The irony in Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin's use of a private email account on Yahoo to keep backroom political dealings from becoming public is not that it's a page ripped from the Bush administration's electronic communications playbook. And it's not that Palin ran on an open-government, reformist platform in her gubernatorial campaign. It's that Democrat pundits will work themselves into a lather over a loophole San Francisco's own hunky God-mayor, Gavin Newsom, has himself exploited.

Newsom, a Democratic gubernatorial wannabe, has claimed similar freedom from pesky accountability by using a private device to conduct public business. Shortly after an oil tanker leaked crude oil into San Francisco Bay, Newsom flew to Hawaii on vacation, assuring everyone he was in constant contact. However, he refused to reveal any messages regarding the spill that were sent to or from his iPhone.

More damning for Palin is how hamhanded her efforts were: She actually claimed "executive privilege" on emails sent via her official account on which she included her civilian husband, Todd Palin, as a recipient. And free Yahoo webmail? Even the people who read blogs aloud to Republican presidential nominee John McCain know that can't possibly be particularly secure. (Photos by AP/Eric Risberg, Tony Avelar)

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