ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) John McCain touts his running mate, Alaska Governor sarah palin, as a force in his battle against earmarks and entrenched power brokers.

But under her leadership, Alaska has asked the federal government for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects this year. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress and runs counter to the image the GOP ticket is pushing.

McCain's campaign says Palin realizes Alaska has been too reliant on earmarks and ordered state officials to cut back on their requests. It also says Barack Obama requested nearly a billion dollars in earmarks over three years for Illinois, a state with nearly 20 times the population of Alaska.

Obama hasn't asked for any earmarks this year. Last year he requested 311 million dollars roughly $24 worth for every Illinoisan.

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