Friends close and enemies closer?

(This is not - unfortunately - any brilliant insight of mine but one I've borrowed from a conversation earlier today.)

You'll recall, of course, that Frank Murkowski appointed Sarah Palin to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission early in his term. Palin had campaigned on his behalf after finishing second in the lieutenant-governor's Republican primary.

The position gave Palin access to information that ultimately led her to unmask Randy Ruedrich's corruption. That, in turn, gave her a statewide profile which she was able to parlay into a run for the governorship in 2006, in which she defeated (among others) none other than the man who appointed her to the AOGCC in the first place.

Now is Palin doing the same thing by appointing John Binkley to the Alaska Railroad Board of Directors? I understand that you should keep your friends close and enemies closer and I'm all in favor of appointing qualified people to state jobs. But what if Curt Menard lets slip some bit of Palin's Mat-Su history that's better left unsaid? Or what if Binkley uncovers some bits of Palin administration corruption?

I doubt history will repeat itself in this situation but it would be delightfully ironic if it did.