before the end of the month. Palin stated that since August 2008, both she and the state had been spending an "insane" amount of time and money ($2.5 million) responding to "opposition research", 150 FOIA requests and 15 "frivolous" legal ethics complaints filed by "political operatives" against her. She said her resignation was also influenced by her desire not to be a lame duck. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell said that Palin's decision to resign was driven by the high cost of legal fees against ethics investigations; Palin and her husband Todd personally incurred more than $500,000 in legal expenses. Parnell became governor on July 26, 2009, in an inaugural ceremony in Fairbanks, upon Palin's resignation taking effect. In December 2010, new rules governing Alaska executive branch ethics, stemming from Palin's tenure as governor, took effect. "These include allowing for the state to pay legal costs for officials cleared of ethics violations; (and) allowing for a family member of the governor or lieutenant governor to travel at state cost in certain circumstances ..." 2008 vice presidential campaign Several conservative commentators met Palin in the summer of 2007. Some of them, such as Bill Kristol, later urged McCain to pick Palin as his vice presidential running mate, arguing that her presence on the ticket would provide a boost in enthusiasm among the Religious Right wing of the Republican party, while her status as an unknown on the national scene would also be a positive factor. On August 24, 2008, Steve Schmidt and a few other senior McCain campaign advisers discussed potential vice presidential picks with the consensus settling around Palin. The following day, the strategists advised McCain of their conclusions and McCain personally called Palin, who was at the Alaska State Fair. In retrospect, Schmidt acknowledged her selection was an immense mistake. On August 27, Palin visited McCain's vacation home near Sedona, Arizona, where she was offered the position of vice-presidential candidate. According to Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for McCain, he had previously met Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February 2008 and had come away "extraordinarily impressed." Palin was the only prospective running mate who had a face-to-face interview with McCain to discuss joining the ticket that week. Nonetheless, Palin's selection was a surprise to many because a main criticism he had of Obama was his lack of experience, and speculation had centered on other candidates, such