Alaska: Ebay Power Seller?
Personally I am very curious about the AK governor's jet being sold on ebay. Is this true? I'd love to see the listing... what kind of "luxury jet" are we talking about? I know they're trying to create the impression that Palin saved Alaska millions of dollars, but a small, old Lear or something similar might have been worth only a couple hundred thousand.
Perhaps that "luxury" jet was aging and due to be retired anyway. According to Cindy McCain, you need a private plane just to get around in AZ, so how does the governor get around in Alaska without one? I suppose the answer is, if you're Palin, you don't travel anyway, so it doesn't matter.
I also wonder, does Alaska have an Ebay account? I could take things from my employer and sell them on ebay, but I would have to use my personal account, and I'm pretty sure I'd get fired. I don't think ebay is an approved method of procuring or disposing of assets in my company. I guess Alaska is different.
It also occurs to me that if you had a "luxury jet" and you wanted to give it to a friend at a very favorable price, you might want to use ebay to bypass the normal state processes for selling assets. I'm no ebay power user, but it seems to me, for something as valuable as a government jet, you could make it work out so that your friend got a pretty sweet deal.
So, was "I sold it on ebay" a joke (or what some might call a "lie") or is it true? Was it a stunt? Did it really benefit Alaska? What kind of jet was it, what was it worth, what did it sell for, and who bought it?
Perhaps that "luxury" jet was aging and due to be retired anyway. According to Cindy McCain, you need a private plane just to get around in AZ, so how does the governor get around in Alaska without one? I suppose the answer is, if you're Palin, you don't travel anyway, so it doesn't matter.
I also wonder, does Alaska have an Ebay account? I could take things from my employer and sell them on ebay, but I would have to use my personal account, and I'm pretty sure I'd get fired. I don't think ebay is an approved method of procuring or disposing of assets in my company. I guess Alaska is different.
It also occurs to me that if you had a "luxury jet" and you wanted to give it to a friend at a very favorable price, you might want to use ebay to bypass the normal state processes for selling assets. I'm no ebay power user, but it seems to me, for something as valuable as a government jet, you could make it work out so that your friend got a pretty sweet deal.
So, was "I sold it on ebay" a joke (or what some might call a "lie") or is it true? Was it a stunt? Did it really benefit Alaska? What kind of jet was it, what was it worth, what did it sell for, and who bought it?
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I had some of the same thoughts at this line. It was pretty funny, and she delivered it very well, but if it's even true, was she allowed to? What did she do with the money?
September 4, 2008 8:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good questions, but you have heard of Google, no? ;-)
Anyway, here's the scoop:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/us/25jet.html
Bought for $2.7 million in 2005 with state money after Murkowski's attempt to buy it with Homeland Security funds didn't pan out. It created some controversy at the time and getting rid of the jet was one of Palin's campaign promises.
The eBay thing was a gimmick but it worked - got Palin lots of attention and she did follow through on her campaign promise. The jet sold for $2.1 million so I suppose that was reasonable given the price the state paid initially.
Doubt that there's a scandal there unless, say, the "reserve" price was leaked to a potential seller.
eBay seems like a relatively transparent and above-board way to make the sale, at least compared to the supposedly sealed-bid process my hometown used recently to dispose of a valuable asset - when the "right" party didn't win (by a huge margin) they rejected all bids and did it over until the the "right" party had the winning bid.
September 4, 2008 9:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another article about putting the jet up for sale:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/us/14jet.html
Bonus cameo appearances of both unfired-at-that-point Public safety Commissioner Walt Monegan and the journalist who continued to "cover" Palin after she hired him onto her staff (no conflict of responsibilities there, I'm sure!), Greg Wilkinson.
Interesting tidbit - the jet was used for two things: shuttling the Governor between Juneau and Fairbanks, and shuttling Alaskan prisoners to Arizona prisons.
September 4, 2008 9:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Um, yeah, google... is that something new? ;-)
Heh heh. I feel a little stupid, but I still feel better qualified to be VP than SP is.
I thought it sounded gimmicky, and wasn't able to find anything conclusive. I guess I chose my search terms badly. It still seems to me that she must've bent some rules to use ebay.
I do agree, the selling price was not so bad; doesn't seem like there was any hanky-panky going on. And yeah, sealed bids can be manipulated, too.
But still, taking this unusual approach to selling the jet was risky. Is she a "maverick" or was she just grandstanding? I honestly think if a Dem governor had done it, I'd probably say "maverick". I am not unbiased.
September 4, 2008 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink