Meet Sarah "Barracuda" Palin

She may claim to be "just an average hockey mom," but John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin is anything but average.

The reaction to McCain's shocking selection of the Alaska governor has been all over the map, but one argument no one can make about Palin is that she is a bland choice.

It's not just her credentials as the youngest and only female governor in Alaska's history that make Palin so intriguing. How many vice-presidential candidates in American history have been avid moose hunters, sports reporters or beauty queens? Palin is all three.

When Vogue Magazine asked her what her favorite meal was, she didn't settle on pizza or Mexican. "Moose stew after a day of snowmachining," she said. Does it get any more Alaska than that?

The Alaska governor might be just a "plain Sarah" herself, but her children's names are far more dazzling: Track (18), Bristol (17), Willow (13), Piper (7) and Trig (4 months).

Trig has Down syndrome, and his mom told the Anchorage Daily News that he is "absolutely perfect."

Her husband Todd, whom Palin met in high school, is a champion snowmobiler, but Palin's sport of choice is basketball. She was a star point guard in high school and earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her hardnosed style of play.

Her opponent at the top of the Democratic ticket Barack Obama (better known in high school as "Barry O'Bomber" for his strong jump shot) is fond of taking breaks from the campaign trail to play pickup games on the basketball court.

Forget the debates—how about a one-one-one contest between The Baracuda and O'Bomber?

[szkeptik]

Nice to know how long Obama has been in state and federal office, but what has he done. Compared to what Sarah has accomplished he has just been collecting his salary to pay for his campaigning.

[misha128-2009]

McCain said it best. When asked if Palin was qualified to be VP, he responded by saying that if Obama had as much experience as Palin, he''''d be qualified to be VP.

...

She is currently governor of Alaska, and the Commander in Chief of their National Guard.

...

Posted by mike071067 at 03:55 AM

Lets see

Obama 3 years federal experience, 8 years state level experience, 12 years teaching Constitutional Law, 7 years a Lawyer.

Palin 0 years federal experience, 2 years state level experience, 14 years local experience and a degree in Journalism.

Obama appears to be the clear winner. Factor in the number of Court losses for the Bush Administration including the possible release of Gitmo terrorists into the US and a president that knows the constitution does not sound bad either.

[rizabove]

What does this woman have to do with price of bread or the price of gas? Has she ever met a person of color? How on earth can she talk to foriegn countries if she hasn''t?? This is scary, America is in denial, mayberry really doesn''t exist anymore and America has to stop pretending that it does.

[messiahx4eve]

Palin supports aerial hunting of wolves, which is not only chicken sh*t but also just plain stupid. Go ahead, hunt them to extinction, humans are that stupid and ignorant as proven by Palin since she took office. Imagine her calling the shots at the WH if Insane McCain is medically, mentally, or physically unable to continue as "president"? She has NO EXPERIENCE compared to Obama, my service dog as more experience than she does. The time is coming when we, as human beings, are going to be reduced to the Feudal system and its knocking at the door as we speak. It won''t hard times, it will be SURVIVAL times.

[notfooledtx]

I agree miashineon - mccains biggest mistake was assuming that A woman - ANY woman - would do.

[meritocrat]

McCainiacs- Yes running a REAL state is a challenge, especially if you''ve done it at least two years (she hasn%u2019t yet). Alaska has only 600K citizens, and that%u2019s only during the summer. This right-wing-nut has neither the education nor the experience to be competitive for selection as a Whitehouse Intern, much less a senior and permanent member of the National Security Council. She%u2019s a great lady, but barely qualified to be a 2nd Lieutenant in our military much less one heartbeat away from being Commander-In-Chief. You keep smiling and push this clown and his gimmick sidekick, I am going to do my upmost to make sure my children are protected by leadership that was picked democratically (IE Obama%u2019s primary win) or by undeniable qualifications (IE Joe Biden%u2019s preeminent national security resume). As for Mrs. %u201CMainstream,%u201D I%u2019ll pass, this isn%u2019t a contest for %u201CMs Congeniality,%u201D though she%u2019s actually won that prestige, this is about the security of our nation during a time of WAR! Which would you pick to do your open-heart surgery, a well-educated doctor; or Mr. %u201Cmost-like-me-an-you?%u201D Duh.

[meritocrat]

McCainiacs - Wasn''t it your God people who were praying for it to rain in Denver last week...and now they have their answer - Katrina''s big brother Gustav is bearing down the same way during your Republican sham convention? How is it that the religious in Europe seek greater social services to protect the children that ARE born and the "religious" in your party only seek to protect them to birth and could give a crud beyond the womb? How many of those %u201Cright-to-lifers%u201D have taken in minority foster children from our ghettos? How many of them would vote for a tax hike to pay for pre-and post natal care for all those aborted fetuses?
McCainiacs- remember, guns don%u2019t kill people, people with guns kill people and children with guns kill people, and children (over 100,000 kids killed since 1979, now that%u2019s pro-life!), and children with guns kill each other, and children with guns kill themselves, and people with guns in their homes are far more likely to die from gun violence than those who don%u2019t...

[meritocrat]

McCainiacs- your posts are very Hannity, very Limbaugh%u2026an EMPTY brain is easy to fill with crud, and the divide and conquer right wing media has filled yours well. My Lincoln to Obama comparison stands%u2026without any substantive rebuttal from you or anyone else%u2026because it is valid%u2026What makes Obama more qualified you ask? How about winning a Primary, over a well-healed and supported Clinton, and earning about 10 million more votes than your feeble candidate%u2026

[grammypflug2]

John McCain made a wise choice in selecting Sarah Pallin as his running mate. He chose a woman who
can do it all! She has been a Mayor
and a Governor of a State. (Every State is a legitimate State.) On the other hand, Barack Obama has run
nothing. Sarah has spent 16 years in government as opposed to Barack''s 143 days in Congress where
he has introduced no legislation and
was absent for most of the votes. Her resume is better than Obama''s.
You go girl!

[meritocrat]

Wow,
Senator Obama''s great political fortunes return as once again during this election his opponent turns out to be a nincompoop. Senator McCain shows his political prowess is equivalent to that of Allan Keys -remember him, the non-Illinois token minority freak show the Republican Party sent to prevent Obama%u2019s election to the Senate. And now McCain picks a token female to woo disgruntled Clinton supporters, revealing just how stupid and superficial he and other Republicans think those supporters are -somewhere George Carlin is begging to be brought back to life to tell just a few more jokes. Yes, she%u2019s been a governor and mayor of the least-populated state -smaller than most US cities- and a tiny town, -I think they now have a stoplight though -and she%u2019s a moose hunter, a sports reporter and a beauty queen. A lifetime member of the NRA and chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission -Cheney approves. A BS in journalism-communication from Idaho -very prestigious; clearly no other education is required. Fully qualified, you betcha; to ruin Republican chances to keep the Presidency. She makes me yearn for Dan Quayle! Senator Joe Biden vs. Governor Sarah Palin, there%u2019s a wartime VP debate for the century. President-Elect Obama might as well start selecting his Cabinet%u2026Ding-dong, hello Mrs. Bush, I%u2019m Michelle Obama, would you mind if I came in to measure the drapes, thanks.