By all accounts Todd Palin is very active in the policy decisions of Sarah Palin's Alaska admin.

Todd Palin is frequently consulted on maters of policy:
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Husband Todd, a celebrity in his own right as a champion snowmobile racer before becoming known as "First Dude," confers with Cabinet officials and is copied on the governor's e-mails

Guests summoned to the governor's office often find Todd Palin sitting in on the meeting.

Tom Whitstine, a fellow Wasilla-based oil worker and friend, recalled raising concerns to Todd Palin about legislation that would impact the oil industry.

"I talked to Todd sitting on the couch in his house there on Safari Lake, in April 2007," said Whitstine, who expresses disappointment with Palin's performance. "It's a known fact Todd was right there when those kind of policy decisions were being made."

Said a Bristol Bay politician who asked not to be named: "He's someone you could call and get the lowdown."

He is also a central player in Troopergate.

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“Monegan, 57, a former chief of the Anchorage Police Department, said in an interview Friday that during his 19 months on the job the governor repeatedly mentioned Wooten but ‘never directly asked me to fire him.’ Monegan said Todd Palin told him that Wooten ‘shouldn't be a trooper.’ ‘I've tried to explain to him,’ Monegan said, ‘You can't head-hunt like this. What you need to do is back off, because if the trooper does make a mistake, and it is a terminable offense, it can look like political interference. I think he's emotionally committed in trying to see that his former brother-in-law is punished.’”

My question is this: Is it off limits to probe into Todd Palin's association with, among other things, a political party that has actively sought Alaska's independence from the US? Palin was a registered member of the Alaska Independence Party from 1995 to 2002.
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The founder of this party has said some truly hateful things about the United States.
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"The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government," Vogler said in the interview, in which he talked extensively about his desire for Alaskan secession, the key goal of the AIP.

"And I won't be buried under their damn flag," Vogler continued in the interview, which also touched on his disappointment with the American judicial system. "I'll be buried in Dawson. And when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home."

Vogler is still hailed on the AIP website today
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Its also interesting to note that Sarah Palin herself visited the AIP convention in 2000 and addressed it as Governor in 2008 saying "keep up the good work!".

So if we say "hands off of family", we are giving a pass to a first husband whose influence is demonstrably significant on Palin's current administration, and who in the very recent past has publicly supported independence for the largest state in the union. Alaska's area is equivalent to about 17% of the land area of the US. Todd Palin has notably remained silent on Alaska's independence, though I suspect he will be making the rounds soon enough saying that Alaska should always be a part of the USA. Regardless this guy needs vetting just as much as Sarah Palin, and anyone thinking of voting for McCain-Palin, should seriously consider the influence that Todd Palin would have in the event of a Palin administration. This is especially important given McCain's health.
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