Palin says she hopes and prays for an election win
WASILLA, Alaska -- Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin voted Tuesday in the town hall where she once presided as mayor, a short-lived homecoming for the Alaska governor as she headed for an election-night watch party in Arizona with John McCain.
''Here in Alaska, where we've cleaned up the corruption and we've taken on some self-dealing and self-interests, we've been able to really put government back on the side of the people,'' Palin told reporters after voting. ''I hope, pray, believe I'll be able to do that as vice president for everybody in America, helping to transform our national government, too.''
(AP)
In talking with reporters, Palin said she recognized that the election, with the first black candidate of a major party and the GOP's first female vice presidential nominee, was a historical event, ''no matter which ticket, of course, prevails.
''It bodes so well for the progress that our great country is making, and barriers, of course, being removed and glass ceilings being shattered, again, as the representation on both tickets will show,'' she said.
Palin and her husband, Todd, flew overnight to Anchorage and then drove the 40 miles to Wasilla to join the first group of voters at its town hall. She hugged friends and shook hands with poll workers and others.
Palin spent about two minutes in a voting booth before emerging with her ballot and then left wearing an ''I Voted'' sticker on her jacket.
On her way to vote, the Alaska governor stopped at a coffee shop. She held up a newspaper that showed a headline reading, ''Board exonerates Palin,'' which heralded the news that a state board had found no ethical violations by Palin in what has been known as the ''Troopergate'' scandal. Holding the newspaper for TV cameras, she remarked, ''Nice headline.''
Although the state personnel board -- its members are appointed by the governor -- found that Palin had violated no ethics laws, a separate investigation by the state Legislature found that she had abused her office. She dismissed the critical report as the product of partisans.
The state's public safety commissioner alleged that he felt pressure from Palin, her husband and her staff to fire a state trooper who had gone through a contentious divorce from Palin's sister. Palin denied the claim and said she fired Commissioner Walt Monegan in July because she wanted the department to head in a new direction.
The investigation by the Legislative Council concluded last month that Palin abused her office by allowing her husband and staffers to pressure Monegan to fire the trooper, Mike Wooten. However, it upheld the firing because Monegan was an at-will employee.