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08/30/08-09/01/08

McCain Chooses Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for V.P.

Hillary Clinton’s historic race for the White House may have ended earlier this week when she officially released her delegates and endorsed Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee. But a woman still has a shot at the White House in November -- this time on the Republican ticket.

Shocking many in his own party and passing over far better-known names, Republican presidential nominee John McCain on Friday selected 44-year-old Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.

Palin has been governor of Alaska for just two years, and her tendency to clash with members of her own party and act as something of a maverick politician makes her a smart partner in McCain’s bid for the White House, political pundits are suggesting.

Palin was elected governor in 2006 after defeating incumbent Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the general election. Palin was the youngest governor in Alaskan history, taking the office at 42. She was also the first woman to be elected governor of the state.

Before her election as governor, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla city council from 1992 to 1996 before moving on to serve as mayor from 1996 to 2002. Palin failed to secure enough votes in 2002 to win a bid for lieutenant governor. Governor Murkowski appointed Palin as ethics commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003. However, Palin resigned from the position in protest the following year. She claimed her complaints of legal violations and conflicts of interest were ignored by fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, whom she accused of suffering from a “lack of ethics.”

Born in Idaho, where she lived briefly before moving to Alaska, Palin is an avid outdoorswoman and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, and she was once the first runner-up in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant.

Patrick Sammon of the Log Cabin Republicans lauded McCain's pick of Palin. "Alaska governor Sarah Palin can help Senator McCain appeal to independent voters and win this election," Sammon said in a press release. "She's a mainstream Republican who will unite the party and serve John McCain well as vice president. Governor Palin is an inclusive Republican who will help Senator McCain appeal to gay and lesbian voters."

Many would argue with that assertion.

Palin is often profiled as a strong conservative who is rabidly anti-abortion and opposes same-sex marriage equality, saying she supports the Alaska state constitutional ban on gay marriage that was passed in 1998.

Palin claims she has "gay friends" and is open to gay and lesbian concerns about discrimination. As governor, she signed into law a state supreme court-ordered measure to grant same-sex partner benefits. However, she publicly stated that she disagreed with the court ruling and supported a public vote on whether to amend the constitution to address the issue.

"We believe we have no more judicial options to pursue," Palin was quoted as saying by the Anchorage Daily News on December 21, 2006. "So we may disagree with the foundation there, the rationale behind the ruling, but our responsibility is to proceed forward with the law and abide by the constitution."

McCain’s pick of Palin for his running mate was a surprising choice to political pundits and many in the Republican Party. In making his selection, McCain passed over a string of names he had been vetting for the slot for months, including Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who himself made a run for the Republican nomination. McCain was expected to choose his ticket mate from among more well-known names as Romney, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, U.S. senator Joseph Lieberman, and former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge.

In fact, the selection of Palin came as such a surprise to some in the party, even as she arrived in Ohio last night for Friday’s announcement, McCain staffers told the press many believed she was still at home in Alaska.

As one of the main points of attack from McCain against Obama has been the Illinois senator’s inexperience in national and world politics, choosing Palin seems even odder to some. Palin can be viewed as being far more inexperienced on the national and world stage than Obama. Yet, if McCain has chosen her as his running mate, it says to the public that he believes she has the experience to lead the country if necessary -- which goes against McCain’s attacks on Obama’s ability to lead due to his inexperience. (The Advocate; reporting by Julie Bolcer and Ross Von Metzke)

