Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin (i/ˈpeɪlɨn/; née Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician and commentator. She was the youngest person and the first woman elected Governor of Alaska, an office she held from December 2006 until her resignation in July 2009. In the 2008 presidential election, she was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President, becoming the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and the first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency. She has subsequently associated herself with the Tea Party movement, endorsing and campaigning for several candidates in the 2010 midterm elections, and is a possible candidate in the 2012 presidential election.
Her book Going Rogue has sold more than two million copies. Since January 2010, she has also provided political commentary for Fox News, and hosted a television show, Sarah Palin's Alaska.
Sarah Mania! Sarah Palin's Greatest Hits
Sarah Palin: Paul Revere Warned The British
Matt Damon Rips Sarah Palin
Terry Tate: Reading Is Fundamental
Sarah Palin, Tina Fey on SNL
Early life and family
Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho, and is of English, Irish and German descent. She is the third of four children (three daughters, one son) born to Charles R. "Chuck" Heath, a science teacher and track coach, and Sarah "Sally" (née Sheeran), a school secretary. Palin's siblings are Chuck Jr., Heather, and Molly.[9][10][11][12][13] The family moved from Idaho to Skagway, Alaska, when Palin was a few months old;[14] then to Eagle River when she was about five years old; and finally to Wasilla when she was eight.[15][16]
Palin played flute in the junior high band, then attended Wasilla High School where she was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,[7] and a member of the girls' basketball and cross country running teams.[17] During her senior year, she was co-captain and point guard of the basketball team that won the 1982 Alaska state championship, earning the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her competitive streak.[18][19][20]
College
After graduating from high school, Palin enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.[21] Shortly after arriving in Hawaii, Palin switched to Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu for a semester in the fall of 1982. She transferred to North Idaho College, a community college in Coeur d'Alene, for the spring and fall semesters of 1983.[22] (In June 2008, the Alumni Association of NIC gave her its Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.)[22][23]
In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty pageant.[24][25] She finished third in the Miss Alaska pageant,[26][27] playing flute in the talent portion of the contest,[28] and receiving both the Miss Congeniality award and a college scholarship.[18]
She attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho in the fall of 1984 and spring of 1985, and attended Matanuska-Susitna College in Alaska in the fall of 1985. Palin returned to the University of Idaho in the spring of 1986, and received her bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism in 1987.[22][29][30][31]
Early career and marriage
After graduating, she worked as a sportscaster for KTUU-TV and KTVA-TV in Anchorage,[32][33] and as a sports reporter for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman,[34][35] fulfilling an early ambition.[36]
On August 29, 1988, she eloped with her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin. After the marriage, she became a mother and helped in her husband's commercial fishing business.[37]
Early political career
Main articles: Early political career of Sarah Palin and Electoral history of Sarah Palin
City council
Palin was elected to the Wasilla City Council in 1992 winning 530 votes to 310.[38][39] She ran for reelection in 1995, winning by 413 votes to 185.[40] Throughout her tenure on the city council and the rest of her political career, Palin has remained a Republican, first registering as such in 1982.[41]
Mayor of Wasilla
Motivated by concerns that revenue from a new Wasilla sales tax would not be spent wisely, Palin ran for mayor of Wasilla in 1996, defeating incumbent mayor John Stein[43] 651 to 440 votes.[44] Her biographer has described her campaign as targeting wasteful spending and high taxes;[18] her opponent Stein has said that Palin introduced abortion, gun rights, and term limits as campaign issues.[45] The election was nonpartisan, but the state Republican Party took the unprecedented step of running advertisements for Palin.[45] Palin ran for re-election against Stein in 1999 and won, 909 votes to 292.[46] In 2002, she completed the second of the two consecutive three-year terms she was allowed to serve by the city charter.[47] She was elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors[48] in 1999.[49]
First term
Palin had a standoff with the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, a local newspaper, and became involved in personnel challenges and a failed attempt to pack the City Council during her first year in office.[50] Using income generated by a 2% sales tax that had been approved by Wasilla voters in October 1992,[51] Palin cut property taxes by 75% and eliminated personal property and business inventory taxes.[43][52] Using municipal bonds, she made improvements to the roads and sewers, and increased funding to the Police Department.[45] She also oversaw new bike paths and procured funding for storm-water treatment to protect freshwater resources.[43] At the same time, she shrank the local museum's budget and deterred talk of a new library and city hall.[43]
Shortly after taking office in October 1996, Palin eliminated the position of museum director[53] and asked for updated resumes and resignation letters from "city department heads who had been loyal to Stein,"[54] including the police chief, public works director, finance director, and librarian.[55] Palin stated this request was to find out their intentions and whether they supported her.[55] She temporarily required department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters, saying that they first needed to become acquainted with her administration's policies.[55] She created the position of city administrator,[45] and reduced her own $68,000 salary by 10%, although by mid-1998 this was reversed by the city council.[56]
In October 1996, Palin asked library director Mary Ellen Emmons if she would object to the removal of a book from the library if people were picketing to have the book removed.[57] Emmons responded that she would, and others as well.[57] Palin explained that she not been proposing censorship but instead, had been been discussing many issues with her staff that were "both rhetorical and realistic in nature."[57] Ultimately, no attempt was made to remove books from the library during Palin's tenure as mayor.[58]
Palin said she fired Police Chief Irl Stambaugh because he did not fully support her efforts to govern the city.[59] Stambaugh filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and violation of his free speech rights.[60] The judge dismissed Stambaugh's lawsuit, holding that the police chief served at the discretion of the mayor, and could be terminated for nearly any reason, even a political one,[61][62] and ordered Stambaugh to pay Palin's legal fees.[61]
Wasilla City Hall
Location of Wasilla, Alaska
Second term
During her second term as mayor, Palin proposed and promoted the construction of a municipal sports center to be financed by a 0.5%[45] sales tax increase and $14.7 million bond issue.[63] Voters approved the measure by a 20 vote margin and the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex was built on time and under budget. However, the city spent an additional $1.3 million because of an eminent domain lawsuit caused by the failure to obtain clear title to the property before beginning construction.[63] The city's long-term debt grew from about $1 million to $25 million due to $15 million for the sports complex, $5.5 million for street projects, and $3 million for water improvement projects. The Wall Street Journal characterized the project as a "financial mess."[63] A city council member defended the spending increases as being caused by the city's growth during that time.[64]
Palin also joined with nearby communities in hiring the Anchorage-based lobbying firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to lobby for federal funds. The firm secured nearly $8 million in earmarks for the Wasilla city government,[65] including $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, and $900,000 for sewer repairs.[66]
In 2008, Wasilla's current mayor credited Palin's 75 percent property tax cuts and infrastructure improvements with bringing "big-box stores" and 50,000 shoppers per day to Wasilla.[38]
State-level politics
In 2002, Palin ran for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, coming in second to Loren Leman in a five-way Republican primary.[67] Following her defeat, she campaigned throughout the state for the Republican governor-lieutenant governor ticket of Frank Murkowski and Loren Leman.[68] Murkowski and Leman won, Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in December 2002 to assume the governorship. Palin was said to be on the "short list" of possible appointees to Murkowski's U.S. Senate seat,[68] but Murkowski ultimately appointed his daughter, State Representative Lisa Murkowski, as his successor in the Senate.[69]
Governor Murkowski offered a number of other jobs to Palin, and in February 2003, she accepted an appointment to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which oversees Alaska's oil and gas fields for safety and efficiency.[68] Although she had little background in the area, she said she wanted to learn more about the oil industry, and was named chair of the commission and ethics supervisor.[1][68][70] By November 2003 she was filing non-public ethics complaints with the state attorney general and the governor against a fellow commission member, Randy Ruedrich, a former petroleum engineer and the current chair of the state Republican Party.[68] He was forced to resign in November 2003.[68] Palin resigned in January 2004 and put her protests against Ruedrich's "lack of ethics" into the public arena[18][68] by filing a public complaint against Ruedrich,[71] who was then fined $12,000. She also joined with Democratic legislator Eric Croft[72] in complaining that Gregg Renkes, a former Alaskan Attorney General,[73] had a financial conflict of interest in negotiating a coal exporting trade agreement.[74][75] Renkes also resigned his post.[18][70]
From 2003 to June 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group designed to provide political training for Republican women in Alaska.[76] 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?"[77]
Governor of Alaska
Main article: Governorship of Sarah Palin
Palin visits soldiers of the Alaska National Guard, July 24, 2007.
In 2006, running on a clean-government platform, Palin defeated incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary.[78][79] Her running mate was State Senator Sean Parnell.
In the November election, Palin was outspent but victorious, defeating former Democratic governor Tony Knowles by a margin of 48.3% to 40.9%.[18] She became Alaska's first female governor, and, at the age of 42, the youngest governor in Alaskan history, 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 for most of her term was very popular with Alaska voters. Polls taken in 2007 showed her with 93% and 89% popularity among all voters,[80] which led some media outlets to call her "the most popular governor in America."[72][80] A poll taken in late September 2008 after Palin was named to the national Republican ticket showed her popularity in Alaska at 68%.[81] A poll taken in May 2009 showed Palin's popularity among Alaskans was at 54% positive and 41.6% negative.[82]
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. She 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," and declaring that she remained determined to clean up Alaska politics.[83]
Palin frequently broke with the state Republican establishment.[84][85] For example, she endorsed Sean Parnell's bid to unseat the state's longtime at-large U.S. Representative, Don Young,[86] and she publicly challenged then-Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the 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 intended to "make clear she had not abandoned him politically."[76]
Palin promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Proposals to drill for oil in ANWR have been the subject of a national debate.[87]
In 2006, Palin obtained a passport[88] and in 2007 traveled for the first time outside of North America on a trip to Kuwait. There she visited the Khabari Alawazem Crossing at the Kuwait–Iraq border and met with members of the Alaska National Guard at several bases.[89] On her return trip, she visited injured soldiers in Germany.[90]
Budget, spending, and federal funds
Palin in Germany, July 2007
In June 2007, Palin signed a record $6.6 billion operating budget into law.[91] 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.[92]
In 2008, Palin vetoed $286 million, cutting or reducing funding for 350 projects from the FY09 capital budget.[93]
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 against the wishes of the legislature.[94] 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.[95]
Gubernatorial expenditures
Palin lived in Juneau during the legislative session and lived in Wasilla and worked out of offices in Anchorage the rest of the year. Since the office in Anchorage is 565 miles from Juneau, while she worked there, state officials said she was permitted to claim a $58 per diem travel allowance, which she took (a total of $16,951), and to reimbursement for hotels, which she did not, choosing instead to drive about 50 miles to her home in Wasilla.[96] She also chose not to use the former governor's private chef.[97] Republicans and Democrats have criticized Palin for taking the per diem and $43,490 in travel expenses for the times her family accompanied her on state business.[98][99] In response, Palin's staffers said that these practices were in line with state policy, that her gubernatorial expenses are 80% below those of her predecessor, Frank Murkowski,[98] and that "many of the hundreds of invitations Palin receives include requests for her to bring her family, placing the definition of 'state business' with the party extending the invitation."[96] In February 2009, the State of Alaska, reversing a policy that had treated the payments as legitimate business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code, decided that per diems paid to state employees for stays in their own homes will be treated as taxable income and will be included in employees' gross income on their W-2 forms.[100] Palin herself had ordered the review of the tax policy.[101]
In December 2008, an Alaska state commission recommended increasing the Governor's annual salary from $125,000 to $150,000. Palin stated that she would not accept the pay raise.[102] In response, the commission dropped the recommendation.[103]
Federal funding
In her State of the State address on January 17, 2008, Palin declared that the people of Alaska "can and must continue to develop our economy, because we cannot and must not rely so heavily on federal government [funding]."[104] Alaska's federal congressional representatives cut back on pork-barrel project requests during Palin's time as governor; despite this, in 2008 Alaska was still the largest per-capita recipient of federal earmarks, requesting nearly $750 million in special federal spending over a period of two years.[105]
While there is no sales tax or income tax in Alaska, state revenues doubled to $10 billion in 2008. For the 2009 budget, Palin gave a list of 31 proposed federal earmarks or requests for funding, totaling $197 million, to Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.[106][107] Palin has stated that her decreasing support for federal funding was a source of friction between her and the state's congressional delegation; Palin requested less in federal funding each year than her predecessor Frank Murkowski requested in his last year.[108]
Bridge to Nowhere
Main article: Gravina Island Bridge
In 2005, before Palin was elected governor, Congress passed a $442-million earmark for constructing two Alaska bridges as part of an omnibus spending bill. The Gravina Island Bridge received nationwide attention as a symbol of pork-barrel spending, following news reports that the bridge would cost $233 million in Federal funds. Because Gravina Island, the site of the Ketchikan airport, has a population of 50, the bridge became known nationally as the "Bridge to Nowhere." Following an outcry by the public and some members of the U.S. Senate, Congress eliminated the bridge earmark from the spending bill but gave the allotted funds to Alaska as part of its general transportation fund.[109]
Palin holds up a t-shirt reading "Nowhere Alaska 99901" while visiting Ketchikan during her Gubernatorial campaign in 2006; the ZIP code for the area is 99901.
In 2006, Palin ran for governor with a "build-the-bridge" plank in her platform,[110] saying she would "not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project ... into something that's so negative."[111] Palin criticized the use of the word "nowhere" as insulting to local residents[110][112] and urged speedy work on building the infrastructure "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."[112]
As governor, Palin canceled the Gravina Island Bridge in September 2007, saying that Congress had "little interest in spending any more money" due to what she called "inaccurate portrayals of the projects."[113] Alaska chose not to return the $442 million in federal transportation funds.[114]
In 2008, as a vice-presidential candidate, Palin characterized her position as having told Congress "thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere." This angered some Alaskans in Ketchikan, who said that the claim was false and a betrayal of Palin's previous support for their community.[114] Some critics complained that this statement was misleading, since she had expressed support for the spending project and kept the Federal money after the project was canceled.[115] Palin was also criticized for allowing construction of a 3-mile access road, built with $25 million in Federal transportation funds set aside as part of the original bridge project, to continue. A spokesman for Alaska's Department of Transportation made a statement that it was within Palin's power to cancel the road project, but also noted that the state was still considering cheaper designs to complete the bridge project, and that in any case, the road would open up the surrounding lands for development.[116][117]
