First, Lee came up with a catchy idea to refer to our multi-blog posting idea as "Blog the Vote". (Shamelessly stolen from rock stars everywhere.) We will all be blogging about it and linking to yesterday's information post for the next few weeks. If you want in or have any questions, let one of us know.

Now on to Sarah Palin and Supreme Court decisions. A lot of folks are jumping on her (and rightfully so) for her acute inability to give Katie Couric the name of one decision, other than Roe v Wade, that she disagreed with. One decision ever. One decision in the whole history of the Supreme Court. Why she couldn't pull out the obvious elementary/jr high history class ones like Dred Scott or Plessy v Ferguson I will never know. But here's the thing that really bothered me about her silence. Alaska was on the receiving end of a major Supreme Court decision just this last summer. The "Exxon Valdez" decision was enormous news in AK and rightfully so. Prince William Sound has not recovered from the oil spill and at this point it is doubtful that it will happen anytime soon. (This is not to suggest that a lot of good things have not happened there in the years since the accident, but the Sound is still damaged and the fishery is not back to where it was.) Here's what happened to AK in 1989:

The Exxon Valdez spill was the worst in American history, damaging 1,300 miles of shoreline, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of people in the region and killing hundreds of thousands of birds and marine animals. It occurred after the ship’s captain, Joseph J. Hazelwood, left the bridge at a crucial moment. Mr. Hazelwood, an alcoholic, had downed five double vodkas on the night of the disaster, according to witnesses.

And here is what the people of AK were hoping for:

Justice John Paul Stevens, in a dissent, said he would have upheld the punitive damages award, which the federal appeals court in California had reduced to $2.5 billion.

“In light of Exxon’s decision to permit a lapsed alcoholic to command a supertanker carrying tens of millions of gallons of crude oil though the treacherous waters of Prince William Sound, thereby endangering all of the individuals who depended upon the sound for their livelihoods,� Justice Stevens wrote, “the jury could reasonably have given expression to its moral condemnation of Exxon’s conduct in the form of this award.�

And here is part of Governor Palin's reaction in June when the decision was announced:

“I am extremely disappointed with today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court,� Palin said. “While the decision brings some degree of closure to Alaskans suffering from 19 years of litigation and delay, the court gutted the jury’s decision on punitive damages.�

Palin said the decision today undercut one of the principal legs of deterrence for those engaged in maritime shipping in Alaska waters. She called on state and federal agencies to be vigilant and firm in regulating such activities.

So what the hell? How could Governor Palin not discuss this decision with Katie Couric? She knows this decision, she understands it, it was a huge big deal. She knows this decision. The fact that she sat there like a bump on a log and then wandered into pointless boilerplate instead of being specific and discussing the Exxon Valdez leaves me pretty stunned.

It's about Obama and McCain, I know. But this - this is embarrassing for every Alaskan everywhere. This decision was a big deal for us. How could our governor be so clueless?

Don't answer that question.

Back tomorrow with book news, I swear.

[Post pic of the clean up in Prince William Sound in the days after the spill. For a round-up of multiple articles reacting to the decision, see the Anchorage Daily Times list.]