Sarah Palin: Hockey Mom Extraordinaire

Update Below
Sarah who? I've been hearing a lot of that lately. Sarah who? You know, that 40-something, mayor (or is it governor) of some podunk town in Alaska, mother of five, yes, I said, five children including a son serving in the US Army and a baby with Down Syndrome, BA in journalism. Who does she think she is? She's not ivy-league. Not law review. Where does she get off thinking she could become the vice-president of the United States of America? What does she have that her opponent Joe Biden, fine-upstanding, 30 years in Washington living off the taxpayers dime doesn't? What can she offer? Governor of one of the least populous states in the country. Soon to be grandmother of an illegitimate baby. Beauty Pageant contestant. Family values??

I don't get it.

Come on. Let's look at the negatives: she's a beautiful woman, happily married for twenty years, mother of five children, hockey mom, first term extremely popular governor, a maverick, complete Washington outsider, she's taken on corrupt GOP politicos and Big Oil in Alaska, member of the NRA, and she wears skirts!!

Feminists should love this woman. She's everything they've been trying create for the past 35 years. Successful working mom. Check. Pioneering woman in politics. Check. Anti-abortion. Uh-oh. Religious. Double uh-oh. Conservative. AAAHHH!

Seriously, when I first heard Sarah Palin was John McCain's choice for his running mate I was blown away. I never in a million years thought that McCain would pick a young, intelligent woman as his running mate. Just for that reason, my respect for him has grown. What a historical moment. What a historical election this is. Now, who is Sarah Palin?

She was raised in Wasilla, Alaska. She attended University of Idaho and graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Journalism. She married her high school sweetheart after college and worked as a sportscaster. Her husband never graduated from college but ran a commercial fishing business. He's a member of the Steelworkers Union and recently was working for BP Oil in Alaska. They are the parents of two sons, the oldest is enlisted in the Army and will be deploying to Iraq on September 11th. Her youngest is four months, diagnosed with Down Syndrome. They have three daughters, the oldest as we have been rudely informed is unwed and pregnant. Now for the nitty gritty. Her political record. Sarah Palin started out her political career as a city council member and later, two-term mayor of the town she grew up in. Wasilla, Alaska, pop. 8,500. She was appointed to the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission which she chaired and served as Ethics supervisor. It was during this post that she protested and filed complaints against prominent the state Republican Party's chairman and Attorney General regarding ethical issues. They resigned and were fined for ethical violations. In 2006 Palin ran for governor against a Republican incumbent and handily won. While in office she sold the previous governor's state-paid private jet on eBay and reduced pork-barrel spending. During her first legislative session, Governor Palin’s administration passed two major pieces of legislation – an overhaul of the state’s ethics laws and a competitive process to construct a gas pipeline.

The media seems to be infatuated not with the veep pick herself but with publicly humiliating her daughter, who at 17 and unwed, is five months pregnant. What is the story really? That her daughter is pregnant? That Sarah Palin is the mother of five children that she can't seem to keep track of? Why aren't the feminists defending her? Has the clock turned back 50 years? Is progression at a standstill because this woman is a conservative? Seems a tad sexist and yes, bigoted, if you ask me. (Read this and this and this.)

(wonder whose side they're on)

There is hardly a family in this country that has not been touched by unplanned and unwed pregnancies. Is this a battle that the democrats really want to fight? She is admirably keeping her baby and possible marrying the father. Good luck to them. Unfortunately, the ugliness that is in politics today will fan the flames of this story as long as they can. The hate-filled left will keep pushing Bristol Palin's pregnancy on us as an example of her mother's "hypocrisy". I believe this will backfire on them because Sarah Palin is real. She's normal. Here’s a woman who has run a business, raised a family, who is sending a son off to Iraq, who has another son with a disability, and now has to help her teenage daughter face motherhood. These are experiences that millions of American moms have shared, can relate to and understand. She's accessible to us. Her story is exciting and at the same time mundane. Many of the women in America will look at Sarah Palin and see some of themselves in her. We may not all vote for her but will admire her willingness to serve her country and represent women in a positive light.

Another note: Governor Palin will be speaking tonight at the Republican National Convention. Tune in. Also did anyone see Joe Lieberman's speech last night? It was powerful. I especially liked his comments in regard to voting for the person and not the party. He obviously believes in McCain so much that he is putting his senate committee chairmanship on the line. The Democrats will not forget his "betrayal".

Can I just say, WOW! Sarah Palin is a dynamo. Her speech at the RNC was terrific. So great in fact that the only criticism the media can come up with is that her hair is 20 years out of date. *sigh* The substance of her speech was right on. She highlighted her experience and made the point the the elitist left are criticizing small town America when they dismiss her. She has a beautiful family, so supportive. I couldn't help the goosebumps I got when she introduced her family. Her dad was busting with pride, tearing up. Her husband seems so laid back and ready to step up to support her in this endeavor. Her baby Trig is an angel from heaven. I don't know why but I felt so proud of her too. I don't know Sarah Palin. I've never met her but last night I felt inspired. No matter what the outcome come November Governor Palin is a woman to be reckoned with. She's here to stay.