TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Palin Seen As Kindred Spirit

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL COOPER and ELISABETH BUMILLER

The New York Times

Published: August 30, 2008

DAYTON, Ohio - Sen. John McCain surprised the political world on Friday by naming Sarah Palin, a little-known Alaska governor and self-described "hockey mom" with almost no foreign policy experience, as his running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

Palin, 44, a social conservative, former union member and mother of five who has been governor for two years, was on none of the widely discussed McCain campaign short lists for vice president. In selecting her, McCain reached far outside the Washington Beltway in an election year in which Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama is running on a platform of change.

"She's not from these parts, and she's not from Washington, but when you get to know her, you're going to be as impressed as I am," McCain told a midday rally of 15,000 people in a basketball arena here shortly before Palin, with her husband and four of her children, strode onto the stage.

Within moments, Palin made an explicit appeal to the disappointed supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by praising not only Clinton but also the only other woman in American history who has been on a presidential ticket, Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale's running mate for the Democratic nomination in 1984.

"Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, but it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all," Palin said to huge applause. Palin and McCain then embarked on a bus tour across Ohio and north into western Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh, a route that took in a wide swath of the central battleground in this year's presidential campaign.

Palin, who opposes abortion, played especially well among evangelicals and other social conservatives, who have always viewed McCain warily and who have been jittery in recent weeks because of reports that McCain was considering naming a running mate who favors abortion rights.

The McCain campaign sees her as a kindred spirit to McCain, particularly in her history of taking heat from fellow Republicans for bucking them on issues and spotlighting their ethical failings. Like McCain, her political profile is built in part on her opposition to questionable government spending projects.

But they differ on a number of policies. Palin opposed McCain on one of the most prominent Alaskan issues: She supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and McCain opposes it, much to the consternation of some Republicans. McCain's environmental policy accepts that global warming is driven by man-made pollution; Palin has said she is not convinced.

Palin, a former mayor of the small town of Wasilla, an Anchorage suburb, first rose to prominence as a whistle-blower uncovering ethical misconduct in state government.

But just a few weeks ago she became the subject of a state ethics investigation.

In August, a bipartisan panel of state legislators appointed an independent investigator to look into whether Palin had fired a top law enforcement official in her administration because he had failed to dismiss a state trooper who was involved in a divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister.

The questions began in mid-July, shortly after Palin fired Walt Monegan, the public safety commissioner and a former Anchorage police chief. Palin said she had wanted to take the department in a different direction.

Her selection to McCain's ticket amounted to a gamble that an infusion of new leadership - and the novelty of the Republican Party's first female candidate for vice president - would more than compensate for the risk that Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaign's central arguments, that Obama is too inexperienced to be president.

Democrats and at least some shocked Republicans questioned the judgment of McCain, who has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that his running mate should have the qualifications to immediately step into the role of commander in chief.

McCain's words on the matter have had more than usual resonance because of his age - he turned 72 on Friday, and hopes to be the oldest person ever elected to a first term.

Palin appears to have traveled very little outside the United States. In July 2007, she had to get a passport before she visited members of the Alaska National Guard stationed in Kuwait, according to her deputy communications director, Sharon Leighow. McCain's advisers said that McCain was well aware that Palin would be criticized for her lack of foreign policy experience, but that he viewed her as exceptionally talented and intelligent and that he felt she would be able to be educated quickly.

"She's going to learn national security at the foot of the master," said Charlie Black, one of McCain's top advisers.

Many conservatives said that the choice would energize them, giving McCain the support of a highly active group of voters and volunteers whose support was crucial to both of President Bush's victories.

"They're beyond ecstatic," said Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition.

Palin is known to conservatives for opting not to have an abortion after learning that her youngest child had Down syndrome. "It is almost impossible to exaggerate how important that is to the conservative faith community," Reed said.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT