Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin
11th Governor of Alaska
Incumbent
Assumed office December 4, 2006
Lieutenant	Sean Parnell
Preceded by	Frank Murkowski
Chairperson, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
In office 2003–2004
Preceded by	Camille Oechsli Taylor
Succeeded by	John K. Norman
Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
In office 1996–2002
Preceded by	John Stein
Succeeded by	Dianne M. Keller
City Council Member, Wasilla, Alaska
In office 1992–1996
Personal details
Born	(1964-02-11) February 11, 1964 Sandpoint, Idaho, U.S.
Political party	Republican (1982 - Present)
Spouse	Todd Palin (since 1988)
Children	Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, Trig
Residence(s)	Wasilla, Alaska
Alma mater	University of Idaho
Profession	Politician, Journalist
Signature
More detailed articles about Sarah Palin: Political positions  · Electoral history McCain–Palin campaign, 2008 Governorship of Alaska, 2006–present Mayoralty of Wasilla, 1996–2002 Cultural and political image

Sarah Louise Heath Palin (Template:Pron-en; born February 11, 1964) is the governor of Alaska and the Republican vice-presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election.

She was on the Wasilla, Alaska city council from 1992-1996 and mayor from 1996-2002. After an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002, she chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004. She was elected governor of Alaska in November 2006, becoming the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position in Alaska.

On August 29, 2008, Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain announced that he had chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate. She was nominated at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Palin is the first woman to run on the Republican party's presidential ticket, as well as the first Alaskan to appear on any major-party presidential ticket.

Early life and education

Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, the third of four children of Sarah Heath (née Sheeran), a school secretary, and Charles R. Heath, a science teacher and track coach. Her family moved to Alaska when she was an infant. As a child, she would sometimes go moose hunting with her father before school, and the family regularly ran 5 km and 10 km races.

Palin attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska, a city located 29 miles (47 km) north of the port of Anchorage. She was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at the school, and the point guard and captain of the school's girls' basketball team. She helped the team win the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds of the game, despite having an ankle stress fracture. She earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" because of her intense play, and was the leader of the team prayer before games.

In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant, then finished third (second runner-up) in the Miss Alaska pageant, at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award. Palin admits to trying marijuana as a youth, during the time Alaska had decriminalized possession, though she says she did not enjoy it.

Palin spent her first college semester at Hawaii Pacific College, transferring in 1983 to North Idaho College and then to the University of Idaho. She attended Matanuska-Susitna College in Alaska for one term, returning to the University of Idaho to complete her Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, graduating in 1987.

In 1988, she worked as a sports reporter for KTUU-TV in Anchorage, Alaska, and for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman as a sports reporter. She also helped in her husband’s commercial fishing family business.

City council of Wasilla

See also: Electoral history of Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin was elected twice (1992 and 1995) to the city council of Wasilla. Palin says she entered politics because she was concerned that revenue from a new Wasilla sales tax would not be spent wisely.

She ran for Wasilla city council in 1992, at age 28, against John Hartrick, a local telephone company worker, on a promise to bring "my progressive, competitive attitude" to government. She won 530 votes to John Hartrick’s 310. On the council, she successfully opposed a measure to curtail the hours at Wasilla's bars by two hours, which surprised Hartrick because she was then a member of a church that advocated abstinence from alcohol.

After serving on the city council for three years, she ran for reelection against R’nita Rogers in 1995, winning 413 votes to 185 for Rogers. The New York Times noted that according to Laura Chase, Palin's campaign manager during her first run for mayor in 1996, as city councilwoman, Palin stated in 1995 that the book Daddy's Roommate should be removed from the shelves of the local library although she had not read the book.

Palin did not complete her second term on the city council, as she decided to run for mayor in 1996. Throughout her tenure on the city council and the rest of her career, Palin has been a registered Republican.

Mayor of Wasilla

Main article: Mayoralty of Sarah Palin

Palin served two terms (1996–2002) as mayor of Wasilla. At the conclusion of Palin's tenure as mayor in 2002, the town had about 6,300 residents, and it is now the fifth largest population center in the state.