Gas pipeline
See also: Alaska gas pipeline
In August 2008, Palin signed a bill authorizing the State of Alaska to award TransCanada Pipelines — the sole bidder to meet the state's requirements — a license to build and operate a pipeline to transport natural gas from the North Slope to the Continental United States through Canada.[118] The governor also pledged $500 million in seed money to support the project.[119] It is estimated that the project will cost $26 billion.[118] Newsweek described the project as "the principal achievement of Sarah Palin's term as Alaska's governor."[120] The pipeline faces legal challenges from Canadian First Nations.[120]
Predator control
See also: Governorship of Sarah Palin#Environment
In 2007, Palin supported a 2003 Alaska Department of Fish and Game policy allowing the hunting of wolves from the air as part of a predator control program intended to increase moose and caribou populations for subsistence-food gatherers and other hunters.[121][122] In March 2007, Palin's office announced that a bounty of $150 per wolf would be paid to the 180 volunteer pilots and gunners, to offset fuel costs, in five areas of Alaska. 607 wolves had been killed in the prior four years. State biologists wanted 382 to 664 wolves to be killed by the end of the predator-control season in April 2007. Wildlife activists sued the state, and a state judge declared the bounty illegal on the basis that a bounty would have to be offered by the Board of Game and not by the Department of Fish and Game.[121][123]
Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
Main article: Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan on July 11, 2008, citing performance-related issues, such as not being "a team player on budgeting issues"[124] and "egregious rogue behavior."[125] Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said that the "last straw" was Monegan's planned trip to Washington, D.C., to seek funding for a new, multimillion-dollar sexual assault initiative the governor hadn't yet approved.[126] Monegan said that he had resisted persistent pressure from Palin, her husband, and her staff, including State Attorney General Talis J. Colberg, to fire Palin’s ex-brother-in-law, Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten; Wooten was involved in a child custody battle with Palin’s sister after a bitter divorce that included an alleged death threat against Palin's father.[127][128] At one point Sarah and Todd Palin hired a private investigator to gather information, seeking to have Wooten officially disciplined.[129] Monegan stated that he learned an internal investigation had found all but two of the allegations to be unsubstantiated, and Wooten had been disciplined for the others — an illegal moose killing and the tasering of his 11-year-old stepson (the child 'reportedly' asked to be tasered).[128] He told the Palins that there was nothing he could do because the matter was closed.[130] When contacted by the press for comment, Monegan first acknowledged pressure to fire Wooten but said that he could not be certain that his own firing was connected to that issue;[128] he later asserted that the dispute over Wooten was a major reason for his firing.[131] Palin stated on July 17 that Monegan was not pressured to fire Wooten, nor dismissed for not doing so.[124][130]
Monegan said the subject of Wooten came up when he invited Palin to a birthday party for his cousin, state senator Lyman Hoffman, in February 2007 during the legislative session in Juneau. "As we were walking down the stairs in the capitol building she wanted to talk to me about her former brother-in-law," Monegan said. "I said, 'Ma'am, I need to keep you at arm's length with this. I can't deal about him with you.[132] She said, 'OK, that's a good idea.'"[128]
Palin said there was "absolutely no pressure ever put on Commissioner Monegan to hire or fire anybody, at any time. I did not abuse my office powers. And I don't know how to be more blunt and candid and honest, but to tell you that truth. To tell you that no pressure was ever put on anybody to fire anybody." "Never putting any pressure on him," added Todd Palin.[133]
On August 13 she acknowledged that a half dozen members of her administration had made more than two dozen calls on the matter to various state officials. "I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist, although I have only now become aware of it," she said.[130][132][134] Palin said, "Many of these inquiries were completely appropriate. However, the serial nature of the contacts could be perceived as some kind of pressure, presumably at my direction."[124][135]
Chuck Kopp, whom Palin had appointed to replace Monegan as public safety commissioner, received a $10,000 state severance package after he resigned following just two weeks on the job. Kopp, the former Kenai chief of police, resigned July 25 following disclosure of a 2005 sexual harassment complaint and letter of reprimand against him. Monegan said that he didn't get any severance package from the state.[124]
Legislative investigation
On August 1, 2008 the Alaska Legislature hired an investigator, Stephen Branchflower, to review the Monegan dismissal. Legislators stated that Palin had the legal authority to fire Monegan, but they wanted to know whether her action had been motivated by anger at Monegan for not firing Wooten.[136][137] The atmosphere was bipartisan and Palin pledged to cooperate.[136][137][138] Wooten remained employed as a state trooper.[129] She placed an aide on paid leave due to a tape-recorded phone conversation that she deemed improper, in which the aide, appearing to act on her behalf, complained to a trooper that Wooten had not been fired.[139]
Several weeks after the start of what the media referred to as "troopergate," Palin was chosen as John McCain's running mate.[137] On September 1, Palin asked the legislature to drop its investigation, saying that the state Personnel Board had jurisdiction over ethics issues.[140] The Personnel Board's three members were first appointed by Palin’s predecessor, and Palin reappointed one member in 2008.[141] On September 19, Todd Palin and several state employees refused to honor subpoenas, the validity of which were disputed by Talis Colberg, Palin's appointee as Alaska's Attorney General.[142] On October 2, a court rejected Colberg's challenge to the subpoenas,[143] and seven of the witnesses, not including Todd Palin, eventually testified.[144]
Branchflower Report
On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release, without endorsing,[145] the Branchflower Report, in which investigator Stephen Branchflower found that firing Monegan "was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority," but that Palin abused her power as governor and violated the state's Executive Branch Ethics Act when her office pressured Monegan to fire Wooten.[146] The report stated that "Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired."[147] The report also said that Palin "permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor's office [...] to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired."[147][148]
