Alaska Democratic Party

Gov. Sean Parnell  made a mistake by declining to meet President Barack Obama today in Anchorage.

I understand that Parnell had a commitment that he made a month ago, but Parnell should have apologized to the Associated General Contractors and gone to meet Obama at Elmendorf. I’m sure the AGC would not have objected.

Parnell’s decision reflects poorly on Alaska. It’s an unwanted holdover from the partisanship of the 2008 vice presidential campaign. Parnell should be charting a different course.

SUMMIT: Alaska natives ask for aid, suggest vacationing in state.

Meeting with tribal leaders from across the country Thursday in Washington, D.C., President Obama heard calls from Alaska Natives for help combating suicide, coastal erosion and offshore drilling.

Acknowledging broken promises of the past, the president vowed to involve tribal governments in federal decision-making. Alaska Native leaders called the summit -- the first of its kind in 15 years -- a historic move by the White House as the president and several top aides spent the day talking with tribes.

All of Washington is abuzz today over a report in the Washington Post about a memo accidentally leaked by the House Ethics Committee. The July memo details how the committee's investigators "have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling," according to the Post. (The memo itself was mistakenly posted on a publicly accessible computer network, the Post reports.)