In 1996, Palin defeated three-term incumbent mayor John Stein, on a platform targeting wasteful spending and high taxes and introducing abortion, gun rights, and term limits as campaign issues. Although the election was a nonpartisan blanket primary, the state Republican Party ran advertisements on her behalf.

First term as mayor

Shortly after taking office in October 1996, Palin eliminated the position of museum director and asked for updated resumes and resignation letters from top officials, including the police chief, public works director, finance director and librarian. Palin stated this request was to find out their intentions and whether they supported her. She temporarily required department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters, saying that they first needed to become better acquainted with her administration's policies. She hired a new city administrator and reduced her own salary from $68,000 to $64,000.

According to city librarian Mary Ellen Emmons in October 1996, Palin inquired as to whether Emmons would object to library censorship. Palin later spoke publicly about the issue, saying she had no particular books or other material in mind for removal. No books were removed from the library. Emmons recalls Palin raising the possibility of people circling the library in protest, to which Emmons replied that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would get involved.

Palin fired Emmons on January 30, 1997. She rescinded the firing of Emmons the next day after meeting with her and after what the Anchorage Daily News called "a wave of public support for Emmons." Palin stated that her concerns had been alleviated when Emmons agreed to support Palin's plan to merge the town's library and museum operations.

Palin fired Police Chief Stambaugh the same day as Emmons. Palin gave a signed letter to Police Chief Stambaugh stating: "I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla..." Stambaugh claimed that his firing was retaliation for his opposition to letting residents carry concealed weapons, and his opposition to letting bars stay open late at night, citing Palin's statement that the National Rifle Association (NRA) didn't like him. Stambaugh filed a lawsuit but the case was dismissed; the court concluded the mayor had the right to fire city employees for nearly any reason, including a political one.

Despite the rocky start, by the end of her first term, Palin had gained favor with Wasilla voters. She kept a jar with the names of Wasilla residents on her desk, and once a week she pulled a name from it and picked up the phone; she would ask: "How's the city doing?" Using income generated by a 2% sales tax that was enacted prior to her election, Palin cut property taxes by 75% and eliminated personal property and business inventory taxes. Tapping municipal bonds, she made improvements to the roads and sewers and increased funding to the Police Department. She also oversaw new bike paths and procured funding for storm-water treatment to protect freshwater resources. At the same time she reduced spending on the town museum and blocked construction of a new library and city hall. Palin ran for re-election against Stein in 1999 and won; with a majority of 74%. Palin was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.

Second term as mayor

During her second term as mayor, Palin introduced a ballot measure proposing the construction of a municipal sports center to be financed by a 0.5% sales tax increase. The $14.7 million Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex was built on time and under budget, but the city lost an additional $1.3 million due to an eminent domain lawsuit caused by a failure to obtain legal ownership of the property before beginning construction.

She also hired the Anchorage-based lobbying firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to lobby for earmarks for Wasilla. The effort was led by Steven Silver, a former chief of staff for Senator Ted Stevens, and it secured nearly $27 million in funds. The earmarks included $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project linking Wasilla and the ski resort community of Girdwood. Some of the earmarks were criticized by Senator McCain in 2001 and 2002.

Term limits prevented Palin from running for a third term as mayor in 2002.

Post-mayoral years

In 2002, term limits prevented Palin from running for a third term as mayor. She then made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor and lost, coming in second to Loren Leman in a five-way Republican primary. The Republican ticket of U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski and Leman won the November 2002 election. When Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in December 2002 to become governor, he considered appointing Palin to replace him in the Senate, but instead chose his daughter, Lisa Murkowski, who was then an Alaska state representative.

Governor Murkowski appointed Palin to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She chaired the Commission beginning in 2003, and served as Ethics Supervisor. Palin resigned in January 2004, protesting what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members.

After resigning, Palin filed a formal complaint against Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, also the chair of the state Republican Party, accusing him of doing work for the party on public time and of working closely with a company he was supposed to be regulating. She also filed a complaint against Gregg Renkes, a former Alaska Attorney General, accusing him of having a financial conflict of interest in negotiating a coal exporting trade agreement, while Renkes was the subject of investigation and after records suggesting a possible conflict of interest had been released to the public. Ruedrich and Renkes both resigned and Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.

From 2003 to June 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that was designed to provide political training for Republican women in Alaska. In 2004, Palin told the Anchorage Daily News that she had decided not to run for the U.S. Senate that year, against the Republican incumbent, Lisa Murkowski, because her teenage son opposed it. Palin said "How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. Senator?"

Governor of Alaska

Main article: Governorship of Sarah Palin

Palin in Kuwait visiting soldiers of the Alaska National Guard, July 24, 2007.

In 2006, running on a clean-government platform, Palin defeated Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Her running mate was State Senator Sean Parnell. Alaska Senator, Ted Stevens gave a late endorsement to Palin and filmed a television commercial with her during the gubernatorial campaign.

Despite spending less than her Democratic opponent, she won the gubernatorial election in November, defeating former governor Tony Knowles 48.3% to 40.9%. Palin became Alaska's first female governor and at age 42, the youngest governor in Alaskan history. She is the state's first governor to have been born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood, and the first not to be inaugurated in Juneau; she chose to have the ceremony held in Fairbanks instead. She took office on December 4, 2006 and has maintained a high approval rating throughout her term. Palin declared that top priorities of her administration would be resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development.

Palin had championed ethics reform throughout her election campaign. Her first legislative action after taking office was to push for a bipartisan ethics reform bill. She signed the resulting legislation in July 2007, calling it a "first step" declaring that she remains determined to clean up Alaska politics.

Palin promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), where such development has been the subject of a national debate. In March 2007, Palin put forward an Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) to encourage building a natural gas pipeline from the state's North Slope. In January 2008, Palin announced that TransCanada Corporation was the sole AGIA-compliant applicant. In August 2008, Palin signed a bill awarding TransCanada Pipelines $500 million in seed money and a license to build and operate the $26 billion pipeline to transport gas from the North Slope to the Lower 48 through Canada.

Palin has sometimes broken with the state Republican establishment. For example, she endorsed Sean Parnell's bid to unseat the state's longtime at-large U.S. Representative, Don Young. Palin also publicly challenged Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the ongoing federal investigation into his financial dealings. Shortly before his July 2008 indictment, she held a joint news conference with Stevens, described by The Washington Post as being "to make clear she had not abandoned him politically."

In 2006, Palin obtained a passport and in 2007 traveled for the first time outside of North America. She visited the Khabari Alawazem Crossing at the Kuwait - Iraq border, met with members of the Alaska National Guard at several bases in Kuwait, and visited injured soldiers in Germany.

According to a New York Times article, for which reporters interviewed 60 Republican and Democratic local officials and legislators, Palin has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and blurred the line between government and personal grievance. An article in USA Today states that Palin teamed with Democrats in the Legislature to raise taxes on the oil industry and to pursue a populist agenda that toughened ethics rules, while taking few steps to advance culturally conservative causes.

Budget and spending

Palin at the Alaska Airmen's Trade Show in Anchorage, Alaska in May 2008

In June 2007, Palin signed into law a $6.6 billion operating budget. At the same time, she used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the construction budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects, and reduced the construction budget to $1.6 billion.

Palin followed through on a campaign promise to sell the Westwind II jet, a purchase made by the Murkowski administration for $2.7 million in 2005, on a state government credit account, against the wishes of the legislature. In August 2007, the jet was listed on eBay, but the sale fell through, and the plane was later sold for $2.1 million through a private brokerage firm. Palin lives in Juneau during the legislative session and lives in Wasilla and works out of offices in Anchorage the rest of the year; to cover her travel expenses, and compensate for her choice not to use the governor's private chef she charged the state ($16,951 in total allowances) and for her family's travel expenses ($43,490, an additional $93,000 for Palin herself), mostly between Juneau and Wasilla. In response to criticism of the practice, the governor's staffers told The New York Times that the practice was in line with state policy, and that Palin's gubernatorial expenses are 80% below those of her predecessor, Frank Murkowski.

