SARAH'S PLIGHT - AT 11:07 A.M. ET:  From the Anchorage Daily News: 

Gov. Sarah Palin owes more than a half million dollars to an Anchorage law firm that has defended her against ethics complaints, and she may create a legal fund to pay the bill, she said Friday.

Legal bills have mounted fighting complaints that she called partisan, false and frivolous, starting with "the politically motivated Troopergate probe," Palin said in a written response to questions.

She said the legal bills all stem from her actions as governor.

"I must defend against these baseless ethics accusations out of my own pocket as the use of public monies to do so could itself violate state law," Palin wrote.

COMMENT:  Like her or not, Sarah Palin has faced a disgraceful level of harassment and abuse.  Suing public officials is becoming a sport, meaning, as she says in the story, that we may reach a point where only the wealthy can serve - or those who have their own law firm.  We have to provide some protection for public officials who are frivolously sued, or we risk serious damage to our democracy.

March 21, 2009