Will real Alaskans please stand up?

Many of us in the Lower 48 have always looked toward our Alaska neighbors as paragons of independence and tolerance, the real-life embodiment of original American frontier virtues still surviving into the 21st century. Unfortunately, the ongoing spectacle of Governor Palin’s candidacy is having a profound negative impression on many Americans, which will be difficult to dispel for years to come.

The fact that the Alaska government now appears to be “run” by a presidential campaign based thousands of miles away, that inquiries regarding Alaska internal politics are being handled by non-Alaskans who do not share your interests and were not elected by Alaskans, makes it clear that Alaska is less the real American Frontier than a real American Banana Republic.

We hope for the sake of Alaskans, and the for those of us who had always looked to Alaska for inspiration and hope, that your citizens will stand up and take back their own government.

Mitch Leventhal

Cincinnati, Ohio