Keywords: 2008 Election John McCain

Related stories from Advocate.com

2008-12-02: Wanda Sykes, Thomas Beatie Kick Off Advocate's People of the Year
2008-11-21: Democratic Supermajority No Guarantee for Gay Progress
2008-11-21: From the Great White Way to the White House
2008-11-19: Setting the Agenda ... the Gay One
2008-11-12: Race, Religion, and Proposition 8
2008-11-08: Prop. 8 Opponents Rally at Mormon Temple
2008-11-07: Etheridge, DeGeneres Respond to Prop. 8 Passing
2008-11-07: 27% of Gay Voters Sided With McCain
2008-11-06: My Election Day: Campaigning for No on 8
2008-11-06: A Post-Election Letter to Friends and Family
2008-11-06: Change Comes From the Middle of the Country
2008-11-06: Prop. 8 Protest Takes Over Los Angeles
2008-11-06: Existing Marriages May Still Be Legal if Prop. 8 Passes
2008-11-06: Antigay Bans Pass Across the Country, Prop. 8 Undecided
2008-11-06: The Separation of Church and Real Estate
2008-11-05: Barbara Boxer: Marriage Fight Not Over
2008-11-05: What Obama's Victory Means for the LGBT Community
2008-11-05: The Experienced Vote
2008-11-05: A Long, Lackluster Election Day for Republicans
2008-11-05: Gay Marriage: An Electoral Liability

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Ronald
Date posted: 2008-09-02 1:59 PM
Hometown: Honolulu

Comment:

Obviously Roger did NOT do any research because one would find the following results for the 2000 election between Bush and Gore: Election Gore (D): 47.3%; Bush (R): 51.1%. The difference between the two would be 1.6% and includes ALL third party and write in votes, not even close for Nader votes to matter. And, this result does not include the fact that Tennessee has been a red state for years, so red, in fact, that Neither Bush nor Kerry campaigned there in 2004. Oh, and watching that video I recommended, The American Blackout, will formally educate anyone who is fast to blame others for a rigged election in regard to the Florida votes. Stop blaming the champions of consumer rights and instead face the facts of the matter (and do research outside of the Huffington Post for Christ's sakes).

Name: Carol
Date posted: 2008-09-01 8:09 PM
Hometown: MO

Comment:

I won't even try to figure out why McCain picked Palin for this VP job in our country's Government....it's so wrong. She has never even been associated with the politics of Wash D.C. He likes her putting her adversaries in their place? Any woman is capable of this, but it doesn't mean we have the capabilites to be VP. How would you like to have this mommy, and anti-everything that isn't fundamental, for your President? How would you like a big mouth screaming down everyone in Congress instead of knowing how to debate issues? When you compare Palin to Hillary Clinton, Nancey Pelosi, Sec. of State Albright, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc. it shocks the socks off you to think this beginner thinks she has what it takes to be VP, and that the Republican contender for President thinks so too. Obama and Biden, or we'll all be sitting in the streets, and fighting for our freedom as American citizens for another four years.

Name: Roger Burr
Date posted: 2008-09-01 11:20 AM
Hometown: Marble Hill, MO

Comment:

To Ronald in Honolulu... Yes, I did do my homework. Over 13,000 people in Tennessee voted for Nader. Had those votes gone to Al Gore, he would have carried Tennessee which would have given him the requisite number of electoral votes; and the election. By losing his home state, the matter went to Florida until the Supreme Court stopped the vote count and gave the election to Bush. God help us if something like that ever happens again. A third-party candidtae, however desirable, IS a detriment in elections such as this one in 2008,, since the nation in general, and the LGBT community in particular, cannot afford another four years of Republican mismanagement.

Name: Ronald
Date posted: 2008-09-01 12:00 AM
Hometown: Honolulu

Comment:

Roger, have you done any research on your claim that Nader cost Gore the election? Or, do you just subscribe to one ideology? Obviously you haven't looked at the documentary, The American Blackout, or even read commentary by Al Gore in regard to the 2004 election. Voting third party has nothing to do with the two main candidates besides voicing one's opinion to support their candidate of choice. The one thing the Democratic party did with their 2000 and 2004 propaganda blame game was to create a bunch of unintelligent political bigots in the neo-left who are quick to blame others for not voting for their own corrupt candidate.

