| Name |
Sarah Palin |
| Office being sought: |
President (WE HOPE) |
Full name |
Sarah Louise Heath Palin |
| Nickname | Sarah Barracuda |
Age | 45 |
Children | 5: two sons, three daughters. |
Religion/Church attendance | Evangelical Christian;attends Juneau Christian Center when in Juneau and grew up attending Wasilla Assembly of God. |
Current Job | Governor of Alaska |
Previous Public Jobs | Mayor of Wasilla, AK (1996-2002); President of Alaska Conference of Mayors;City Council member (1992-1996). |
Executive Experience | Governor for 3 years;Mayor for 10 years. |
Foreign Relations experience | Governor of state that borders two foreign countries (Canada and Russia). |
Military Affairs experience | Commander in Chief of Alaska National Guard;Son is enlisted Infantryman in U.S. Army. |
Private Sector Experience | Sports reporter;Salmon fisherman. |
Speaking ability | Beautifully executed initial stump speech in Dayton, OH hockey arena without a teleprompter. |
Spouse’s name | Todd Mitchell Palin. |
Spouse’s occupation | Salmon fisherman;Former North Slope production supervisor for BP Oil.
|
Reaction to spouse’s political success | Quit 17-year BP oil job when BP became involved in natural gas pipeline negotiations with wife’s administration. |
Coolest thing about Spouse | Tesoro Iron Dog Snowmobile race champion (longest snowmobile race in the world);In 2008, while defending his championship, was injured when he was thrown 70 feet from his machine. He was sent to the hospital but still finished in fourth place. |
Most Courageous Moment in Public Service | Resigned in protest from position of Ethics Commissioner of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in order to expose legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders, including the former state Attorney General and the State GOP Chairman (who was also an Oil & Gas Commissioner), who was doing work for the party on public time and supplied a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail. |
In Current Office Because… | Upset sitting Governor in GOP primary due to public support for her efforts to clean up corrupt government establishment. |
What they’ve done to live that theme: | Replaced entire Board of Agriculture and Conservation because of conflict of interest;Resigned from position of Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in order to expose corruption among members of own party. |
Union affiliation | Union member, married to Union member. |
Iraq and Troop Support | Formerly (pre-surge) critical of apparent lack of long-term strategy for Iraq;Visited wounded U.S. soldiers in Germany;visited AK National Guard soldiers deployed to Kuwait;Son deploying to Iraq on 9/11/08 as Army infantryman. |
Bipartisan/”maverick” credentials | Married to a non-Republican;Exposed corruption within own party. |
Legislative Record | Passed a landmark ethics reform bill;Used veto to cut budgetary spending;Prevented “bridge to nowhere” that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars. |
How she dealt with corrupt individuals in home city/state | Exposed legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders;Campaigned against corrupt GOP Representative;Ran against and defeated corrupt incumbent governor in GOP primary. |
Guns | Lifetime member of NRA and avid hunter;video can be found on YouTube of Palin firing an M4 at a military firing range. |
Earmarks | Opposed “Bridge to Nowhere” project;Said Alaska should avoid relying on federal money for projects;Campaigned against porker Don Young (R-AK) in 2008 primary. |
Abortion | Pro life;gave birth to 5th child knowing that he would have Down’s syndrome. |
Energy | Believes energy independence is a matter of national security;Pro-drilling in ANWR, which is located in
her State. |
Environment | Chair of Alaska Conservation Commission (2003-4);Announced plans to create sub-cabinet group of advisors to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in AK. |
Athletic prowess | Runs marathons. |
Other Noteworthy Accomplishments |
Governor Sarah Palin became the first Republican woman in US history to be nominated for vice president. She was the first Alaskan candidate of either major party on a national ticket. She is the youngest Alaskan Governor and the first woman to hold that office. |
