Mother Jones wonders what's up with Secret Sarah:

[M]ore intriguing than any email correspondence contained in the four boxes was what was not released: about 1100 emails. Palin's office provided McLeod with a 78-page list (PDF) cataloging the emails it was withholding. Many of them had been written by Palin or sent to her. Palin's office claimed most of the undisclosed emails were exempt from release because they were covered by the "executive" or "deliberative process" privileges that protect communications between Palin and her aides about policy matters. But the subject lines of some of the withheld emails suggest they were not related to policy matters. Several refer to one of Palin's political foes, others to a well-known Alaskan journalist. Moreover, some of the withhold emails were CC'ed to Todd Palin, the governor's husband. Todd Palin—a.k.a. the First Dude—holds no official state position (though he has been a close and influential adviser for Governor Palin). The fact that Palin and her aides shared these emails with a citizen outside the government undercuts the claim that they must be protected under executive privilege. [Independent Alaskan government watchdog Andrée] McLeod asks, "What is Sarah Palin hiding?"

Indeed.

One thing she's not hiding very well is her Cheney-like penchant for secrecy and inappropriate use of "official" cover to protect e-mails she shared outside of official circles.

I mean, if you've got a good reason why a professional snowmobile racer needs to be copied on e-mails that are legitimately protected by "deliberative process" privileges, shout 'em out. Don't be shy about it.

Seriously. Just what is Todd Palin's role in the governance of Alaska, anyway? And what might we expect it to be in a McCain/Palin administration? So far, all of the stories that have emerged have been about Todd weighing in on using the levers of state power to punish his personal enemies. Surely the Palin team will want to enlighten us about all the wonderful and life-affirming things Todd has contributed along the way, no?

In the meantime, mull it over in your mind that in the US Attorneys firings, the Bush White House is claiming the same executive and deliberative process privileges even for conversations they claim the President had no part in. If you can make both that claim and the claim that conversations the executive freely shares with people outside of government, what's not subject to "executive privilege?"

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===> MESSAGE OF THE DAY TO NATIONAL EDITORS

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What kind of "reformer maverick" is even more secretive than Dick Cheney?