While initially supporting $223 million in federal funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere", Palin backed off when Alaska's share of the cost increased. In February 2008, Palin's office sent a 70-page memo to Ted Stevens' office, outlining $200 million in funding requests for Alaska.

"Bridge to Nowhere"

See also: Gravina Island Bridge and Knik Arm Bridge (Don Young's Way)

Two Alaskan bridge construction proposals supported by Palin in her 2006 gubernatorial race have been derided as a symbol of pork barrel spending: a proposed bridge connecting Ketchikan to Gravina Island (population 50) where its airport lies; and a proposed bridge ("Don Young's Way", named after Alaska's Congressman) crossing Knik Arm to provide an alternate route from Anchorage to Wasilla. The nickname "Bridge(s) to Nowhere" has been used for the Gravina Island Bridge alone or, more rarely, both bridges.

In 2005, Congress passed the 2006 National Department of Transportation appropriations bill 93 to 1 which included $442 million earmarks to build the two bridges, but later removed the earmarks under strong criticism tied to Ted Stevens' strong protest of the Coburn Amendment (designed in part to cancel the bridges' construction), which gave the earmarks national media exposure. Congress still sent the money to the state for other transportation projects. In 2006, Palin ran for governor on a "build-the-bridge" platform, attacking "spinmeisters" for insulting local residents by calling them "nowhere" and urging speed "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." About two years after the introduction of the bridge proposals, a month after the bridge received sharp criticism from John McCain, and nine months into Palin's term as governor, Palin canceled the Gravina Bridge, blaming Congress for not providing enough funding. Alaska will not return any of the $442 million to the federal government and is spending a portion of the funding, $25 million, on a Gravina Island road to the place where the bridge would have gone, expressly so that none of the money will have to be returned. Palin continues to support funding Don Young's Way, estimated as more than twice as expensive as the Gravina Bridge would have been.

In her nomination acceptance speech and on the campaign trail, Palin has often said: "I told the Congress 'thanks, but no thanks,' for that Bridge to Nowhere." Although Palin was originally a main proponent of the bridge, McCain-Palin television advertisements claim Palin "stopped the Bridge to Nowhere". These claims have been widely questioned or described as misleading in several newspapers across the political spectrum. Factcheck.org said "it’s inaccurate to say that she “told the Congress ‘thanks, but no thanks.’"" Newsweek, commenting on Palin's "astonishing pivot," remarked: "Now she talks as if she always opposed the funding."

Public Safety Commissioner dismissal

Main article: Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal

On July 11, 2008, Sarah Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, citing performance-related issues, such as not being a team player on budgeting issues. Monegan alleged that his dismissal was retaliation for his failure to fire Palin’s former brother-in-law, Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten, who was involved in a child custody battle with Palin’s sister, and claimed he was contacted about Wooten by Palin's staff, her husband Todd, Governor Palin herself on several occasions, and the state's Attorney General, Talis Colberg. Governor Palin stated on July 17 that no pressure had been applied upon Monegan to fire Wooten. It is alleged that officer Wooten had threatened Palin's father and sister, had driven a state trooper vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, tasered his 10-year-old stepson, and had illegally killed a moose without a permit

In July, Palin's ethics advisor urged her to apologize for "overreaching or perceived overreaching" to get Wooten fired. Palin publicly acknowledged in August that "pressure could have been perceived to exist, although I have only now become aware of it," She also apologized to Alaskans for the distraction.

On August 1, the Alaska Legislature hired an independent investigator to review the situation. The investigation is scheduled to be completed in October 2008. On August 13, after an internal investigation, Palin acknowledged that her staff had contacted Monegan or his staff about two dozen times regarding Wooten. Palin placed the Alaska Director of Boards and Commissions on paid leave as a result of one tape-recorded call. She stated that she had only known about some of the contacts, that many of those contacts were appropriate, and restated she had not fired Monegan because of Wooten, who is still employed as a state trooper.

