McCain Surprises with choice of Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin

By Jeffrey Jolson

DENVER (Hollywood Today) 8/29/08 — John McCain surprised everyone by choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential running mate. Speaking frankly though, she is a young female that may be able to reach voters he can’t. Much has been made of his age, while she is only 44. It is similar to Barack Obama’s balancing of his ticket with his choice of Joe Biden, an older, white and seasoned foreign relations expert to allay concerns he was inexperienced.   

The McCain campaign said that Palin, “has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of.”

“Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington today,” the campaign said can National Convention. The mention of experience is interesting in that she has only been in office two years and little-known on the national stage.

The former beauty queen makes history by being the first woman on a GOP presidential ticket.

Palin’s selection shocked numerous Republican officials, according to AP.

In making his pick, McCain passed over several more prominent prospects who had figured in speculation for months — Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge among them.

Recently, 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.

Palin flew overnight to an airport in Ohio near Dayton, and even as she awaited her formal introduction, some aides said they had believed she was at home in Alaska.

She is a former mayor of Wasilla who became governor of her state in December, 2006 after ousting a governor of her own party in a primary and then dispatching a former governor in the general election.

Public opinion polls show a close race between Obama and McCain, and with scarcely two months remaining until the election, neither contender can allow the other to jump out to a big post-convention lead.

McCain has had months to consider his choice, and has made it clear to reporters that one of his overriding goals was to avoid a situation like the one in 1988, when Dan Quayle was thrown into a national campaign with little preparation.

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 and her husband Todd Palin, have five children. The latest, a baby, was born with Down syndrome.