Washington Post vs Palin on travel

Here is a rebuttal to the WaPo's hit piece on Palin's travel costs.
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/040808/sta_267202920.shtml

Governor travel shot up with Murkowski's jet, plummets with Palin

The state Department of Administration figures show that in Palin's first year in office she spent less than $115,000 on travel, less than any governor in recent years.

The biggest factor in the decline was the sale of the jet, which cost $1,689 an hour to fly.

Palin traveled frequently, sometimes commercial and sometimes by a King Air turboprop owned by the Department of Public Safety.

Even comparable trips by the two governors had different costs. Both Palin and Murkowski attended the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. D.C. While Palin spent $1,885 on lodging, Murkowski spent $6,599, staying in an "executive" suite JW Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue for a week at a cost of $937 per day, including tax.

The Washington Post article is here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?hpid=topnews

The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.

The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.

The article is factually accurate but it is written in a manner to lead the reader astray from the fact the Sarah Palin has reduced the cost of travel substantially.