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August 29, 2008 1:02 PM

Meet Sarah "Barracuda" Palin

Posted by Scott Conroy
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?
Tags:
palin ,
sarah palin ,
mccain ,
obama
Topics:
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Add a Comment See all 96 Comments
by szkeptik September 1, 2008 8:18 AM EDT
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.
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by actornaught August 31, 2008 4:25 PM EDT
I got a big kick out of the ''con "journalist" that said Palin had experience with foreign policy because Alaska was close to Russia.
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by misha128-2009 August 31, 2008 3:44 PM EDT
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.
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by actornaught August 31, 2008 2:14 PM EDT
Addled John has done the voters a huge favor and demonstrated his massive neocon HYPOCRISY by showing that the experience/celebrity line of attack against BO was pandering to the ''con idiot base. He nominated a beauty queen wannabe and small time novice governer. Does he have no shame, or is his mind that far gone?

Thanks for making it even clearer, Addled John.
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by rizabove August 31, 2008 5:58 AM EDT
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.
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by messiahx4eve August 31, 2008 5:30 AM EDT
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.
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by notfooledtx August 31, 2008 4:19 AM EDT
I agree miashineon - mccains biggest mistake was assuming that A woman - ANY woman - would do.
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by meritocrat August 31, 2008 3:44 AM EDT
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.
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by meritocrat August 31, 2008 3:43 AM EDT
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...
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by meritocrat August 31, 2008 3:42 AM EDT
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
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by grammypflug2 August 31, 2008 2:47 AM EDT
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!
Reply to this comment
by meritocrat August 31, 2008 1:30 AM EDT
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.
Reply to this comment
by meritocrat August 31, 2008 1:29 AM EDT
McCainiacs - you get an "A" for blind optimism and an "F" for substance. You%u2019ve been watching Hannity again, who is an idiot, and his audience has proven to be among TV''s most ignorant. This woman - a governor of a state with a whopping 600K citizens that is floating on oil has - in her less than 2 years in office - had to deal with only one crisis...Getting an honest state employee to fire a state trooper because he happened to be divorcing the Governors sister - now that%u2019s great Republican experience - worthy of Monica Goodling - though at least she had a phony law degree! Do you really think McCain would have picked her if she was a man? All the Republican hypocrisy over affirmative action and McCain passes over many more imminently qualified men and women to pick a NRA-loving pro-life, nobody. That%u2019s judgment we can trust (to ruin our country)!
McCainiacs - your knowledge of history - Zilch. Obama has equivalent experience to Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Harry S. Truman, Theodore Roosevelt, shall I continue? I guess this token, unqualified, uneducated, affirmative-action-for-political-expediency McCain-pick does have Biden and Obama on one bit of experience; they%u2019ve never won a swimsuit competition...
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by homjett August 31, 2008 12:06 AM EDT
I left this thought out, look for the MSM to attack Gov Palin for her Religion beliefs. As they did Gov Romney for being a Mormon. Good luck with it if they try. Folks will rise up an make their dislike for such attacks at the Ballot Box. I was for Gov Romney, but Gov Palin is just fine the more I read about her life.
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by homjett August 30, 2008 11:55 PM EDT
I cannot wait until the VP Debate. Sen Biden is in for quite a surprise if he thinks he will have a cake walk. I will take her experience to be President long before Sen Obama''s. From what I have gathered from reading the comments by Libs on loads of blogs, they protest to much, sounds like they maybe worried. As far as woman voting for Gov Palin, I remind you of what some older woman at the DNC Convention in Denver said. The regreted that they were not going to see a woman elected to be VP, because Sen Obama chose not to put Hillary on the Ticket. There point was that they wanted to see a woman on the Ticket, therefore, my guess they will vote for Gov Palin. That sentiment seems to be going around the town here.
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by miashineon August 30, 2008 10:01 PM EDT
I am insulted by the notion that the Republican''s think women will vote for a woman based only on her gender ,and appeal as a new face.Do they really think I and others are so desperate for change that we will vote for a ticket that has made critical decisions based on what appears to be impulse and political expediency alone?Women know that motherhood in itself does not make a person ethical , nor does taking on the mantle of change.Shaking up a corrupt establishment can be a stepping stone to power ,but never forget that power can in turn corrupt ,especially when a person is extremely competitive and puts ambition ahead of doing the right thing.Arrogance seems to be in play here ,and it is a profound liability in a person who has much power or the potential to assume it.I reject this risky and self serving example of politics at its worse,and would even if I were a right wing conservative which I can never be.
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by dovber1 August 30, 2008 8:18 PM EDT
All these shrill attacks on Ms. Palin show just how nervous the dems are. They are so psychotic from losing two close elections they will actually require electro shock once this one slips out of their oily grasp, as it indeed will. I can already smell the poopee in their pants, or is coming out of their ears. Trounce''em John Wayne McCain.
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by actiscenei August 30, 2008 7:36 PM EDT
Palin as McCain''''s choice is a HUGE relief for the Democrats.

McCain has admitted that economic matters are a weakness of his. If he had chosen Romney as VP, Democrats would have to worry that McCain now had a running mate that was a highly successful business man who happen to run the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a fiscally responsible way.

Palin governs a state where all citizens receive money from the state as part of the Alaska Permanent Fund. Alaska has the lowest individual tax burden in the United States, and is one of only five states with no state sales tax and one of seven states that do not levy an individual income tax. To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues.

Her economic expertise is, at least, very weak in relation to the experience McCain needs from a running mate.

This is a GREAT choice for Democrats!
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by liberty_1776 August 30, 2008 7:33 PM EDT
Palin is a great choice. Hillary supporters may not agree with all of Palin''s political views, but Palin represents American women much better than Obama represents American blacks.

Barack Hussein Obama is the ONLY black American to be born to a wealthy white mother, attend Harvard, and live in a $1.95 million mansion Georgian-style mansion with his wife and children. Obama does not represent any of the black people I know personally - except possibly the Cosby family on television.

I believe most American women will see a vote for McCain/Palin as a rare opportunity to break the glass ceiling in Washington. It will be a historic occasion.
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by juless5 August 30, 2008 5:33 PM EDT
For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain''s age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

McCAIN NEEDS A CHECKUP FROM THE NECK UP!!
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