So what is the extent of the ethics pressure that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is under? The Associated Press compiled a list of the ethics complaints filed against Palin, who will step down as governor soon saying she is a victim of “the politics of personal destruction.” Palin said the ethics investigations are unnecessarily consuming state resources.

In all, state officials say they have spent $1,963,840 to answer records requests from the ethics filings and to respond in other ways to them. Records show that since January 1, 2008, the state has spent $296,043 on such investigations.

Since Palin took office, 19 complaints have been filed, with a new one filed since the AP compiled its list at the end of June. Four of the resolved complaints have to do with “Troopergate.” Palin also reimbursed the state over $8,000 for travel with her children.

One of the more bizarre complaints:

Jan. 12: Complaint alleging interference in a job hiring was filed under the name of Edna Birch, a busybody character on the British soap opera Emmerdale. Palin’s attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said no one by that name could be found living in Alaska and the filer refused to use a real name, so the complaint was dismissed Feb. 20.

Palin was also charged with a conflict of interest for wearing gear with the Arctic Cat logo at her husband’s snowmobile race – the company sponsors Todd Palin.

All of these have been dismissed or resolved; four, including the one filed days ago, are pending. The cases allege that Palin has misused the state office for personal or political gain.

Update: TIME magazine’s cover story on Palin this week has this comment about what one of her advisers sees as the source of the trouble:

“A lot of this comes from Washington, D.C. The trail is pretty direct and pretty obvious to us,” says Meg Stapleton, a close Palin adviser in Alaska. Awaiting a flight back to Anchorage from distant Dillingham, Stapleton adds that the anti-Palin offensive seems lifted straight from The Thumpin’, which describes the political strategies of Rahm Emanuel, who is now the White House chief of staff. “It’s the Sarah Palin playbook. It’s how they operate,” Stapleton says.