Yeah, I know it’s small-town stuff, but if you nominate a small-town mayor with only 20 months experience higher than that, then most of what informs us about her is going to be small-town stuff.

Andrew Sullivan has the story, but basically, this is it: when Palin was running for mayor, the city librarian and police chief supported her opponent. Just a few months after taking office, Palin fired them both because, according to the letters she gave them, she “felt” that they did not give their “full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla.”

When asked about it, Palin lied, saying she hadn’t terminated them. Too bad the police chief still has the termination letter, which reads in part, “Therefore I intend to terminate your employment.”

What Palin did was not illegal–the mayor has the right to terminate anyone for any cause–but it smacks of Bush-style political retribution, derailing someone’s life and career simply out of political retribution.

This, plus the newly-dubbed Troopergate, where Palin fired an official for not firing the trooper she wanted fired, a trooper who was in a custody battle with Palin’s sister–well, it kind of suggests a pattern. That smacks of abuse of power as well–that she used the office of governor to favor her sister in a custody battle, which having the guy fired would definitely do. In that case as well, Palin has lied, saying that she didn’t exert pressure to have the trooper fired, when in fact, she very much did–as did her husband and others around her. Her denial now boils down to the Bushian “I didn’t use the exact phrase ‘fire him’ when talking to those in charge about having him sacked.”

We’re getting to know Palin better, and she is more and more coming across as a very petty person indeed. Yes, she has a swell family, and I’m sure that she’s not petty to them, but petty people have families they love as well as others do. They’re still petty.