"Alaska's governors must not be swayed by the wealth and political power of that industry," Wally Hickel testified in a hearing about a controversial plan to reclaim vital natural gas leases held by Exxon Mobil Corp. and others. "It's time to take those leases back. In fact, it's way past time."

The state did move against Exxon Mobil, starting a game of high-stakes legal chicken that continues to this day. And in the following years, the Palin administration took other aggressive actions against the industry _ something she and Sen. John McCain have repeatedly used to bolster her credentials as a self-described maverick.

However, a review of the Palin administration's record on big oil shows a stance that's in many ways less maverick than mainstream. Challenging the oil industry may have been somewhat unusual for a governor of Alaska, but Palin did it at a time when the public was clamoring for change. And she did so with the help of Democrats, even following their lead on a key oil tax issue.

"Her luck was to be in the right place at the right time," said Beth Kerttula, an oil and gas lawyer, a Democrat and the minority leader of the state House of Representatives. "It almost would have happened no matter who was governor."

Ever since McCain chose Palin, the ticket has touted the first-term governor's in-your-face relationships with oil and gas companies. The campaign Web site says she "took on the oil companies" by starting a competitive process to build a natural gas pipeline across the state; "sent a large share" of oil tax revenue directly back to the people of Alaska; and "successfully fought the special interests, the lobbyists, the big oil companies and the good ol' boys network."

In the vice presidential debate, Palin hit the theme hard: "You know what I had to do in the state of Alaska? I had to take on those oil companies and tell them 'no.' "

To an outsider, sticking it to the industry that supplies 85 percent of a state's revenue might seem a real profile in courage.

At the time, though, her views were in line with public sentiment. The governor, who's now No. 2 for a party that advocates low taxes and limited regulation, succeeded in her home state by raising taxes on its most important business and exerting government power over it.

Despite her partisan rhetoric on the campaign trail, Palin is known at home as a governor more than willing to work with the opposition.

"In Juneau she was very respectful of Democrats," said Kerttula, the House minority leader, whose district includes the state capital of Juneau. "The only two issues that mattered _ the oil tax and the gas line _ were Democratic issues for a long, long time."

At the same time, she has alienated oil companies, who've found it difficult to negotiate on the key issues they faced. "The word would be frustration," said Ken Boyd, a former director of the state's oil and gas division and now a consultant for oil companies. "I don't think the oil companies dislike the governor.