Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
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Background:
Alaksa Gov. Sarah Louise Heath Palin, 44, was born in Sandpoint, Idaho in 1964, the daughter of Charles and Sally Heath. Her family moved to Alaska after her birth, and as soon as she was old enough, she hunted for Moose with her father. A basketball player for the Wasilla High School Warriors, she was known as a "barracuda" for her play. In 1984, she won second-place in a "Miss Alaska" beauty contest, which helped pay for college. An avid outdoorswoman, she was a sports reporter for a small Anchorage TV station. She admits to experimenting with marijuana when it was legal in Alaska, but says didn't like it.Family:
Palin married Todd Palin, her high school sweetheart, just after college and the couple live in the same town where she went to high school. Todd is a native Eskimo, and champion snow-mobiler. He's a commercial fisherman, who occasionally works for BP Oil. The couple has five children. Her oldest son, Track, 19, enlisted in the Army on Sept. 11, 2007. Her youngest son, Trig Paxson, was born in April with Down's Syndrome. Although the family knew of his condition before his birth, they maintained their pro-life values and refused to abort the pregnancy. She has three daughters: Bristol, 17; Willow, 13; and Piper, 7.Early Political Life:
Palin was a two-term commissioner on the Wasilla City Council between 1992 and 1996, when she challenged and defeated the incumbent mayor. Palin's legacy began when she kept her campaign promises by reducing her own salary along with property taxes. She won re-election by a huge margin in 1998. In 2003, she served on an oil and gas commission as an ethics advisor, but resigned in 2004 over the board's "lack of ethics." She exposed a board member (who was also the state's GOP chairman) for doing party work on the public's dime and giving sensitive information to lobbyists. He resigned and paid a $12,000 fine.Race for Governor:
Leveraging her popularity, Palin ran for governor in 2006 on a "clean government" platform. Her support from fellow Republicans was lukewarm and she was outspent by her Democratic opponent, yet won the election handily, becoming the state's first woman governor.Gubernatorial Career:
Since taking office, Palin pushed for an ethics bill, which was approved and cut back much of the state's wasteful spending. She also took on State Sen. Ted Stevens and almost single-handedly defeated the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" project, which was billed by many as the symbol of all that's wrong with government. She has also called for Stevens to be straight with Alaskans regarding his financial dealings, for which he is being investigated by the federal government. Her approval rating is often in the 90 percentile.Energy:
Palin is unique from many GOP oil proponents. Despite her husband's occasional employment with BP, Palin has taken great pains to remain apart from Big Oil. Nevertheless, she is committed to helping Alaskans economically by supporting development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reminding the public that the footprint for the project would be the size of a postage stamp on a desk. Meanwhile, she has worked hard to address climate change issues such as greenhouse emissions and pollution.Economy:
Energy is tied closely to the Alaskan economy, since state residents pay the highest fuel prices in the nationa. Using the budget surplus she created, Palin successfully pushed the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, which provides a legal foothold for the development of a natural gas pipeline running from Alaska's North Slope to the Canadian and American markets. Most recently, she's proposed eliminating the state's gas tax, giving every resident a $1,200 annual stipend and using surplus money to give grants to electric companies contingent upon rate reductions. Her initiatives continue to elevate her popularity.Social Issues:
A lifetime member of the NRA, a pro-lifer, a fiscal conservative and a strong proponent of family values, Palin is a conservative on every major social and political issue. She is in favor of the death penalty, and although she opposes gay marriage, she has no problem with the lifestyle and is tough on gay-lesbian discrimination. She vetoed a plan that would have prevented the extension of benefits to partners of gay state employees.2008 Presidential Campaign:
Although Palin does not have much in the way of practical foreign policy experience, she is clearly strong in areas where GOP presidential candidate John McCain is weak. Her strong conservative principles will unit the party around them and her gender will give former Hillary Clinton supporters a significant reason (among many others) to cross party lines and vote Republican.