On September 1, Palin's lawyer asked the state Legislature to drop its investigation, saying that by state law, the governor-appointed state Personnel Board had jurisdiction over ethics issues. Palin also asked that the Board review the matter as an ethics complaint.

Palin's choice to replace Monegan, Charles M. Kopp, chief of the Kenai police department, was named to the position on July 11, 2008. He resigned on July 25 after it was revealed that he had received a letter of reprimand for sexual harassment in his previous position.

On September 12th, Associated Press reported that the bipartisan Alaska's State Senate committee investigating abuse of power investigation against Sarah Palin decided to subpoena Todd Palin, her husband.

2008 Vice-presidential campaign

Main article: John McCain presidential campaign, 2008

See also: Republican Party (United States) vice presidential candidates, 2008

Palin addresses the 2008 Republican National Convention

On August 29, 2008, in Dayton, Ohio, Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, announced that he had chosen Palin as his running mate. Palin had been under consideration since a private meeting with McCain in a February National Governors Association meeting; although this was the first time the two had met, Palin made a favorable impression on McCain. McCain was reportedly concerned about reclaiming his image as a "maverick Republican" and wanted someone to shake up the ticket. With this in mind, he called Palin on August 24 to discuss the possibility of having her join him on the ticket. On August 27, Palin visited McCain's vacation home near Sedona, Arizona, where she was offered the position of vice-presidential candidate. Palin was the only prospective running mate who had a face-to-face interview with McCain to discuss joining the ticket that week. Nonetheless, Palin's selection was a surprise to many as speculation had centered on other candidates, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, United States Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.

Palin is the second woman to run on a major U.S. party ticket. The first was Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 1984, who ran with former vice-president Walter Mondale. On September 3, 2008, Palin delivered a 40-minute acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that was watched by more than 40 million viewers and was well-received by the crowd.

Palin is scheduled to participate in a vice-presidential debate with Joe Biden on October 2, 2008. The election is set for November 4.

Reception

See also: Reaction to 2008 Vice Presidential nomination of Sarah Palin

Overall, the choice of Palin was well-received by potential supporters, with a series of polls suggesting that Palin gave a major boost to John McCain's campaign and excited the Republican base. Since Palin was largely unknown outside of Alaska prior to her selection by McCain, her personal life, positions, and political record became the focus of intense media attention and scrutiny. Some Republicans felt that Palin was being subjected to unreasonable media coverage, and a poll found that slightly more than half of Americans believed that the press was "trying to hurt" Palin with negative coverage, a sentiment referenced by Palin in her acceptance speech. Polls conducted immediately after the speech found that Palin was viewed favorably by a majority of respondents.

The choice of Palin polarized voters and energized the Republican base. The McCain campaign reversed its poll deficit, and Palin may have boosted support among white women. A WSJ/NBC News poll taken September 9 indicated 34% of respondents were more likely to vote for McCain as a result of the Palin pick while 25% were less likely.

Palin appeared on the covers of Newsweek and Time, which had been critical of the level of media access to Palin allowed by the McCain campaign . Her first interview with the press, with Charles Gibson of ABC News, aired on September 12. In the interview, Palin answered questions about her experience, national security, Iraq and the Bush Doctrine. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, "[c]ritics saw her performance as evidence that she was not conversant with many of the issues that would occupy a vice-president, especially matters of foreign policy" and that there were "gaps" in her grasp of national security issues.

According to the Washington Times, Palin's faith has made her a "favorite with the staunchly pro-Israel neoconservative elements in the Republican Party." Palin displays an Israeli flag in her governor's office in Juneau. Palin has received a strong endorsement from the Republican Jewish Coalition, but has also been called "totally out of step with Jewish public opinion" by the National Jewish Democratic Council.

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Sarah Palin

Palin supports the Right to keep and bear arms and is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA)

Palin has described the Republican Party platform as "the right agenda for America," because of its "respect for equality and respect for life and an acknowledgment that it is individual Americans and American families who can make better decisions for ourselves than government can ever make for us," adding that "individual freedom and independence is extremely important to me and that's why I'm a Republican."

