$50,000 Photo Op

That age old question resurfaces for the newest celebrity in the Republican party: how do you sell yourself as a reformer and still play the big money politics game? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin surfaced from obscurity right into the center of a media frenzy and is now banking on her newfound fame to draw in big donors.  Later this month a fundraiser will charge $50,000 to GOP check-writers to dine and have their picture taken with McCain's ticketmate.  Palin has made much of her "reformer" credentials, saying she'll shake up the Washington status quo and fight earmark spending.  But when it comes to pulling in the big checks it seems Gov. Palin is sticking with tradition: "She seems to have quickly acclimated to the way big money is raised on a national level," said Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors presidential fundraising."Both presidential tickets are talking a big game about reform, but it seems to get the opportunity to reform they play the same old game and raise money from deep-pocketed donors at exclusive events," Ritsch said. Think anyone's going to auction one of those pictures off on eBay?