On October 11, Palin's attorneys responded, condemning the Branchflower Report as "misleading and wrong on the law."[149] One of Palin's attorneys, Thomas Van Flein, said that it was an attempt to "smear the governor by innuendo."[150] Later that day, Palin did a conference call interview with various Alaskan reporters, where she stated, "Well, I’m very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing... Any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."[151]
Alaska Personnel Board investigation and report
The bipartisan State of Alaska Personnel Board reviewed the matter at Palin's own request.[152] On September 15, the Anchorage law firm of Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness filed arguments of "no probable cause" with the Personnel Board on behalf of Palin.[153][154] The Personnel Board retained independent counsel Timothy Petumenos, a Democrat, as an investigator. On October 24, Palin gave three hours of depositions with the Personnel Board in St. Louis, Missouri.[155] On November 3, 2008, the State of Alaska Personnel Board reported that there was no probable cause to believe Palin or any other state official had violated state ethical standards.[156][157][158][159][160] The report further stated that the Branchflower Report used the wrong statute in reaching its conclusions, misconstrued the available evidence and did not consider or obtain all of the material evidence required to properly reach findings in the matter.[156]
Job approval ratings, with comparisons
As governor of Alaska, Palin's job approval rating ranged from a high of 93% in May 2007 to 54% in May 2009. In November 2006, the month before Palin took office, Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski’s job approval rating was 19%.[161]
Date Approval Disapproval Pollster
May 15, 2007[162] 93% Not reported Dittman Research
May 30, 2007[163] 89% Not reported Ivan Moore Research
October 19–21, 2007[164] 83% 11% Ivan Moore Research
April 10, 2008[165] 73% 7% Rasmussen Reports
May 17, 2008[166] 69% 9% Rasmussen Reports
July 24–25, 2008[167] 80% Not reported Hays Research Group
July 30, 2008[167] 64% 14% Rasmussen Reports
September 20–22, 2008[168] 68% Not reported Ivan Moore Research
October 7, 2008[169] 63% 37% Rasmussen Reports
March 24–25, 2009[170] 59.8% 34.9% Hays Research
May 4–5, 2009[170] 54% 41.6% Hays Research
June 14–18, 2009[171] 56% 35% Global Strategy Group
In April 2009, SurveyUSA reported job approval ratings for the following U.S. governors: Bob Riley (AL) 54%, Arnold Schwarzenegger (CA) 25%, Chet Culver (IA) 42%, Kathleen Sebelius (KS) 46%, Steve Beshear (KY) 47%, Tim Pawlenty (MN) 46%, Jay Nixon (MO) 56%, Bill Richardson (NM) 46%, David Paterson (NY) 25%, Ted Kulongoski (OR) 40%, Tim Kaine (VA) 50%, Christine Gregoire (WA) 40%, and Jim Doyle (WI) 35%. (Polls taken April 24 – 26, 2009).[172]
Resignation
Main article: Resignation of Sarah Palin
An estimated 5,000 people[173] gathered at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks to watch Palin cede her office to Sean Parnell.
On July 3, 2009, Palin announced that she would not run for re-election in the 2010 Alaska gubernatorial election and would resign before the end of July. In her announcement,[174] Palin stated that both she and the state had been expending an "insane" amount of time and money ($2.5 million)[175] to address "frivolous" ethics complaints filed against her,[175][176][177][174] and that her decision not to seek reelection would make her a lame duck governor.[174] A Palin aide said Palin was "no longer able to do the job she had been elected to do. Essentially, the taxpayers were paying for Sarah to go to work every day and defend herself."[178] Palin and her husband Todd had personally incurred more than $500,000 in legal fees defending against ethics charges brought against her as governor.[175] Palin transferred the office of governor to Sean Parnell in Fairbanks on July 26, 2009.[179]
In December 2010, new rules governing Alaska executive branch ethics, stemming from Sarah Palin's tenure as governor, took effect.[180] "These include allowing for the state to pay legal costs for officials cleared of ethics violations; (and) allowing for a family member of the governor or lieutenant governor to travel at state cost in certain circumstances . . ."[180]
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 in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Several conservative commentators met Palin in the summer of 2007.[181] Some of them, such as Bill Kristol, later urged McCain to pick Palin as his vice presidential running mate, arguing that her presence on the ticket would provide a boost in enthusiasm among the Religious Right wing of the Republican party, while her status as an unknown on the national scene would also be a positive factor.[182]
On August 24, 2008 during a general strategy meeting, Steve Schmidt and a few other senior advisers to the McCain Campaign, discussed potential vice presidential picks with the consensus settling around Palin. The following day, the strategists advised McCain of their conclusions and he personally called Palin who was at the Alaska State Fair.[183]
On August 27, she visited McCain's vacation home near Sedona, Arizona, where she was offered the position of vice-presidential candidate.[184] According to Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for McCain, he had previously met Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February 2008 and had come away "extraordinarily impressed."[185] Palin was the only prospective running mate who had a face-to-face interview with McCain to discuss joining the ticket that week.[186] Nonetheless, Palin's selection was a surprise to many because a main criticism he had of Obama was his lack of experience, and speculation had centered on other candidates, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.[187] On August 29, in Dayton, Ohio, McCain announced that he had chosen Palin as his running mate.[187]
Palin was the first Alaskan and the second woman to run on a major U.S. party ticket.[187]
Since Palin was largely unknown outside Alaska before her selection by McCain, her personal life, policy positions, and political record drew intense media scrutiny.[188] On September 1, 2008, Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was pregnant and that she would marry the father, Levi Johnston.[189] During this period, some Republicans felt that Palin was being unfairly attacked by the media.[190] Timothy Noah of Slate magazine predicted that Palin's acceptance speech would be "wildly overpraised" and might end speculation that she was unqualified for the job of vice president because the press had been beating her up for "various trivial shortcomings" and had lowered the expectations for her speech.[191] On September 3, 2008, Palin delivered a 40-minute acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that was well-received and watched by more than 40 million people.[192] A Rasmussen poll taken immediately after the Convention found that 51% of Americans believed that the media was "trying to hurt" Palin with negative coverage, and 40% believed Palin to be ready for the Presidency.[193]
The Palins and McCains in Fairfax, Virginia, September 2008.
During the campaign, controversy erupted over alleged differences between Palin's positions as a gubernatorial candidate and her position as a vice-presidential candidate. After McCain announced Palin as his running mate, Newsweek and Time put Palin on their magazine covers,[194] as some of the media alleged that McCain's campaign was restricting press access to Palin by allowing only three one-on-one interviews and no press conferences with her.[195] Palin's first major interview, with Charles Gibson of ABC News, met with mixed reviews.[196] Her interview five days later with Fox News' Sean Hannity went more smoothly and focused on many of the same questions from Gibson's interview.[197] Palin's performance in her third interview, with Katie Couric of CBS News, was widely criticized; her poll numbers declined, Republicans expressed concern that she was becoming a political liability, and some conservative commentators called for Palin to resign from the Presidential ticket.[198][199] Other conservatives remained ardent in their support for Palin, accusing the columnists of elitism.[200] Following this interview, some Republicans, including Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol, questioned the McCain campaign's strategy of sheltering Palin from unscripted encounters with the press.[201]
Palin reportedly prepared intensively for the October 2 vice-presidential debate with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden at Washington University in St. Louis. Some Republicans suggested that Palin's performance in the interviews would improve public perceptions of her debate performance by lowering expectations.[198][202][203] Polling from CNN, Fox and CBS found that while Palin exceeded most voters' expectations, they felt that Biden had won the debate.[204][205]
Upon returning to the campaign trail after her debate preparation, Palin stepped up her attacks on the Democratic candidate for President, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. At a fundraising event, Palin explained her new aggressiveness, saying, "There does come a time when you have to take the gloves off and that time is right now."[206] Palin said that her first amendment right to "call Obama out on his associations" was threatened by "attacks by the mainstream media."[207]
Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment on October 18. Prior to her appearance, she had been parodied several times by Tina Fey, who was noted for her physical resemblance to the candidate.[208] In the weeks leading up to the election, Palin was also the subject of amateur parodies posted on YouTube.[209]
Controversy arose after it was reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) spent $150,000 of campaign contributions on clothing, hair styling, and makeup for Palin and her family in September 2008. Campaign spokespersons stated the clothing would be going to charity after the election.[210] Palin and some media outlets blamed gender bias for the controversy.[211][212] At the end of the campaign, Palin returned the clothes to the RNC.[213]
The election took place on November 4, and Obama was projected as the winner at 11:00 PM EST.[214] In his concession speech McCain thanked Palin, calling her "one of the best campaigners I've ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength."[214] While aides were preparing the teleprompter for McCain's speech, they found a concession speech written for Palin by George W. Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully. Two members of McCain's staff, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, told Palin that there was no tradition of Election Night speeches by running mates, and that she would not be speaking. Palin appealed to McCain, who agreed with his staff.[215]
After the 2008 election
Rallying with Saxby Chambliss in Savannah, Georgia, December 2008
Palin was the first guest on commentator Glenn Beck's Fox News television show on January 19, 2009, commenting on Barack Obama that he would be her president and that she would assist in any way to bring progress to the nation without abandoning her conservative views.[216]
On January 27, 2009, Palin formed the political action committee, SarahPAC.[217] The organization, which describes itself as an advocate of energy independence,[218] supports candidates for federal and state office.[219] Following her resignation as Governor, Palin announced her intention to campaign "on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation."[220] It was reported that SarahPAC had raised nearly $1,000,000.[221] A legal defense fund was set up to help Palin challenge ethics complaints, and it had collected approximately $250,000 by mid-July 2009.[221][222] In June 2010, Palin's defense fund was ruled illegal and will have to pay back $386,856 it collected in donations because it used Palin's position as governor to raise money for her personal gain. Palin subsequently set up a new defense fund.[223]
In March 2010, Palin started a show to be aired on TLC called Sarah Palin's Alaska.[224] The show was produced by Mark Bennett.[225] Palin also has secured a segment on Fox News.[225] Two guests that she was shown to have interviewed claimed to have never met her. Guests LL Cool J and Toby Keith stated that footage shown on the segment was actually taken from another interview with someone else, but was used in Palin's segment.[226]
On December 8, 2010, it was reported that SarahPAC and Palin's personal credit card information were compromised through cyber attacks. Palin's team believed the attack was executed by Anonymous during Operation Payback.[227] The report was met with skepticism in the blogosphere.[228] Palin's email had been hacked once before in 2008.[229]
Going Rogue and America by Heart
Main article: Going Rogue: An American Life
In November 2009, Palin released her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, in which she details her private and political career, including her resignation as Governor of Alaska. Palin said she took the title from the phrase 'gone rogue' used by McCain staffers to describe her behavior when she spoke her mind on the issues during the campaign.[230] The subtitle, "An American Life," mirrors the title of President Ronald Reagan's 1990 autobiography.[231] Less than two weeks after its release, sales of the book exceeded the one million mark, with 300,000 copies sold the first day. Its bestseller rankings were comparable to memoirs by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.[232][233][234]
