Why Sarah has the X appeal
By OLIVER HARVEY
Chief Feature Writer
Published: Today
SHE is the moose-hunting mum-of-five who could soon be the second most powerful person on the planet.
Ex-beauty queen Sarah Palin has arrived out of the political — and geographical — wilderness to send shockwaves through the US Presidential race.
The gun-toting Alaskan Governor’s appointment as John McCain’s running mate has been met with glee by many conservative Republicans.
She is fiercely anti-abortion and went ahead with her pregnancy with son Trig, now five months, after learning at an early stage that he would have Down’s syndrome.
The former Miss Alaska runner-up is deeply religious and supports the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in schools.
The 44-year-old Vice Presidential candidate is also a “supermom” who has managed to run the state of Alaska while bringing up five kids.
Despite news that her unmarried daughter Bristol is pregnant at 17, Republican strategists believe her guns and God ethos will chime with Middle America.
Influential US conservative talkshow host Rush Limbaugh called Palin’s selection a “home f***ing run”.
He added in an email: “Palin = Guns, Babies, Jesus.”
Death
But Democrats point out McCain met Palin just once before deciding to appoint her. He is 72 and a cancer survivor, and the cliché about vice-presidents being a heartbeat away from the presidency remains as true as ever.
The Vice President becomes the new President of the US upon the death, resignation, or removal of the president and serves out the remainder of that presidential term.
Paul Begala, the architect of Bill Clinton’s victory in 1992, said: “It’s irresponsible.
“McCain is 72 years old and has had cancer four times and he wants to put a woman he met once a heartbeat away from the presidency.
“Eight of our 43 presidents have died in office.”
But Democrat candidate Barack Obama congratulated Palin, calling her “a compelling person with a terrific personal story”.
Few in Palin’s Alaskan backwater home town Wasilla — population 7,000 — doubt that she could step into McCain’s shoes if needed.
Born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, in February 1964, Palin was the third of four children. The family moved to Wasilla when she was a child. Her dad, Chuck, was a teacher and loved Alaska’s hunting and fishing lifestyle.
Today Chuck’s pick-up truck has a bumper sticker reading “Vegetarian — Old Indian Word For Bad Hunter”.
At ten Sarah bagged her first rabbit and she would join Chuck on 3am moose hunts before school.
Sarah was originally a Roman Catholic, but her parents switched to the Wasilla Assembly of God, a Pentecostal church, that believes God created the world at every step.
A fierce high school basketball player — she was nicknamed “Sarah Barracuda” — and led team prayers before games.
She helped the side win the Alaska small-school championship in 1982, scoring in the game’s final seconds despite having an ankle stress fracture at the time.
In 1984 she won the Wasilla Beauty Contest and was also named Miss Congeniality. But later that year her experience in the Miss Alaska contest put her off beauty pageants.
She said recently: “They made us line up in bathing suits and turn our backs so the male judges could look at our butts. I couldn’t believe it.”
Palin may be conservative but she doesn’t seem prudish.
Studying journalism at the University of Idaho, a photo has emerged of her in a T-shirt with a slogan across her chest reading: “I may be broke but I’m not flat busted.” Now the glamorous mum criticises the media for commenting on her looks, saying: “I wish they’d stick to the issues instead of discussing my black go-go boots.”
She eloped with husband and high school sweetheart Todd Palin — known as the First Dude — to spare the families the cost of a wedding.
Grizzly
Todd, who is part Native American Inuit, is a commercial fisherman and is the four-time winner of the Iron Dog snow- mobile race — the world’s longest.
After a short-lived career as a TV sportscaster Palin was elected Mayor of Wasilla aged 32.
She immediately started taking on the Republican establishment, revealing: “It was a sleepy town, run by good old boys.” Her daughter Piper was born when she was mayor. Palin said: “She was born on Monday and I went back to work on Tuesday.”
In 2006 she was voted state Governor. After taking office she followed through on a campaign promise to sell the Governor’s private jet bought on state credit. She sold it for £1.3million after putting it on eBay. In a recent poll among Alaskans she had an approval rating of 76 per cent.
Today a grizzly bear skin — shot by dad Chuck — hangs over her office sofa and she still enjoys moose stew after “a day snow machining”.
Much-viewed recent YouTube footage shows Palin loosening off a few rounds from an automatic rifle while visiting troops in Kuwait.
An impressed US army instructor is heard telling her: “You’re pretty much hitting it dead centre.”
She seems to enjoy the role of strung-out supermom, “What’s the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mum,” she asks. “It’s lipstick.”
Her children have already attracted a Facebook group called: “What’s your favourite Palin child name?”
Redneck
Baby son Trig Paxon Van Palin is a frontrunner, followed by eldest son Track and three daughters Bristol, Willow and Piper.
Track, 19, is named after Sarah’s love of track and field. He has enlisted in the US army and is about to head to Iraq.
News that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is five months pregnant outside of marriage left many anti-abortion Republicans delighted that she had decided to keep the baby.
In a written statement the Palin family said: “Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that, as parents, we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned.”
The family stressed that Bristol would be keeping the baby and marrying the father.
He is said to be Levi Johnston, also a 18-year-old high school student. On his MySpace profile, before it was made private, he reportedly boasted that he was a redneck who liked to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.
Teen pregnancy in the US — with Britney Spears’ 17-year-old sister Jamie Lynn being a prime example — is one of the highest in the industrialised world.
It is estimated that one-third of US girls get pregnant before the age of 20, with 80 per cent of those “unintended”.
But Bristol’s decision to keep the baby has played well with delegates at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.
Texan Donna Crocker, 69, said: “I think the fact that Palin’s out in front with it is really a very good thing. The fact that her daughter is keeping the baby and marrying the father is wonderful. It is a human life and she is respecting that.”
Palin has certainly added colour and character to an already intriguing US political scene.
Many pundits believe her addition to the Republican ticket will make the race with Obama’s Democrats go to the wire.
What is certain is that the sharp-shooting mom from the wilds of Alaska won’t go down without a fight.
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