Democrats and Republicans alike raised their eyebrows when John McCain chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, who was virtually unknown outside of her state. As the press reveals more information about the hockey mom turned vice presidential candidate, it's no wonder people have reservations about her.

It is an understatement to say Palin has some skeletons in her closet. After all, she has a pregnant 17-year-old daughter, she might have been associated with the Alaskan Independence Party (a group that wants Alaska to become an entity separate from the United States) and she refuses to cooperate in a bipartisan investigation conducted by her state's legislature.

The investigation questions the legitimacy of Palin's firing of Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner, Walter Monegan, in July. Monegan claims Palin pressured him to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper going through a messy divorce with Palin's sister. Monegan refused to go along with the plan, which he believes Palin took into account when she fired him.
Alaska's Senate Judiciary Committee decided to investigate the matter, but Palin's staff will not comply with subpoenas and the McCain campaign said Palin is "unlikely to cooperate" with the investigation. The campaign believes Democrats are politicizing the issue and using it to tarnish Palin's name. In retaliation, McCain's people are attacking the Judiciary Committee chairman, Democrat Hollis French, who said the investigation could result in criminal charges.

What's interesting about the McCain campaign's comments on this issue is its belief that politics is clouding the investigation. First of all, the Senate Judiciary Committee made the decision to investigate Monegan's firing before Palin became the Republicans' vice presidential candidate, meaning sabotage of the Republican campaign was not the committee's primary goal.

In addition, Alaska's Senate Judiciary Committee includes three Republicans and two Democrats, and one Republican actually sided with the Democrats in the vote to move ahead with the investigation. The bipartisan nature of the vote suggests the committee just wanted to resolve the issue. Not surprisingly, the McCain campaign did not criticize the efforts of a Republican on the committee who tried to postpone the investigation until after the election, but I guess a decision is only "politically motivated" if it involves Democrats.

The real issue here is Palin's refusal to cooperate with the investigation. If she has nothing to hide, she shouldn't be worried. Maybe she does have something to hide, though. It's like "pleading the Fifth;" someone can protect himself from self-incrimination, but the decision not to answer questions arouses suspicion.

The situation would look more favorable if Palin resolved any lingering questions by cooperating with the committee. It will probably be difficult to prove Palin fired Monegan for personal reasons, and Palin would have come out of the investigation looking like a respectable, upstanding individual ready to hold a vital role in the national government.
However, by not participating in the investigation, Palin loses some of her credibility. If she's not willing to face the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee, what will she do if she ever has to defend her decisions to the U.S. Senate?

Hiding from her mistakes won't win Palin support with the American people. Palin is merely exacerbating a minor situation by refusing to comply with her fellow Alaskans and will likely suffer from it in the long run.

Aimee Sobhani is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at aimee.f.sobhani@vanderbilt.edu.