Palin: After July 26, "I can really call it like I see it"

Another sign that Sarah Palin will be even more outspoken as a private citizen than she has been as Alaska's Governor was given in a remark she made in an interview with the Associated Press:

"Once I am 'Sarah Palin, Alaskan,' I can really call it like I see it," she said.

The governor also hinted at this Friday in a message she posted to her Twitter page which she indicated that she was counting the days until:

"less politically correct twitters fly frm my fingertps outside State site"

The AP, in a surprisingly balanced story, reported on the reception the outgoing governor received in the remote Alaskan village of Unalakleet:

More than 100 people packed a community center and bingo hall to greet the outgoing governor as she signed a bill continuing state subsidies for rural electricity.

The town, known locally as the place where the East wind blows, was an unlikely stop during Palin's final days. A remote collection of unpaved streets on the Bering Sea, the town is so remote that is only reachable by plane and most residents get around by ATV or by foot. There are few cars.

But this is what Palin loves best: Reaching out to Alaskans, no matter how remote. She barely had time to eat lunch - king crab and salmon and a barrage of homemade desserts - as families surged toward her, trying to shake her hand and get an autograph. Pictures of the governor were not enough. Residents wanted to talk to her and pose with her, even as an aide tried in vain to shield the governor and then get her to leave quietly.

Palin smiled through it all, basking in the attention. She nodded sympathetically as a man told her of a relative in Iraq. She hugged a mother whose baby has Down syndrome, as does Palin's youngest child Trig. She signed every post card and datebook thrust in front of her.

As has been her practice, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee declined to engage in any talk of a potential run for the White House in her future.

- JP