Levi Johnston, not Johnson.

The death of any iconic global figure is often the occasion for colorful anecdotes, but the one that has been repeated Monday in the wake of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's death - that she snubbed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2011 - just doesn't pass the smell test with me. In 2011, as part of Palin's bid to be taken seriously as a political leader and potential presidential candidate after her difficult national coming...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's sister-in-law has pleaded not guilty to charges that she twice broke into the same home in the governor's hometown. Diana Palin -- the 35-year-old half sister of the governor's husband, Todd -- is accused of targeting the Wasilla home to steal money. She pleaded not guilty to eight counts including theft, burglary and criminal trespass. Palin was arrested April 2 after she was confronted by the homeowner. Police say tire tracks and shoe prints tied the woman to an earlier break-in.

John McCain was a hit on "Saturday Night Live," just not as big a hit as his running mate. The Republican, who poked fun at his presidential campaign's financial shortcomings and his reputation as a political maverick in Saturday's appearance, led the show to its second-best overnight ratings since a December 1997 holiday episode. NBC estimated that when the final national viewer estimate is known later this week, it will be a little less than 12 million people. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's appearance two weeks ago was seen by 15 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Seven of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's top aides, including chief of staff Mike Nizich, defied legislators' subpoenas for their testimony on possible abuse of power by the governor. The chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrat Hollis French, waited 30 minutes before reading a statement that the witnesses could be found in contempt when the full Legislature convenes in January and that the investigation will go on "in a simple search for the truth." Alaska Atty. Gen. Talis Colberg filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of the seven, challenging the authority of those conducting the investigation into Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner.

Let's just get it out on the table: California, quite simply, has freakishly good-looking elected officials. Between the stunning Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and the gorgeous Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, this, as they say, is the objective truth. I'd like to think that's what President Obama was getting at today when, according to a transcript provided by the White House, he referred to Harris' good looks when he introduced her at an Atherton fundraiser at the home of philanthropist John Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir, and his wife Marcia: “You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you'd want in anybody who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake,” said Obama. “She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general in the country -- Kamala Harris is here.  (Applause.)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Republican vice presidential nominee Paul D. Ryan is approaching the biggest moment of his career: his address to the Republican convention and a prime-time national television audience on Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. EDT. If early opinion soundings are correct, his presentation could help sharpen public impressions of the 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman. When Americans are asked what single word best describes Ryan, the terms conservative, intelligent, good, unknown, and young get the most frequent responses.

Those seeking words to soothe bruised Wisconsin Democrats may want to steer clear of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who did nothing to diminish her reputation for dishing out red meat as she reacted in typically colorful fashion to Republican Gov. Scott Walker's victory in the rancorous Wisconsin recall election. “I think Wisconsin voters are sick and tired of the division that's been caused by the radical left, saying it's big-government growth that's going to be the answer to economic challenges,” Palin said Tuesday evening.

Rick Santorum, still enjoying a surge in fundraising and attention after winning three states last week in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination, pushed back Sunday against the idea that his socially conservative views could alienate working women. Many pundits have suggested that Santorum's views on gay marriage, abortion, contraception and working women could present formidable obstacles in attracting moderate and independent voters if he were to become the GOP nominee.

As Mitt Romney formally announced his presidential bid Thursday, two larger-than-life political personalities crashed into New Hampshire, stealing the nominal frontrunner's thunder and underscoring that the GOP field is far from settled. Continuing her catch-me-if-you-can bus tour of historic sites on the Eastern Seaboard, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hosted a clambake for "tea party" activists on the coast, proclaiming her love for the movement and her goal of highlighting the importance of the American spirit.

Sarah Palin's much-publicized "One Nation" bus tour got off to a chaotic and rumbling start Sunday in Washington, with no bus in sight and the potential presidential candidate only occasionally popping into view. The former Alaska governor, who has indicated she is still contemplating a run for the White House in 2012, showed up at a motorcycle rally for veterans in a Pentagon parking lot, clad in black leather, a black helmet and sunglasses. She arrived with her husband, Todd, and two of their three daughters in tow. "We're here to honor our vets," Palin told NBC News.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) isn't committing to supporting his vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, if she runs for president in 2012. McCain -- the Republican Party's presidential nominee last year -- says he wants to see who the other candidates are and what the situation might be. McCain says he has great affection for Palin and her family. But he also cites three other governors -- Utah's Jon Huntsman Jr., Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty -- as potential candidates.

On a day when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shook up the Republican presidential field with the news that she was launching a national bus tour, potential competitor Michele Bachmann said she was pressing ahead with her own effort and planned an announcement next month in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa. Palin’s decision on whether to run, the Minnesota congresswoman said, would not affect her plans. Bachmann was slated to headline a fundraiser for the Polk County GOP in Des Moines on Thursday night, but missed the event to stay in Washington for a vote on the Patriot Act. She appeared in an awkward live video chat at the banquet where her remarks echoed around the room, out of sync from her blurry image on screen.      Bachmann still plans several stops in Iowa on Friday and told reporters she has hired staff in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa for her presidential effort.

Tim Pawlenty's presidential campaign rests on this question: Will Republican voters itching for confrontation with President Obama deliver their nomination to a man who tends toward soft-spoken and bland? As he formally announced his run here Monday, the former Minnesota governor sought distance from the GOP field by casting himself as an everyman who would speak frankly to Americans about the gravity of the nation's challenges. Charging that Obama has failed to tackle difficult issues like entitlement reform and warning that "the pain of the recent recession will pale in comparison to what's coming," Pawlenty chided the president for backing a "pork-filled stimulus bill" and financial bailouts for well connected businesses, and called his healthcare plan "an unmitigated disaster for our country.