Palin Politics, Family Inseparable

Sarah Palin slides seamlessly from perfectly coiffed GOP attack dog to doting hockey mom —so just what is life in the Palin clan like? “Sarah Barracuda” has always intertwined her family and her political life, the Washington Post reports, from her working-mom, Wal-Mart-shopper image to her husband’s "First Dude" hands-on role in the governor’s office.

Palin’s children rarely miss a photo op, and Todd Palin’s championship-snowmobiler status gave the family plenty of down-home cred. But those who land on the wrong side of her values can expect quick vengeance: she once fired an aide who had an affair with the wife of her husband’s friend. "When you fall out of favor with Palin, it's a pretty quick off-with-your-head," the former aide says.