Palin traveled to 11 states in a bus, with her family accompanying her, to promote the book. She made a number of media appearances as well, including a widely publicized interview on November 16, 2009 with Oprah Winfrey.[235] In November 2010 HarperCollins released Palin's second book, titled America by Heart.[236][237][238] The book contains excerpts from Palin's favorite speeches, sermons and literature as well as portraits of people Palin admires, including some she met in rural America on her first book tour.[236]
Palin on the campaign trail in 2008
Tea Party movement
On February 6, 2010, Palin appeared as the keynote speaker at the inaugural Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Palin said the Tea Party movement is "the future of politics in America."[239] She criticized Obama for rising deficits, and for "apologizing for America” in speeches in other countries. Palin said Obama was weak on the War on Terror for allowing the so-called Christmas bomber to board a plane headed for the United States.[240] Palin’s speaking fee was reported to be $100,000. Judson Phillips, the founder of Tea Party Nation, the social networking site that sponsored the convention, did not confirm the amount paid to Palin saying he was contractually obligated not to speak about it.
"Pink Elephant" movement and 2010 endorsements
In the middle of 2010, Palin flagged the launch of a new "Pink Elephant Movement."[241] She set about endorsing a number of female GOP candidates.[242] Her endorsement helped Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel to take the lead in the campaign for the Republican nomination,[243] though ultimately Handel lost the primary. Palin has endorsed several female candidates nationally. Ryan Rudominer, a spokesman for the House Democratic campaign operation has called her involvement in various U.S. House campaigns a "great thing across the board."[244] She spoke at a May 2010 fundraiser for the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life political advocacy group and political action committee that supports pro-life women in politics, in which she coined the term "mama grizzly."[245][246]
In the months ahead of the November 2010 elections, Palin selectively endorsed Republican candidates, and was a significant fundraising asset to those she campaigned for during the primary season.[247] According to Politico, Palin's criteria for endorsing candidates was whether they had the support of the Tea Party movement and the support of the Susan B. Anthony List.[248] In terms of success, Palin was 7-2 for Senate endorsements; 7-6 for House endorsements; and 6-3 in endorsements of gubernatorial candidates[249] Palin's endorsement of Joe Miller in the August 24 Alaska primary election for U.S. Senator was identified as a possible pivotal moment in Miller's upset of the incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.[250][251] According to Daily Beast reporter Shushannah Walshe, Christine O'Donnell's prospects of upsetting establishment Republican candidate Mike Castle "changed overnight" due to Palin's endorsement. O'Donnell defeated Castle in the September 14 primary for Joe Biden's former Senate seat in Delaware.[252] Her O'Donnell endorsement further increased tensions between Palin and the Republican establishment: leading conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer described the endorsement as "reckless and irresponsible";[253] party strategist Karl Rove argued that her endorsement may have cost the GOP the Delaware Senate seat;[254] and commentators including Politico's Ben Smith posited that Palin's support of O'Donnell contributed to dashing Republican hopes of regaining control of the U.S. Senate.[255] Palin's influence over the primaries nonetheless further increased speculation that she would seek to be the party's nominee for President in 2012,[256] with political pundits Paul Mirengoff, David Frum, and Jonathan Chait identifying Palin as the front-runner.[257][258][259]
Possible 2012 presidential and Senate campaign
Palin's high profile in the 2008 presidential campaign fueled speculation that she will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, and beginning in November 2008, there was an active "Draft Palin" movement.[260] On February 6, 2010, when Fox News asked her if she would be running for president in 2012, she replied, "I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country."[261] She added, "I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future."[262]
In November 2010, Palin confirmed that she was considering running for the Presidency, and was "having that discussion with my family." She stated she realised her level of experience could cause problems with winning the nomination, and criticized the "lamestream media" for focusing attention on her personal life.[263]
During March 2011, Palin and her husband toured India at the invitation of Indian newsmagazine India Today,[264] subsequently visiting Israel.[265] This tour fueled speculations that she was updating herself on world affairs as a run-up to her possible future campaign.[266] However, while in India when she was quizzed about her future candidacy, she said "I don't think there needs to be a rush to get out there as a declared candidate. It's a life-changing decision".[267] In response to another question, she said "It’s time that a woman is president of the United States of America."[268]
Palin's basing of her possible candidacy in Arizona has led to speculation that she may run in the Senate election in 2012 for the seat being vacated by Jon Kyl.[269][270] Palin has since denied that she is running for Senate and said that her recent purchase of a home in Scottsdale was not a full-time residence.[271]
Personal life
Palin family members at the announcement of her vice-presidential selection, August 29, 2008. From left to right: Todd, Piper, Willow, Bristol and Trig.
