McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

BREAKING NEWS: McCain source tells NBC that Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin is his VP pick.

Message edited 8/29/2008 10:51:00 AM.

Re: it's official!!!

well, almost

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I just this too!!!

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is it me, or does she look like an older mariska hargitay?

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What a wonderful, vintage McCain move. I love it! I think it will help undecided women and women upset that Obama didn't pick Clinton. I, personally, am excited about this choice!

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

McCain picks Palin as running mate
Popular Alaska governor to be first female Republican VP nominee

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, NBC News has learned.

She would be the first woman ever to serve on a Republican presidential ticket. The pro-life Palin would also be the first Alaskan ever to appear on a national ticket.

Palin, 44, was elected Alaska's first woman governor in 2006. The state’s voters had grown weary of career politician Gov. Frank Murkowski, whom she defeated in the GOP primary.

“I've been blessed with the right timing here,” Palin said before the election. “There's no doubt that Alaskans right now are dealing in an atmosphere of distrust of government and industry.”

On Aug. 1, she scored a major victory when the Alaska legislature passed a bill that authorizes her administration to award a license to TransCanada Alaska to build a 1,715-mile natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope to a hub in Canada.

The pipeline would be the largest construction project in the history of North America. If completed as hoped within ten years, it would ship 4.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The United States imported about 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2007.

Under investigation for firing
But Palin’s seemingly bright future was clouded in late July when the state legislature voted to hire an independent investigator to find out whether she tried to have a state official fire her ex-brother-in-law from his job as a state trooper.

The allegation was made by former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, whom Palin fired in mid-July.

“It is a governor’s prerogative, a right, to fill that cabinet with members whom she or he believes will do best for the people whom we are serving,” Palin told CNBC’s Larry Kudlow in an interview on Aug. 1. “So I look forward to any kind of investigation or questions being asked because I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Palin also reacted to the indictment of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens by calling it “very dismaying.” She added, “Hopefully though, this won’t be a distraction and get people’s minds off what has to be done in the grand scheme of things.”

As for the prospect of her being vice president, Palin told Kudlow that she could not answer the question of whether she wanted the job “until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day. I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here….”

Palin is married to Todd Palin, a lifelong Alaskan who is a production operator on the North Slope and a four-time champion of the Iron Dog, which is described as “the world's longest snow-machine race.”

Mother of five
They have five children. Their son, Track, enlisted in the U.S. Army on Sept. 11, 2007.

Palin birth to their fifth child, Trig, last April. The baby boy has Down syndrome, a genetic abnormality that impedes a child's intellectual and physical development.

"When we first heard, it was kind of confusing," Palin said, according to an account in the Anchorage Daily News. She called the news "very, very challenging."

But she added in a note, imagining what God would say to her family, "Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome."

Palin made a name for herself in Alaska politics by serving as mayor of Wasilla City for six years and going on to run unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2002.

Clash over ethics
After her unsuccessful run, Palin received an appointment to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, where she ended up serving a role in an ethics probe into Republican Party Chairman Randy Reudrich, who was questioned about conflicts of interest with the oil industry.

The investigation ultimately forced Ruedrich to resign from the commission.

Palin's role in the investigation left her a party outsider, but she was able to win the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary against Murkowski, going on to win the 2006 general election by seven points over her Democratic opponent.

During one debate before the primary, Palin said she was in favor of capital punishment in especially heinous cases such as the murder of a child. "My goodness, hang 'em up, yeah,” she said.

Born in Idaho, Palin moved to Alaska with her parents in 1964, when they went there to teach school.

She received a degree in communications and journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987.

source

Message edited 8/29/2008 10:52:20 AM.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

I am not a McCain fan, but I think it is a great pick.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

Nice choice!

I was hoping for either this or Lieberman!

McCain really is NOT the tough, old, very right repub that a lot of people think he is b/c he is a war hero and has white hair -- believe me, this is not your grandpa. He actually is open minded, more middle of the road and it shows with his VP pick. People can say this is a ploy to get more votes but believe me, a rigid repub is NOT going to pick a woman unless part of him really wants to pick her.

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Now this year no matter which candidate wins, there will be history made.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

Posted by 08BabySurprise

What a wonderful, vintage McCain move. I love it! I think it will help undecided women and women upset that Obama didn't pick Clinton. I, personally, am excited about this choice!

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

it's such a political move, it's really disgusting.

this and his "good on ya, Obama" sound bite yesterday is really turning my stomach towards him.

too calculated for me.

the whole process is.

Obama picking an older white man and McCain picking a chick.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

Posted by Ophelia

it's such a political move, it's really disgusting.

this and his "good on ya, Obama" sound bite yesterday is really turning my stomach towards him.

too calculated for me.

the whole process is.

Obama picking an older white man and McCain picking a chick.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

Posted by Ophelia

Obama picking an older white man and McCain picking a chick.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

Posted by headoverheels


Jess, when are YOU going to run for president?

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

It is a very political move, but so was the choice of Biden.

And well, they are politicians.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

That was a completely political, most likely party driven, choice ........

Not that she's not qualified (I have no idea) but she was chosen b/c she's a woman.

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

By definition all politicans and their choices are POLITICAL. I find it hilarious that Obama supporters actually believe that he is not going to be political.

I think Palin is an interesting choice and it will be interested to see how it plays out. Although I must admit I was hoping for Meg Whitman (Ebay CEO).

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Clearly a political move, specifically crafted to lure Hillary supporters.

Politics....

Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

Definitely a political move and honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

It would be foolish for McCain to ignore the wave of Hilary voters who aren't convinced about Obama, but this seems a little desperate. She's been governor less than 2 years, so how is she going to be ready if something happens to McCain?

On the other hand, it kinda helps McCain prove that he isn't just "one of the boys" and is willing to be his own man, since there is so much animosity towards the Republican party in general right now.

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Smart move.

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Re: McCain's VP pick - it's official!!!

BRILLIANT!!!

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Hmmm See I am an independent and I really am still undecided. Last night's speech really impressed me and I thought I was all Barack.. But now.... I am really intrigued by this pick... I have some real thinking and research to do this election!!!

I am so the "group" he was looking to sway with this pick Independent and woman.