Palin cuts trip short after McCain visor flap

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said she cut short her Hawaii vacation because of paparazzi, who photographed her wearing a sun visor with the name of Sen. John McCain blacked out.

The pictures were circulated widely on the Internet with speculation that the redaction was a slight against McCain, but Palin said she meant no disrespect to her former GOP running mate.

"In an attempt to 'go incognito,' I Sharpied the logo out on my sun visor so photographers would be less likely to recognize me and bother my kids or other vacationers," the former Alaska governor said in a statement.

"I am so sorry if people took this silly incident the wrong way. I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection," Palin said.

Other photographs of the Palins relaxing on the beach showed up on celebrity Web sites such as www.tmz.com.

"Todd and I have since cut our vacation short because the incognito attempts didn't work and fellow vacationers were bothered for the two days we spent in the sun," Palin said. "So much for trying to go incognito."

She was even more pointed in a message to her Twitter followers Thursday night upon returning home to Alaska, where a fresh 18 inches of snow had fallen: "So cut sunny vacation short (thanks, desperate paparazzi)."