Palin's in Her Own Words: Bridge Flip-Flop

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Sarah Palin's "sudden" appearance on the national stage precipitated a review of her political career and the representation she made of it Friday when John McCain introduced her to the world as his selection for Vice President on the Republican

Presidential ticket this November.

Foremost among her achievements she touted was the refusal of Federal funds to build the notorious "bridge-to-nowhere".
Critics have since been quick to point out that she ran for Governor in full support of federal funding for that project.

Here are her own words on the project.

October 22, 2006 Anchorage Daily News: sarahpalin/story

ADN:

5. Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?

PALIN:

Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now - while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.

August 29, 2008, speech with John McCain

And I've championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress thanks, but no thanks, on that "Bridge to Nowhere." If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we'd build it ourselves.

NOTE: According to the Washington Post, "In February, Palin's office sent Sen. Stevens a 70-page memo outlining almost $200 million worth of new funding requests for Alaska."
(washingtonpost.com, Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds)
Her love of federal earmarks is consistent over her political career, beginning as mayor for Wasilla, Alaska. According to Washington Post Investigations:

Palin, who was mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002, directed the town (which then had a population under 7,000) to hire the Anchorage-based lobbying firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh (The New York Times notes that earmarks are "close to sacrosanct" in Alaska).
(Note: The Times put a number for Palin's earmarks for Wasilla at "more than $8 million.")
And during Palin's tenure as governor, Alaska requested 31 earmarks worth $197.8 million in next year's federal budget, The Los Angeles Times reports, citing the Web site of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

On Sept 22, 2007 CNN story covered the official abandonment of the project by state officials the day before, which had gotten widespread negative publicity as an example of wasteful pork spending, particularly because of remarks by presidential candidate McCain. The CNN story blamed the relinquisment of the project on lack of funding, but the allocated money was transferred to the state anyway/

The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island.

Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday the project was $329 million short of full funding.

"We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island," the Republican governor said. "The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge."