A pitbull with her teeth pulled

THE gutsy, moose-shooting, tax- cutting hockey mom was supposed to be the answer to Republican prayers. But with just nine days to go until the election, 'Palin power' has turned into a nuclear meltdown for John McCain with an opinion poll showing vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin to be more of a liability to his campaign than George W Bush.

As falls from grace go this one has been savage and sudden. After her barnstorming performance at the Republican National Convention in September, Governor Palin was hailed as a right-wing heroine. But the honeymoon period officially ended last week with a series of controversies and gaffes, leading senior conservatives to call for her to leave before the election. Palin faced problems on the national stage and in her own Alaskan backyard. A series of investigations shed doubts on the way she ran her home state as Governor. On Friday she gave a deposition to the second Troopergate investigation over whether Governor Palin pursued a family vendetta against state trooper Mike Wooten. A first investigation found that Palin abused the powers of her office by firing the state's top public safety official.

Potentially more damaging, the woman who has championed her credentials as a thrifty governor has been accused of fiddling her expenses and taking extravagant family trips at taxpayers' expense.

An investigation by the Associated Press last week found evidence that as governor, Palin used taxpayers' money for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited. The expenses included $21,000 (13,000) in flights for her daughters including one trip to watch their father in a snowmobile race. On another occasion, Palin claimed for a trip to New York, where she had been invited to attend a five-hour conference but stayed with her daughter, 17-year-old Bristol, for four nights in a luxury hotel costing $700 (440) per night.

After McCain selected her as his running mate Palin ordered changes to previously filed expense reports for her daughters' travel, adding phrases such as "First Family attending" and "First Family invited" to explain the girls' attendance.

The state is already reviewing nearly $17,000 (11,000) in per-diem payments to Palin for more than 300 nights she slept at her own home, 40 miles from her satellite office in Anchorage.

Palin's problems were compounded with allegations of cronyism. On Friday a report revealed when Palin was elected Governor of Alaska she gave 100-plus jobs to friends and campaign donors, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications. A state spokesperson refuted the claims, saying: "We are always seeking the best-qualified folks."

Some commentators questioned whether Palin was qualified to be vice president after an embarrassing TV interview last week. In response to a question posed by a primary school pupil, Palin seemed confused about the powers of the vice president. In the interview she said the VP was in charge of the senate, a novel interpretation of the US constitution which had some political commentators openly mocking her. Republicans said Palin was trying to simplify her description to make it understandable for children.

The clip has been played on a loop on cable TV stations and on the internet. So have separate comments, made during an appearance in North Carolina, that there are some parts of the country that are "pro-America." A number of commentators took this to suggest that Democrat voters were not "real Americans" and that America could be divided into "real America" (the Republican heartlands) and not-real, or unpatriotic America (blue states like New York and California). Palin has since issued an apology.

These public gaffes seem to have impacted on the McCain campaign. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last week suggested Palin is more damaging to McCain's chances of becoming president than President George W Bush, whose national approval ratings are in the 20s.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Palin disputed such conclusions, and said: "I think those reporters asking those questions should come to some of our rallies and ask some of those in the crowd why it is they are enthused." She added that the crowds see her as representing "hardworking, everyday American families".

But though Palin undoubtedly excites the Republican grass roots, several high-profile conservative commentators have publicly expressed grave doubts about her. They include New York Times columnist David Brooks and Kathleen Parker in the National Review, who wrote an article under the heading 'She's Out of Her League' in which she called for Palin to step down for the sake of her country. Brooks called Palin "a fatal cancer on the Republican Party".

One party insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "There are many people in the party who wish she would go back to Alaska. McCain picked her. If he loses, he only has himself to blame."

The Palin meltdown comes as high-profile Republicans follow in the footsteps of former secretary of state Colin Powell, who announced he is crossing party lines to back Democrat Barack Obama. The 'Obamicans' – as the Republicans backing Obama are called – even have their own website www.republicansforobama.org.

Further good news for the Obama campaign came in the NBC/Wall Street Journal's finding that women, especially women under age 50, have become increasingly critical of Palin – 60% now express an unfavourable view of her, up from 36% in mid-September.

With the latest polls showing Obama with a lead of between 8% and 14% over his Republican opponent, it is McCain who is badly in need of good news. Only a Washington University poll bucked this trend, putting Obama at 44% to McCain at 43%.

McCain did his best to brush off the negative publicity that has surrounded his choice for vice president in recent days. Appearing on Don Imus' radio talk show, McCain said he was "entertained by the elitist attitude" toward Palin and attributed criticism of his running mate to the fact that she was not part of the "Georgetown cocktail party" circuit – a reference to the well-heeled Washington suburb where many of the political elite live. "I think she's most qualified of any that has run recently for vice president, tell you the truth," McCain said, citing her experience as a small-town mayor and Alaska governor. "She has ignited our crowds. She has a wonderful family, a great husband, great values and she shares my world view."

The campaign has continued to deploy the Alaska governor in some of the most competitive areas of the country. But despite her ability to draw large enthusiastic crowds who cite her appeal as "an ordinary American" and an "anti-elitist", there is little sign that Palin has expanded her appeal beyond the Republican base.

Republican pollster David Winston said the party was at fault for not using Palin more effectively to reach out to undecided voters. "They should have her talking about the economy, talking about her experience when it comes to energy, and appealing to independent women and middle-income voters. She's taken the base of the Republican Party and got them excited but she hasn't done much in terms of winning over swing voters. It's a difficult task and there's not much time left."

That task may not have been made any easier by the revelation that the woman who has presented herself as "Joanna six-pack" was bought $150,000 (94,000) of designer clothes by the Republican Party.

McCain said on Thursday that Palin needed new clothes when she first came to work for him, adding that they would be donated to charity after the November 4 election. "If people only knew how frugal we are," said Palin. Further revelations show that the campaign paid TV make-up artist Amy Strozzi, $13,200 (8,000) for two weeks work in October – more than the campaign's foreign policy adviser earned.

Misfortune has also played a role. This weekend she was booed by St Louis Blues hockey fans when she dropped the ceremonial first puck during a Friday night game – the Blues goalie strained a left hip muscle after slipping on the carpet placed on the ice for Palin.

But if the woman herself has had a bad week, one Sarah Palin is hugely popular: the one portrayed by comedian Tina Fey on TV's Saturday Night Live with the catch-phrase, "I can see Russia from my house". Palin appeared with Fey on SNL last weekend and boosted the weekly satirical show to its highest audience figures in 17 years by jiving her way through a Palin rap featuring the antics of an on-stage moose.

If the politician dubbed "caribou Barbie" finds herself looking for a job after November 4 there should be no shortage of offers. Producers and agents are discussing vehicles ranging from an Oprah-style talk show to a right-wing political chat show. "Any television person who sees the numbers when she appears on anything would say Sarah Palin would be great," said a veteran morning-show producer. Either way, Palin will not disappear into the Alaskan wilderness. Some insiders suggest she will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.