US Magazine: The Story Behind the Cover ::: Coworker: "It's been very difficult to work with her,"

[jefferson_dem]

On January 15, Alaska governor Sarah Palin laughed along with an Alaskan shock-jock DJ who called her political rival Lyda Green a "cancer," a "bitch" and ridiculed her weight. (Green is a cancer survivor.)

"People were so nice and were motified. Newspapers that were never Lyda Green-friendly, they demanded that apologize," Green told Us.

"You know what she said? She said, 'I'm calling to apologize. I hope you didn't misunderstand the radio program,'" Green says. "I told her, 'I didn't misunderstand.'"

The Alaska state senator added, "It's not a good way to behave. Why would anybody call a shock jock?"

So what did Green think when she heard Palin was John McCain's vice presidential candidate? "It's been very difficult to work with her," she tells Us Weekly. "I wish there had been more vetting."

Monday, Palin released a statement confirming that her daughter Bristol, 17, was five-months pregnant.

See more shocking teen pregnancies.

Mom-of-five Palin is antiabortion (even in cases of rape) and opposed to sex-education classes (she believes in abstinence instruction for teens).

In the wake of the announcement about Bristol, questions have begun to arise about the governor's candor and McCain's judgment (The New York Times reported that McCain's camp vetted Palin only the day before her selection was announced.

"It's conceivable a 17-year-old girl just screwed the GOP," Democratic strategist George Lakoff tells Us Weekly.

Though hailed by many family-values supporters for standing by her daughter during her difficult time, Barbara Belknap, former president of the National Organization of Women's Juneau chapter, is less glowing: "Here's a textbook case of how abstinence - only doesn't work in practice, even if your mom's the governor."

Check out the latest issue of Us Weekly, available Wednesday, for more on the bizarre and false conspiracy and photos that led to the governor's stunning admission about her teenage daughter, what Palin is like as a person, and why Bristol's high school sweet Levi Johnston may not be ready for fatherhood.

http://www.usmagazine.com/sarah-palin-very-difficult-to-work-with

[Cha]

1. Thanks to US Weekly for

getting on this FAST.