'Hockey mom' gets the veep nod
GOP | McCain's choice of Alaska gov as running mate seeks to woo Hillary supporters, beef up appeal to conservatives
Giving a whole new vibe to the ticket as Republicans gather in Minnesota, John McCain is gambling that voters will be intrigued enough with his choice of first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to look past her limited experience.
The tightening polls in key states show McCain still has a real chance of beating the youthful and charismatic Barack Obama. But at age 72, McCain needed some sex appeal on his ticket even more than he needed someone with a long resume, some of his backers said.
(AP)
The 44-year-old chief of one of the least-populated states is unknown to mainland Americans who don't watch political talk shows. But she has been touted for months by conservatives who hope she can bring other "hockey moms" to the Republican ticket -- especially some who may feel slighted that Obama did not choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate.
With strong conservative views, Palin also reassures the Republican base that had been wary of McCain. At age 44, she gave birth in April to her fifth child, a son she knew had Down syndrome.
The family portrait of her and her husband Friday on stage in Dayton, Ohio, with their three daughters, their baby son -- her elder son is fighting in Iraq -- is expected to reassure Christian conservatives who complained that McCain lacked passion on the abortion issue despite touting a "100 percent pro-life voting record."
"I believe this choice will swing some of the women voters to the Republican Party because it has expanded his horizons," said Beth Lee, 53, a Lombard native living in Omaha. She has not made up her mind how she'll vote in November but appreciates the choice of Palin.
"She's a working mother with a child in Iraq and a Down syndrome son. That pulls a lot of heartstrings."
Obama spokesman Bill Burton immediately sent out an e-mail blasting the choice: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe vs. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."
But Obama later backtracked, saying Palin is "an admirable person" and "a compelling new voice." Her selection "is yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics," Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, said.
Like Obama, Palin's climb has been swift. She has been governor only since 2006. But McCain backers say that gives her two years of executive experience that no one else has on either ticket.
"She made more decisions in two years as chief executive of a state than Barack Obama did in his entire career in the Illinois Legislature or in Congress," said Illinois Republican National Committeeman Patrick Brady. "He was in a minority party for seven years and did fundamentally nothing. Our No. 2 has more experience than their No. 1."
Former Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka called Palin an inspired choice.
"It's very clever, and it certain blunts any bump the Democrats got from the convention," Topinka said. "I think although she's more conservative than Hillary Clinton, she may be able to pick up some of the disaffected women. I think there are a lot of women who are not only voting for the Democratic ticket. They are sitting home. They wanted to see a women running for the president. The fact that Hillary was not chosen as vice president is annoying to them."
Palin reached out to Clinton supporters, praising Clinton "who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign. ... She 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 has a long history of run-ins with the Alaska GOP hierarchy, giving her genuine maverick status and reformer credentials that could complement McCain's image.
She has come under the scrutiny of an investigation by the Republican-controlled legislature into the possibility that she ordered the dismissal of Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper.
Bumper stickers in Alaska tout her good looks, saying, "Coldest state. Hottest governor."
When she sent late-night comedian Craig Ferguson a video conferring honorary citizenship on him, he commended her on her "sexiness," saying, "Is it just me, or do you get a kind of naughty librarian vibe from the governor?"