Palin’s hubby had run of Alaska politics, government when she was governor

NEW YORK - Alaska’s former “First Dude” Todd Palin is said to have had a free run of the state’s politics when his wife Sarah was Governor.

He apparently had a hand in several high-level government decisions, including monitoring union contract negotiations, judicial and state board appointments.

According to more than 3,000 pages of e-mails obtained by msnbc.com and NBC News under Alaska’s public records law, 243 were kept away from public view on grounds that Todd Palin was protected as an unpaid government advisor.

The unreleased e-mails apparently detail Todd Palin’s communications with top state officials on everything from gas pipeline bids to per diem payments for the governor’s travels.

According to the New York Daily News, another withheld email was an explanation of the protocol for replying “to media questions about Todd Palin’s work and potential conflict of interests.”

The messages also offer a look into the couple’s personal lives - including growing tensions between the high-profile pair and the press.

“That gossip crap bugs me,” Sarah Palin writes in one, referring to an Anchorage Daily News story on repairs to the governor’s mansion.

Another foreshadows a future political firestorm. The Palins zapped messages back and forth to plan a rare date night.

They saw “Juno” - the surprise hit film about a teenage girl dealing with an unplanned pregnancy - 10 months before their unmarried daughter Bristol, then 18, gave birth to son Tripp. (ANI)