Name: Matt Munson
Date posted: 2008-08-31 11:25 PM
Hometown: Ontario, California

Comment:

Ok, we have the thing called the electoral college. Will McCain win California, no. I live in California where it will be solidly for Obama. If you live in a state thats solidly for Obama, be tactical. This advice is only for the 10 in 100 who are Republican who may be regular readers of this website. If Bob Barr could eat into McCain's vote share, then let him have a weaker vote percentage. Libertarians ruined Republicans more than Democrats in 2006. We would not of had Democratic party senators in MT and MO. I dont trust Obama, I lean Republican. And I realize that all of the Republican candidates this year sucked, and even Rudy would of been assimilated into the fundamentalist borg. If you don't mind Obama's foreign policy or his views on energy, jump into the pool for change. But if you still have some strong conservative leanings Barr would be suitable as long as you are not in a swing state.

Name: Roger Burr
Date posted: 2008-08-31 2:28 PM
Hometown: Marble Hill, MO

Comment:

I hate to write twice about the same news item, but I must DISAGREE, strongly, with Matt from Ontario, CA. He is suggesting we vote Libertarian. If there was EVER an election in which a third party candidate could ruin it for the Democrat, THIS one is it! ANY vote for anyone OTHER than Obama, is tantamount to a vote for McCain. We need look back no farther than the 2000 election to see what a third party candidate (Ralph Nader) did to the Democrat, Al Gore. By splitting the democratic and independent voters between two candidates; he guaranteed the election of Bush and we have ALL paid the price for that fiasco. We need to stand behind Barack Obama and let nothing and no one deter us from voting for him. If NOT; we face the George Bush 'clone' and the Phyllis Schlafly look-alike he has taken as his VP.

Name: Jason
Date posted: 2008-08-31 11:58 AM
Hometown: Wichita Falls, Tx

Comment:

She is so overwhelmingly UNDERqualified for the position it's not even funny. Her experience in politics amounts to one term as governor of one of the most remote states, two term mayor of a town of about 9,000. Oh and she was a former sportscaster, beauty queen, and professional hunter. Am I missing anything? If the Republicans win the white house then they're going to do everything they can to snuff out the cause of gay rights quicker than you can say federal marriage amendment act because you know if they take the white house, it's only a matter of time before they take over congress too. Well I don't know about you but I've had enough of the evangelicals and the conservative right standing in the way of progress. VOTE OBAMA-BIDEN!!!!!!! VOTE FOR CHANGE!!!!!!

Name: rgm
Date posted: 2008-08-30 12:56 PM
Hometown: wdc

Comment:

Never mind that she a homophobic religious zealot, she is an inexperienced “hockey mom” who’s thirteen years of “public service” includes a stint on the PTA, town councilor and mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people. As governor of Alaska, a post she has held less than two years, she presides over a state with fewer people than the entire city of Memphis, Tennessee. McCains choose of Palin is simply more of the same, a political favor to appease the religious right. Haven’t we had enough of unqualified political ideologues these past eight years? At a time when we are facing two wars, religious zealots and a flailing economy his choose is NOT about putting country first it is hypocritical and quite frankly reckless. Who in their right mind would be comfortable with Ms Palin being a heartbeat away from the presidency?

Name: Joshua Darling
Date posted: 2008-08-30 9:45 AM
Hometown: Lincoln, Ne

Comment:

I do so want to like her, as she seems to be a bit of a drag queen/beauty queen vibe. Nevertheless, I also seem to get some euro-trash vibe, most noticeable with that pink terry cloth jump suit with flip flops she was sporting in her local grocery store chatting up locals and holding her down syndrome baby, girl has got some work to do, or I should say woman. Someone was saying they should not feel bad about wanted to vote for a woman, but I feel that your should not vote for someone for their color, race, gender, sexual orientation, and other individual characteristics. One should only vote for that candidate that connects with you and inspires you to have hope but to be the change they wish to see in the world. For me, I heart Obama-Biden. Sure I wish it was Hillary, but I still back my team 100%. As Obama stated it is not about him, it is about US!

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