A few days after the ‘Gucci’ storm, Sarah Palin is still making headlines. And that is not good for John McCain. She has just finished giving evidence, behind closed doors, about her apparent misuse of power when firing an official in Alaska. If that wasn’t bad enough, she will not brand those who bomb abortion centers as terrorists.

Palin’s strong stand against abortion is well documented. Her own family has often been at the centre of her fight against the pro-choice movement; her youngest son has Downs’s syndrome and her teenage daughter is pregnant, but not married. More trouble for the McCain/Palin campaign.