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When John McCain chose Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, he cited her reputation as a reformer with a strong fiscally conservative bend as one reason for his selection. During Palin’s run for Governor in 2006 she campaigned on the promise of reigning in what she saw as wasteful spending. One of the first orders of business? Get rid of the state’s private jet.
The 20 year-old Westwind II was purchased by the taxpayers of Alaska for $2.695 million and Palin felt the plane was a needless extravagance. Then governor Frank Murkowski, who shared the aircraft with the state’s Public Safety Department, used it to traverse Alaska as part of his duties. (Note to residents of the lower 48: Alaska is about two and a half times the size of Texas.)
After Palin won the election, the jet was repeatedly put up for auction on eBay with a reserve of around $2.5 million. But while putting the jet on eBay may have provided Palin with a line for the highlight reel of her acceptance speech at the Republican convention last night, it wasn’t the end of the story. A year passed without the plane receiving any bids—perhaps Palin should have consulted with former eBay CEO and fellow GOP rising star Meg Whitman for advice on successful eBay salesmanship. Finally, Palin contracted the services of a jet broker, Turbo North Aviation, who managed to offload the jet to a Valdez businessman for the reduced price of $2.1 million.
Of course one wonders why the jet was listed repeatedly on eBay and not one of the dedicated sites for aircraft sales. In defense of Palin, Halogen Guides Aircraft Marketplace had not yet launched in 2006. If she does manage to land in the White House and feel the need to say, put Air Force One on the sales block, we’ll hope she’ll consider a more jet appropriate marketplace.
18 Comments
Kimo said:
Interesting comments. But she is not a person versed in aircraft as yourself. This is a monor point in relation to the big picture. Although I have been around aircraft and talk about them constantly, my wife of 39 years, does not know C-172 from a B-17 let alone a Lear from a Gulfstream.
John said:
Come on Alec. You are nit picking. Say some thing productive. The important point here is that Palin followed through on her commitment. It is reasonable (in fact expected) to attempt to get the best dollar possible when disposing of public assets. That is exactly what her administration did. Please explaine the fault in that?
Jim said:
I think Alec's problem with Palin's way of selling the aircraft, is likely just his problem with her party affiliation, that's all.
Joe said:
If Alec were governor he would probably hide the key and loose the paperwork until he learned to fly. Alec must be a dem. remember the stolen stuff from the clinton (small c) white House. Hide the key was a sarcastic note for anyone slow to catch on. Old c-130 mechanic
arosekrans said:
Easy guys! I've got no political agenda to push here, honest! - Alec
Douglas said:
Haha, no, I believe you don't, Alec - but THEY do have an agenda! ;) So, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Keep the Faith, -Doug
Brandon said:
How many "details" like this did the speech writers decide to stretch the truth in order to heighten the drama. Most people call this politics. I call it Lying. The person whom bought the Jet happens to be one of her contributors and a contributor to the Republican party with ties to her and the party. At least "valdez" ended up getting a great deal. At the taxpayers loss of Half a million dollars.
Jen Mayhew said:
Not only that, the plane she finally was sold was also used to transport convicts to Alaska prisons. Today they use US Marshal transports on commercial flights, and that's actually costing the taxpayers more than the jet did.
Marc said:
Its all About Politics, That's the Truth and Clinton Did What ? I am a 45 year old and in my life I have never see the economy Grow as much as when Bill Clinton Ran the country, Not the world. We need a real Change, We need Young Strong New Ideas. We do not need the same old Crap. Who cares about a Plane Wow 2.1million We just spent that in the time it took me to write this. When did fuel prices start to Rise certainly not well Clinton was in office. The economy is Poor everyone in the world is now a potential Enemy, and Nobody in Office cares about Making us The USA Clean and not Depending on anyone but Us. Lets Start Now Not next week Now. If we don't do it very soon we will be just as bad as everyone else thats not trying to fix The World. But first we need to start in our own Place and make a good Example, We can do it, Don't forget Where We came From, We need a Good Change Lets all do it together. There are Poor folks in the US they need a Chance too Not just the Well to do. Well last but not least at all is, If Its McCain Or Obama I could Care less as long as they do what they say and not just say it,
Lucie said:
Hey guys! I am a women, but I will never vote for McCain because he thinks he could just put any kind of woman on ticket to attract us? We know what we want, Mr. GOP. I am an idependant women, and happy to be and I just made my decision: I will vote democrat this year: period. I hate lies and cynism. Sorry Palin! Palin = dirty politics. Same old republican tactics. Sorry guys!
David White said:
To me politics has very little to do with a persons honesty, Either you lie or tell the truth there is no gray area when you are applying for top dog in the good old USA.
susan said:
The fact that she tried to sell it, tried to save tax dollars, is not self-indulgent, is what matters. Plus, using ebay is just another way of letting the public know, she is just "one of us", not a rich person that takes extreme extravagance for granted. I liked her speech and the part about the jet was a good attempt at humor. Anyone with half a brain would know it was probably not the entire story.
Maureen said:
Wow, I can't believe the amount of latitude given to this person. There are all sorts of questions swirling around about her. The media gets vilified for simply asking them. HELLO we are talking about someone who could end up being president. OK it doesn't get much worse than Bush, but still, could we raise our standards a tad? In fact why don't we at least hold them to the same standards we hold ourselves to? I think one of the first things I was taught and I kind of like it, was not to lie.
David White said:
I liked the part of the last comment when the person told of being taught not to lie. this not only applies to Palin but also McCain, one of the first things I learned as a Child was if you lie to people sooner or later that lie is going to come back and bite you. Why are two people with so much to lose resorting to such tactics, We the people are not that naive in fact most people are well informed and wont be fooled. I believe if we are being misguided now what will this be like once this team is sent to washington. I still believe McCain is a good person and believes in this Country so my word to you John: Enough!
Lucky Rock said:
Alec, I bet you weren't expecting all that when you wrote a tongue-in-cheek article on Sarah Palin. Glad to hear about the Halogen Guides marketplace...and Sarah Palin for VP. LOL!
Russell LaBar said:
No one has really ever shown that getting rid of the jet was cost saving and practical. Alaska, to my knowledge, has limited transportation modes and flying to outposts like Point Barrow maybe can best be accomplished by private jet. This would be especially true for someone with a busy schedule. I doubt if Point Barrow has a plethora of flights in and out of its airport. Also, when Palin flies, how does she travel? Flying her, her husband and children to the convention was not cheap! I know someone else probably paid for that flight. But, how does she travel(first class or regular passanger) as govenor or doesn't she keep in touch with people in isolated areas? And, maybe selling the jet was a vindictive and political act rather than cost saving jesture. Something to consider. Let's try to be a litlle analytical and practical about the situation and not get caught up in the political headlines.
Mary said:
Nice article Alec. Does anyone know how much the jet would have been worth when it sold?
A Guest said:
Palin sold the jet because it only seats 10 people. Her family alone would require 8 seats. Then when her grandchild is born, 9 seats. Hmm...... No room for that jet in her life. She was born to lie.
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