PALIN’S DELUSIONS WORSEN…. I can understand Sarah Palin feeling humiliated by her Troopergate scandal. An independent investigation concluded that she violated state ethics, abused the powers of her office, and lied about it. This isn’t exactly easy to spin away this kind of violation of the public trust.

It was odd, then, to hear Palin tell reporters on Saturday that she’s “very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there.” This was, of course, the exact opposite of reality. The Anchorage Daily News called Palin’s response “an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.” The editorial added, “Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian…. Palin’s response is the kind of political ‘big lie’ that George Orwell warned against. War is peace. Black is white. Up is down.”

Naturally, then, Palin repeated the lie yesterday.

“The report that came out also was very clear in that there was no unethical or unlawful behavior on my part,” Palin told a local CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, adding, “No abuse of power there at all.”

This is just madness. The report was unambiguous — Palin “abused her power.” She “violated” the “Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.” Even Sarah Palin can read this and understand the plain meaning of basic words.

This makes Palin’s breathtaking lies all the more remarkable. She said the report was “very clear” that she hadn’t done anything “unethical” and there was “no abuse of power” at all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a politician lie so brazenly.

So, Republicans, which is it? Is Sarah Palin shockingly dishonest or is she functionally illiterate? Inquiring minds want to know.