Palin is a social conservative. A lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Palin believes the right to bear arms includes handgun possession, and has advocated gun safety education for youth. She also supports capital punishment. Palin supports teaching creationism along with evolution in public schools, but says it does not have to be required. Palin opposes same-sex marriage and supported a non-binding referendum for an Alaskan constitutional amendment to deny state health benefits to same-sex couples. Palin has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be," and she is supportive of "abstinence-only" sex education, although in 2006 said she supported contraception; she is opposed to abortion, except in cases where the mother's life would be in danger. Palin has promoted oil and natural gas resource exploitation in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and initiated a lawsuit over the federal listing of the polar bear and Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species.

As governor of Alaska, Palin pushed to reduce state government spending, including cutting $1.6 billion from the Alaskan construction budget. She has not opposed the increased federal funding of construction programs for her state.

Regarding foreign policy, Palin generally supports the Bush doctrine of preemptive military action in the face of an imminent threat, would not "second guess" a military strike by Israel against nuclear weapons facilities in Iran, supports US military operations in Pakistan without Pakistani approval, and supports NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Palin leaves open option of war with Russia in the event of Russian invasion of a NATO member.

Palin has stated that she would not allow her personal religious beliefs to dictate her political positions. She has encountered some criticism for making remarks about religion that go beyond what a modern American politician typically says, for example suggesting that her work as governor would be hampered "if the people of Alaska’s heart isn’t right with God," and "God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built", in reference to the Alaskan national gas pipeline project.

Personal life, background, religion and cultural image

See also: Cultural and political image of Sarah Palin

Palin family members at the announcement of Palin's vice-presidential selection, August 29, 2008. From left: Todd, Piper, Willow, Bristol, and Trig.

In 1988, Sarah Heath eloped to marry Todd Palin, her high-school boyfriend. Todd Palin works for the oil company BP as an oil-field production operator and owns a commercial fishing business. The family lives in Wasilla.

The couple have five children: sons Track (b. 1989) and Trig (b. 2008), and daughters Bristol (b. 1990), Willow (b. 1995), and Piper (b. 2001). Track Palin enlisted in the U.S. Army on September 11, 2007, and subsequently was assigned to an infantry brigade. He and his unit deployed to Iraq in September 2008, for 12 months. Palin's youngest child, Trig, has Down syndrome, diagnosed prenatally.

Palin announced on September 1, 2008, that her daughter Bristol was five months pregnant and intends to keep the baby and marry the father of her child, Levi Johnston.

Palin was born into a Catholic family. When she was 4 years old, her family joined the Wasilla Assembly of God, which belongs to a Pentecostal association of churches. Palin attended the Wasilla Assembly of God until age 38. When in Juneau, she attends the Juneau Christian Center. Her current home church is the Wasilla Bible Church, an independent congregation. Palin described herself in an interview as a "Bible-believing" Christian.

Palin was crowned Miss Wasilla in 1984 and also competed in the Miss Alaska pageant. She likes to hunt, ice fish, ride snowmobiles and eat moose burgers. In 2005, she completed a marathon in less than four hours, and is a self-described hockey mom.

References

• Johnson, Kaylene (2008), Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down, Epicenter Press, ISBN 0979047080.

External links

• Official Campaign Website for McCain/Palin 2008
• Alaska Office of Governor Sarah Palin
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Palin 2006 campaign contributions from Follow the Money
• Palin/Parnell 2006 campaign contributions from Follow the Money
• Ongoing news and commentary from The Anchorage Daily News
• Ongoing news and commentary from The New York Times
• Sarah Palin rumor control from Snopes
• Republican Convention Spin and Sliming Palin rumor control from FactCheck.org
• Template:Dmoz
• First chapterSarah:How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down
• Video: Meet Sarah Palin from NOW on PBS (requires Flash Player and broadband connection)
• Charlie Gibson Interviews Sarah Palin ABC News, September 11-12, 2008, video and transcript excerpts of all 3 parts