The White House race is certainly throwing up lots of fascinating aspects, multiplied by the entrance of Sarah Palin into the fray. One of the most interesting and arcane elements of the campaign is that of the "Bridge to Nowhere".
CQ Politics has an excellent article on the issue which is worth reading.
In essence, the timeline seems to be:
-Congress changed the funding arrangement so that Alaska could spend the money (previously allocated to the Bridge (or indeed Bridges) to "nowhere") on general transportation projects
-After this, Sarah Palin campaigned in 2006 to still have the bridge built
-When she became Governor Palin said she would not build the bridge. But in fact, while she could have done, congress had already changed the bill so Alaska could spend it on any transport projects.
Palin has said “I told Congress ‘Thanks. But no thanks’ ” with regard to the bridge. But Congress already had given the Alaska government the money to spend as it wanted. She said ‘no’ to a bridge that she wasn’t required to support. She said ‘yes’ to the money.
It's all quite complex but CQ Politics explains it very well.
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