04 September 2008
Republican Party Leaders Call Sarah Palin a Reformer
Alaska governor’s experience touted at Republican convention
St. Paul, Minnesota — Journalists covering the Republican National Convention, and many Americans and people abroad watching the political events play out on television, asked the same two questions again and again this week: “Who is Sarah Palin, and is she ready to be vice president?”
When Republican nominee John McCain selected Palin to be his running mate August 29, many Americans had no idea who she was. Most Americans and international followers of U.S. politics learned the personal and political story of this first-term governor of the sparsely populated state of Alaska as details became available during the convention.
Palin — the first woman on a Republican national ticket — was elected governor in 2006 by defeating the incumbent leader of her own party. She previously served as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Palin has five children including an infant son with Down syndrome, an older son who will soon deploy to Iraq, and a 17-year-old daughter who Palin recently announced is pregnant and will be getting married. (See “John McCain Chooses Alaska Governor as Running Mate.”)
Most convention delegates enthusiastically welcomed Palin to the ticket.
Illinois delegate Sid Mathias said Palin, who has served as governor for two years, “certainly has done more than many elected officials, including the Democratic nominee. … She’s going to shake things up.”
Robert Tamburo, a delegate from Pennsylvania, said he likes that Palin has fought corruption in her state and has taken on her fellow Republicans. “She walks the walk. … She’s a breath of fresh air.”
Whether speaking to journalists at the Foreign Press Center in St. Paul or addressing delegates on the floor of the convention, party leaders touted Palin as a reformer who brings excitement to the Republican ticket.
“It’s kind of fun to have a fresh new face and the kind of excitement and enthusiasm that she brings to this ticket, that she brings to the Republican Party and I think that she’s going to bring to the country,” Michigan Representative Pete Hoekstra told journalists.
Before running for governor, Palin realized that the state’s Republican governor had strayed from the party’s values, Hoekstra said. She challenged the governor in a primary, and after winning the general election, she continued to go “after corruption … attacking the institutions that no longer served the people of Alaska.”
One of the reasons McCain likely picked Palin is because she is a reformer, former New York Governor George Pataki told journalists. “She doesn’t just talk about [reforming], she’s done it.”
McCain puts his country’s interest above his party’s interest, Pataki said, and Palin has proven she has done that as well.
PARTY LEADERS TOUT PALIN’S EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE
Inside and outside the convention hall, Republicans said Palin’s experience running Alaska has prepared her for the vice presidency.
Palin has a “demonstrated leadership capability and an ability to grasp the issues and to learn about the different responsibilities,” Hoekstra said.
“She has done a stellar job as governor,” Tennessee Representative Marsha Blackburn told journalists. “She is a woman of action. … She gets the job done. … She assesses the situation; she shows good judgment.”
Others said that because Alaska is rich in oil and gas resources, Palin knows a lot about energy issues.
The “biggest national issue right now is the economy, and the biggest issue in the economy is energy,” Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt told journalists. “She knows a lot about energy. She regulated that industry in a state that produces 20 percent of the oil the United States uses.”
Even though Palin does not have much foreign policy experience, Blunt said, if the Republican ticket is elected, she “will be every bit as solid on foreign policy issues as Senator Obama is.”
Party leaders said Democrat Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, who are both senators, lack executive experience.
Palin is “already one of the most successful governors in America — and the most popular,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on the floor of the Republican convention September 3. “And she already has more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket. She’s led a city and a state.”
Throughout the convention, Palin’s family has been mentioned often by the news media. “They face the same challenges that moms and dads do, every single day in our country,” Linda Lingle, governor of Hawaii, told convention delegates September 3. “Difficult things happen to families, and just like yours, families pull together and get through it.”
In her vice presidential acceptance speech at the convention, Palin addressed those critical of her experience. “If you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone,” she said. “I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion — I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country.”
