ANCHORAGE

SARAH PALIN, the Alaska governor and Republican nominee for vice president, lists moose stew and moose burgers among her favorite foods. Republican leaders point to her ability to field dress a moose as a qualification for office.

Just like that, moose meat has become a political issue and a national punch line.

Here in Alaska, residents are less annoyed than one might imagine at having a freezer staple treated as just another piece of Arctic kitsch. For one thing, many Alaskans don’t care what bloggers or late-night television joke writers think.

Alaskans themselves enjoy making fun of their relationship with moose. This is a state where people varnish pieces of moose excrement and sell them as earrings.

Besides, it’s not the first time Alaska’s love of moose meat has been the butt of jokes.

“You learn to shake your head and laugh because it really is a regional food, just like black-eyed peas or grits or rattlesnake,” said Robbie Graham, a hunter who is also the chief executive of Bernholz & Graham, a public relations firm here.