Sarah Palin

Who is she: Sarah Palin was picked by the John McCain campaign as his vice presidential running mate in the 2008 election. Before this, she was the youngest person and first woman to be elected governor of Alaska where she took on the entrenched GOP establishment and won the race against great odds. Palin was also the first Republican woman nominated for the vice presidency. In addition to these firsts, many feel Palin is the leading public speaker in the GOP, as she has great ability to motivate and move crowds. Palin was a real Republican asset in 2008 and was used to drive up attendance at the somewhat boring and predictable John McCain campaign rallies.

Since resigning early as governor of Alaska, following the Obama victory in the 2008 election she has been considered a leader of the conservative wing of the new Tea Party movement – just as Congressman Ron Paul leads the antiwar, more Libertarian leaning supporters of the effort. There is also little doubt that just as Palin generates strong support among social conservatives, her style of speaking, campaigning and viewpoints also elicits tremendous opposition from moderate Republicans as well as liberals and some Libertarian elements in both the GOP and Tea Party movement.

Following the GOP 2008 election defeat, in November 2009 Palin released her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, in which she detailed her unusual and meteoric rise and sometimes fall of her previous campaigns and elected offices. Palin sold over two million copies, which is a good indication of her popularity within the conservative ranks of the Republican Party. Her sales are comparable to memoirs released by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

On February 6, 2010, Palin appeared as the keynote speaker at the inaugural Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tennessee and when Fox News asked her if she would be running for president in 2012, she replied, "I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country." She added, "I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future."

In November 2010, Palin confirmed that she was considering running for the presidency and was "having that discussion with my family." Palin stated she understood how her level of questionable experience could cause problems with winning the nomination, and criticized the "lamestream media" for focusing attention on her personal life. But with the interesting and sometimes manufactured and sometimes real tabloid nature of Palin's family, Palin remained in the news often to the determent of her public image.

Since January 2010, Palin has also provided political commentary for Fox News. That fact says everything the Anglo-American elites need to know about Sarah Palin. She often does "Go Rogue" and Palin has a long history of standing up to the GOP establishment and accepted political thought when the chance presents itself. As a basketball star, Palin was labeled "The Barracuda" because she was fearless in the face of opposition and competitive to the extreme. In summary, Sarah Palin does not like to lose or follow orders from others who consider themselves better or superior to her. These attributes or weaknesses are fatal to a candidate of the elites which demand obedience and the ability to follow orders.

Background: Sarah Palin was born on February 11, 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho, and from there her family moved several times until they settled in Wasilla, Alaska, where she graduated from high school. Palin attended several colleges in Hawaii and in Idaho before graduating from the University of Idaho with a major in communications and journalism. After graduation Palin worked as a sportscaster and then ran for and won as mayor of Wasilla. Palin then ran for lieutenant governor of Alaska and lost, after which Palin held several state appointee positions until, against great odds, Palin ran and was elected governor of Alaska in 2006.

In the 2006 election she was outspent but victorious, defeating former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles by a margin of 48.3% to 40.9%. Sarah Palin thus became Alaska's first female governor, and, at the age of 42, the youngest governor in Alaskan history, the state's first governor to have been born after Alaska achieved US statehood. Breaking with tradition, Sarah was the first Alaska governor not to be inaugurated in Juneau, as she decided to have the ceremony held in Fairbanks.

Palin's unconventional style and willingness to break with the Republican Party establishment provided Palin a very high job approval rate, which ranged from a high of 93% in May 2007 to 54% in May 2009. In November 2006, the month before Palin took office, Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski's job approval rating was only 19%.

The rest is common knowledge and modern day history, as at the urging of Neocon Bill Kristol and several other conservatives, McCain picked Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. They argued that Palin's presence on the ticket would provide a boost in enthusiasm among the Religious Right wing and social conservatives in the Republican party. In addition, they felt Palin's advantage as an unknown on the national stage would also benefit the McCain 2008 presidential campaign.

Although Palin's acceptance speech at the GOP Convention was electrifying, at times Palin seemed woefully unprepared in interviews and she preferred to give stump speeches where she far outdrew McCain in applause, excitement and acclaim. But all was not right in the campaign as friction developed between Palin's free-wheeling style and the controlled sound bites and organization of a modern campaign.

Sarah Palin: Site Contributions

News & Analysis

View All Contributions for Sarah Palin