Palin Accused
The AP reports: Before Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was tapped by Sen. John McCain to be his presidential running mate, she made a shrewd political move, using the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" issue to catapult herself onto the national political stage, critics say. In her acceptance speech Friday, Palin described herself as a champion reformer who put a stop to the $400 million bridge project in Alaska in her effort to "end the abuses" of earmark spending in Congress. With McCain at her side, Palin received thunderous applause when she mentioned the bridge during her acceptance speech in Dayton, Ohio. "I have championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress," Palin said. "In fact, I told Congress, 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," she said. Palin pulled the plug on the project last fall. The bridge would have connected