ST. PAUL, Minn. — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday cast herself as a Washington outsider and typical “hockey mom” whose small-town roots and state political experience qualify her to be the country’s next vice president.
Embracing the mantle of reform, the Republican vice presidential pick introduced herself to the American public, saying she “took on the old politics as usual in Juneau when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies and the good-old-boys network.”
On the night that the party formally nominated John McCain as its candidate for president, Palin received numerous standing ovations and roaring cheers inside the Xcel Energy Center as she fired back at critics who have questioned her political bona fides.
“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone,” she said in the most anticipated speech of Republican National Convention week. “But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion — I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country.”
Though it was her first national address — not to mention the most important speech of her career — Palin showed she was ready to take on the conventional vice presidential role of attack dog.
“Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown,” said Palin, 44, the state’s first female governor and who has been in office 21 months. “And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.”
The barely veiled barb, which received huge applause, was directed at Democratic nominee Barack Obama, who started his public-service career as a community organizer in Chicago. Throughout her speech, Palin criticized the Illinois senator for his lack of experience, noting that his rhetoric often makes people “forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state Senate.” And she painted him as a liberal weak on national security.
Obama “wants to forfeit”
“Victory in Iraq is finally in sight; he wants to forfeit,” she said. “Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America; he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights. Government is too big; he wants to grow it.”
Palin’s husband, Todd, who is a commercial fisherman, their five children and her parents were in the audience. Signs throughout the convention hall declared “Palin Power” and “Hockey Moms 4 Palin.” When she saw the signs, Palin went off script for a minute, asking the delegates whether they knew the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom.
“Pit bulls don’t wear lipstick,” she joked.
At the end of her speech, McCain came on stage to thunderous applause and asked the delegates, “Don’t you think we made the right choice for the next president of the United States?”
A hunter, former beauty queen and PTA member who is opposed to abortion rights in all circumstances except when the mother’s life is at stake, Palin was immediately embraced by social conservatives when she was added to the McCain ticket last week. Palin also injected a much-needed energy boost into McCain’s campaign, which at times has struggled to turn out enthusiastic supporters.
Waves in her personal life
The conservatives have remained squarely on her side, even as disclosures about her professional and personal life have caused waves.
Palin only generally addressed the issues. “Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys,” she said, as some delegates nodded their heads.
Palin’s 17-year-old, unmarried daughter is pregnant, and an attorney has been hired to represent the governor in an investigation into the firing of Alaska’s public-safety commissioner.
Though she has touted herself as a reformer with a record for cutting wasteful government spending, Palin hired a lobbyist when she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, who snagged $26 million in federal earmarks, according to the independent watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. And although she has since condemned federal funding for Alaska’s infamous “bridge to nowhere,” she initially supported it. That would appear to put her at odds with McCain, who opposes pork-barrel spending and called the project “outrageous.”
Palin and McCain also differ on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Palin supports it, while McCain does not. And Palin does not believe global warming is caused by humans, while McCain believes humans have contributed to it.
But Palin, who chaired the state’s regulatory Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003 and 2004, picked up McCain’s call for energy reform, saying they would “lay more pipelines, build more nuclear plants, create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources.”
She also mocked comments Obama has made about offshore drilling.
“Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems — as if we all didn’t know that already,” she said. “But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.”
McCain’s vetting process
The series of controversies surrounding Palin prompted questions about McCain’s vetting process. In the hours leading up to Palin’s speech, irritated McCain campaign officials said they would not answer any more questions about the screening process and suggested the media were targeting Palin because of her gender.
Six high-profile Republican women held a news conference in St. Paul on Wednesday, accusing Democrats of smearing Palin by focusing not on her record but on whether she could juggle children and the vice presidency.
“Republicans will not stand by while the governor is subjected to sexist remarks,” said Carly Fiorina, chairman of the RNC Victory 2008 group and former chief executive at Hewlett-Packard.
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
