The only comparison I’m making is the money spent. If spending a lot of money to defend yourself makes you guilty then Palin would be guilty. We don’t think she is (at least not on all of it). I don’t think the money spent is relevant.
But it does make a difference if one example (Palin) HAS to defend herself against an ethics complaint, while the other example (Obama) could make the suit go away by complying with the request.