Most people who are following the United States of America's Presidential election in 2008 were thinking on Friday 29th August 2008 Sarah Palin? Who is Sarah Palin anyway?

Republican contender John McCain had just announced that he has picked her for her as vice-presidential candidate and running mate. Why not vote based on knowledge - for that you need to know more than the gender, colour and name of the candidate; you need to know what they stand for. Here are some of the details.

Personal data

She was born on February 11, 1964, making her 44 years old in 2008. She is younger than Barack Obama by two and a half years. She was raised in Alaska, and came second in a "Miss Alaska" pageant in 1984.

John McCain is 72 years old in 2008, and the state of Alaska is 49 years old.

Her husband Tod is part Yup'ik Eskimo, and works for BP.

She is the mother of five children, named Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig. Their ages in September 2008 were 19, 17, 14, 7 and 4 months respectively. Trig, the youngest, has Down's Syndrome.

She enjoys hunting moose, and lists mooseburgers as a favourite food.
She referred to herself as a "hockey mom".
She was raised in a Pentecostal church, and attends an independent congregation.15. She describes herself as a "non-denominational Christian".

Political experience

She was a member of the city council of Wasilla, Alaska from 1992 to 1996.
She has been mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002.
Wassilla is a small town, with a population around 6000-8000.

She was Chair of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004.
She has been Governor of Alaska (population around 683 000) for about 18 months, from 2006 to current date. During this time she achieved a high approval rating, 76-80%.

Platform

Environment: Tough on bears, tough on the causes of bears.

In 2008, she objected and filed a lawsuit to the listing of Polar Bears as an Endangered Species.
She supports aerial shooting of wolves to increase moose and caribou populations. 3
She advocates opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. 3
She has been a strong supporter of drilling for the oil and gas that supports the Alaskan economy, as well as other mining. 7, 3
She has stated that she does not believe that global warming is man-made. 6

Social issues

She is "as pro-life as any candidate can be"15, and opposed to allowing women access to abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. 2
She has supported Abstinence-only sex education.12
She does not support same-sex marriage. 2
She believes that creationism should be taught as an option alongside Evolution in schools. 1
She supports gun ownership. 3
She does not support legalisation of Marijuana. She says that she tried it when it was legal under state law, but did not like it. She identified Methamphetamine as a greater threat and therefore a greater priority. 2

The vice-presidential pick

"I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?" - Sarah Palin, July 2008 14

The announcement was surprising and controversial, as she was not exactly a well-known front-runner for the post.

The McCain campaign called her a "tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president" 5

Her best reception has been among the "social and religious conservatives". The point seems to be that she is a candidate who opposes abortion, unlike the leading contenders Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge. She was called "an outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base" 15

A fair amount of reaction from the left was very negative.

It was an amazingly bad choice. She is the least known, least experienced VP nominee in modern political history. Those who compare her to George H. W. Bush's choice of Dan Quayle in 1988 forget that Quayle had already been in Congress for 12 years. 16

She was called "The Worst Vice-Presidential Nominee in U.S. History" 8, labelling the choice a desperate attempt to get the women's vote (though women who are not already in the "conservative base" may be alienated by her policies on abortion and birth control), and citing her abject lack of experience compared to the other choices. Some have raised the issue of McCain's judgement after this choice, or pointed out that her presence prevents McCain from attacking Senator Obama's youth and inexperience, or presenting Obama as a risky choice compared to McCain's safe hands.

Not to put too fine a point to it, McCain is 72 years old, older than any first-term president. The vice-president must be able to pick up and carry on should the president die.

Her speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention on Wednesday 3 September was well-received, but critics have pointed out that parts of it were written before she was even chosen.19

The Controversies

Known Unknowns

Her daughter Bristol is now five months pregnant at 17 years old. Bristol plans to keep the child and marry the child's father. 13 Is that abstinence-only sex education working yet?

She is under investigation for her decision in July 2008 to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who is her sister's estranged ex-husband.11, 12 Some have questioned this and other aspects of her record in office, including suggestions that she wanted a book ("Daddy's Roommate", which helps children understand homosexuality) removed from the local library. 21

Other facts that have turned up are that, at time of nomination, she had been outside of the USA exactly three times in her life: to Canada and Mexico on vacation, and a two-day trip in 2007 to visit American troops on the border between Kuwait and Iraq, with a stop in Germany.20 She has never met a foreign head of state.

The mud-slinging

Every candidate for high office comes under scrutiny, and unsubstantiated rumours will surface.

Some muttered that McCain's choice of Palin must indicate that Condoleezza Rice had turned the job down, since she is also a woman of conservative politics, but who scores far higher on experience and name recognition. This has not been confirmed or denied.

