What is an earmark?

If you ask for money from the federal government, it's an earmark. If I do, it's a legitimate request for federal aid that is desperately needed by my state, city or community for the health and safety of our citizens.

The LAT this morning makes no distinction. A piece authored by Tom Hamburger and Maeve Reston cites the funds requested by Alaska while Palin was governor and by Wasilla when she was mayor and identifies them as earmarks. Palin, in the Gibson interview, tries to distinguish between aid requested through normal channels and funding slipped into appropriations bills after the appropriation process and sometimes after the bills had passed and become law. The latter are clearly earmarks. The former may properly be called pork in some or even many cases but they are not earmarks if they were not put into bills sub rosa. 

Incidentally, the LAT does not cite earmarks requested by Barack Obama or Joe Biden.