Some said that the choice indicated that McCain had bowed to pressure from Conservative interests. 10

Some have claimed that in her youth she belonged to an Alaskan separatist party. A denial has been issued.18

The nodes

With regards the view that Mrs Palin has been subjected to "an unparalleled hazing ritual" which is "extremely unprofessional on the media's part":

It may be true that the USA's political media are, generally speaking, controversy-seeking scandal-mongers who thrive on personal trivia and sound-bites over any substantive discussion of policies and issues. I do not think that they started out with a particular agenda against her. The unprofessionalism is general, not limited to Sarah Palin.

In some ways, she has gotten off lightly - Just imagine what the conservative pundits would have made of Senator Obama picking an untested running mate with an pregnant, unwed child and a looming investigation.23

I think that the only reason that Sarah Palin has had so much press attention so fast is that she came from obscurity so fast. And that was entirely the choice of Senator McCain's campaign. Indeed, generating a large amount of media attention seems to have been part of the plan. So the usual hazing ritual that candidates all endure was condensed to an unparalleled short time. Better this than no scrutiny.

It is true that we are "straining to excavate information on her ideas and ideals". Even in interviews, Sarah Palin has not offered much to help us on this account.22

Resources

General article with dates and numbers: Wikipedia article on Sarah Palin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

1) Brandon Keim. "McCain's VP Wants Creationism Taught in School", Wired Blog: http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/08/mccains-vp-want.html
2) Kyle Hopkins. "Same-sex unions, drugs get little play", Anchorage Daily News, August 6, 2006: http://dwb.adn.com/news/politics/elections/governor06/story/8049298p-7942233c.html
3) David D. "How Green is Sarah Palin" http://greenopolis.com/myopolis/blogs/david-d/how-green-sarah-palin
4) Sarah Lai Stirland. "McCain VP Pick No Friend to Polar Bears", Wired Blog http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/john-mccain-pic.html
5) "McCain: Palin's 'Tough, Ready to Be President'", Newsmax Friday, August 29, 2008 http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/mccain_palin_vp/2008/08/29/126186.html
6) Mike Coppock. "Palin Speaks to Newsmax About McCain, Abortion", Newsmax August 29, 2008 Sarah Palin says that Global warming is not man-made: http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/sarah_palin_vp/2008/08/29/126139.html
7) Daniel J. Weiss and James Kvaal. "Sarah Palin: A Champion For Big Oil" http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/08/29/palin-oil-champ/
8) Robert J. Elisberg. "The Worst Vice-Presidential Nominee in U.S. History", Huffington post, August 29, 2008 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-elisberg/the-worst-vice-presidenti_b_122491.html
9) William Rees-Mogg, "Sarah Palin has just 65 days to prove herself" September 1, 2008, The Times of London, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/william_rees_mogg/article4647709.ece
10) Elisabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper, "Conservative Ire Pushed McCain From Lieberman", New York Times, August 30, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31reconstruct.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
11) Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Public_Safety_Commissioner_dismissal
12) Tim Reid. "Sarah Palin hit by internet rumours over fifth child", Times Online: September 1, 2008 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4647965.ece
13) Reuters. "Palin Says Her Daughter, 17, Is Pregnant", New York Times, September 1, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/us/international-usa-politics-palin.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
14) "Sarah Palin: What Exactly Does The VP Do Everyday?" August 29, 2008 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/29/sarah-palin-what-exactly_n_122514.html
15) Eric Gorski, "Evangelicals energized by McCain-Palin ticket", Associated Press, 30 August 2008 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g4-w_DCWffagBaQb8Il9a0R2hkPAD92SL7E00
16) Erik Ose, "Is John McCain Mentally Fit To Be President?", August 30, 2008. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erik-ose/is-john-mccain-mentally-f_b_122665.html
17) Mark Murray. "Palin backed abstinence-only education", Monday, September 01 http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/01/1320417.aspx
18) Jake Tapper "Members of 'Fringe' Alaskan Independence Party Say Palin Was a Member in 90s"; ABS News blogs, September 01, 2008 http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html
19) Massimo Calabresi. "The Man Behind Palin's Speech", Thursday, Sep. 04, 2008 http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1838808,00.html
20) Bryan Bender. "Palin camp clarifies extent of Iraq trip" Boston Globe, September 13, 2008 . http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/13/palin_camp_clarifies_extent_of_iraq_trip/
21) Jo Becker, Peter S. Goodman and Michael Powell. "Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes" The New York Times, September 14, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
22) Jim Rutenberg "In First Big Interview, Palin Says, 'I'm Ready' " The New York Times, September 11, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/us/politics/12palin.html?fta=y
23) For example, Karl Rove belittling a Democratic VP contender with more experience than Sarah Palin: Brad Friedman "Rove: 'Undistinguished' Small Town Mayor and Short-term Governor 'Intensely Political Choice'" The Brad Blog, 30 August 2008 http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6339

Is Sarah Palin a creationist?

The blog Wired Science is reporting that “McCain’s VP Wants Creationism Taught in School.” As far as I can tell, though, Sarah Palin has only made a few vague statements about creationism. She’s certainly sympathetic, but not in any way that makes her stand out among American social conservatives.

The Wired Science post is based upon an Anchorage Daily News, article, “‘Creation science’ enters the race,” reporting on a debate between Palin and two other candidates for governor of Alaska in 2006.

Palin was answering a question from the moderator near the conclusion of Wednesday night’s televised debate on KAKM Channel 7 when she said, “Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.”

This is the sort of “teach the controversy” rhetoric most often associated with the intelligent design movement. I’m frustrated that the article doesn’t actually include the question put to Palin and her opponents (and that I can’t find a transcript or video elsewhere), because I’d like to know whether the moderator used the word creationism or whether he asked about intelligent design theory.

In any case, there’s more of the quotation right below the article, and it’s relevant.

And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject—creationism and evolution. It’s been a healthy foundation for me. But don’t be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides.

Palin, then, is not steeped in the literature of the intelligent design movement, which claims to be distinct from creationism. She seems to genuinely think that teaching the controversy would be fair, not merely use the idea as a strategy for bringing creationism into schools. In a followup interview by the newspaper, she said that “I don’t think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn’t have to be part of the curriculum.” On a personal level, Palin explained that “I believe we have a creator” but that “I’m not going to pretend I know how all this came to be.”

Palin’s views about evolution strike me as pretty typical for a conservative American Protestant who hasn’t given a lot of thought or attention to the matter. In this she’s reminiscent of a lot of Republican politicians, but most notably of George W. Bush when he was campaigning in 2000. If she is a creationist she’s not a very committed one, and certainly not a creationist activist.


Update:

It looks like I was probably wrong when I said Sarah Palin wasn’t a creationist activist. Salon has an article about retired American Baptist minister Howard Bess, who lives in Palmer, Alaska, near Wasilla. Bess has advocated for gay rights since the 1980s, and published a book entitled Pastor, I Am Gay in 1995 that he says Sarah Palin tried to remove from the local library. Salon also has this to say:

Another valley activist, Philip Munger, says that Palin also helped push the evangelical drive to take over the Mat-Su Borough school board. “She wanted to get people who believed in creationism on the board,” said Munger, a music composer and teacher. “I bumped into her once after my band played at a graduation ceremony at the Assembly of God. I said, ‘Sarah, how can you believe in creationism—your father's a science teacher.’ And she said, ‘We don't have to agree on everything.’

“I pushed her on the earth's creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time. And she said yes, she’d seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them.”

Recent news coverage of the political and personal dramas of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been personally troubling. I am not upset by Palin's persona nor politics, but by the media's presentation of them. As a young adult who has only recently stumbled into the arena of politics, I entered expecting a professional, pragmatic discussion. I find it difficult to pardon the media's presentation of a biased portrait of the candidate.

Many complications of Palin's personal life have seeped into political coverage. Published under the heading of politics, both liberal and conservative media outlets are flooded with news of her daughter's extramarital pregnancy. Juxtaposed with other political coverage, Palin's personal affairs might as well be celebrity gossip. Although the coverage certainly downplays her credibility, it fails to detail her government policies. Where her political beliefs have made their way into the media, they are consistently scorned. This is done from both sides of the political spectrum: the far right presents her policies as contrary to those of her running mate, John McCain, while the far left brands them as irrational and unfounded.

Palin seems to have been subjected to an unparalleled hazing ritual upon her entrance into mainstream media. Even more, her own voice has been effectively silenced. Palin's policies that are in accordance with McCain's have so far received minimal coverage. It should seem as though the demand for scandal has outweighed that of actual politics. This has left me straining to excavate information on her ideas and ideals.

I think this portrayal to be extremely unprofessional on the media's part. A majority of mainstream news has failed to provide objective information, which I require in order to research a leading political candidate. This kind of journalism is warped; and it is extremely misleading to myriad youths who are beginning to participate in political debate. Because of this realization, I am growing more skeptical of the way politics are presented. All things considered, this is undeniably a rewarding lesson.

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