Sarah and Todd Palin have five children: sons Track (born 1989)[272][273] and Trig Paxson Van (born 2008), and daughters Bristol Sheeran Marie[274] (born 1990), Willow (born 1994), and Piper (born 2001).[3][275] Palin's youngest child, Trig, was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome.[276]
Palin has one grandchild, a boy named Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, who was born to her eldest daughter, Bristol, and her then-fiancee, Levi Johnston, in 2008.[277] Her husband Todd worked for the British oil company BP as an oil-field production operator, retiring in 2009, and owns a commercial fishing business.[42][278]
Palin was born into a Roman Catholic family.[6] Later, her family joined the Wasilla Assembly of God, a Pentecostal church,[279] which she attended until 2002. Palin then switched to the Wasilla Bible Church.[280] When in Juneau, she attends the Juneau Christian Center.[281] Palin described herself in an interview as a "Bible-believing Christian."[6]
Political positions
Main article: Political positions of Sarah Palin
Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982.[282]
Health care
Palin opposed the 2010 health care reform package, saying it would lead to rationing of health care by a bureaucracy, which she described using the term "death panels". This legislation is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.[283] Palin characterizes the act as an "unfunded mandate" and supports defunding it,[284] as well as repealing portions of the act.[285]
Social Issues
Palin opposes same-sex marriage,[286] abortion including in cases of rape and incest, and embryonic stem cell research.[287] She supports capital punishment,[288] and parental consent for female minors seeking an abortion.[289]
Education
Palin supports sex education in public schools that encourage abstinence along with contraception.[290]
She supports discussion of creationism during lessons on evolution in public schools.[291] Palin believes evolution "should be taught as an accepted principle" and said that her belief in God's role in Earth's creation "is not part of the state policy or a local curriculum in a school district. Science should be taught in science class."[292]
Guns
A Life Member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Palin interprets the Second Amendment as including the right to handgun possession and opposes bans on semi-automatic assault weapons.[293] She supports gun safety education for youth.[294]
Environment
Palin supports off-shore drilling, and land-based drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.[87][295] When commenting on the Gulf Coast oil disaster Palin said, "I repeat the slogan 'drill here, drill now.'"[296] She said, "I want our country to be able to trust the oil industry."[297] Palin asked supporters to read an article by Thomas Sowell which criticized Obama for having BP pay to an escrow fund.[298]
Palin has expressed skepticism about the causes of global warming,[299] but agrees that "man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue" and that action should be taken.[300] She is opposed to cap-and-trade proposals, such as the defunct American Clean Energy and Security Act. Palin has acknowledged that "Simply waiting for low-carbon-emitting renewable capacity to be large enough will mean that it will be too late to meet the mitigation goals..that will be required [for carbon dioxide] under most credible climate-change models."[301]
Foreign policy
Palin is a strong supporter of Israel.[302][303] Referring to Iran's threat to Israel, Palin said Obama would be reelected if "he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do."[304]
On foreign policy, Palin supported the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq, but is concerned that "dependence on foreign energy" may be obstructing efforts to "have an exit plan in place."[305][306] Palin supports preemptive military action in the face of an imminent threat, and supports U.S. military operations in Pakistan. Palin supports NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia,[307] and affirms that if Russia invaded a NATO member, the United States should meet its treaty obligations.[308]
On foreign policy, Palin supported the surge strategy in Iraq, the use of additional ground forces in Afghanistan, and, in general, maintaining a strong defensive posture by increasing the defense budget. She believes Islam and democracy can co-exist. She supports strengthening America's alliance with Japan. She supports the de-nuclearization of North Korea. She wants to work with China to reduce American debt and improve the human rights and political freedom of Chinese citizens.[309]
Public image
Main article: Public image of Sarah Palin
Prior to the 2008 Republican National Convention, a Gallup poll found that most voters were unfamiliar with Sarah Palin. During her campaign to become vice president, 39% said Palin was ready to serve as president if needed, 33% said Palin was not, and 29% had no opinion. This was "the lowest vote of confidence in a running mate since the elder George Bush chose then-Indiana senator Dan Quayle to join his ticket in 1988."[310] Following the Convention, her image came under close media scrutiny,[188][311] particularly with regard to her religious perspective on public life, her socially conservative views, and her perceived lack of experience. Palin's experience in foreign and domestic politics came under criticism among conservatives as well as liberals following her nomination.[312][313][314][315] At the same time, Palin became more popular than John McCain among Republicans.[193]
One month after McCain announced Palin as his running mate, she was viewed both more favorably and unfavorably among voters than her opponent, Delaware Senator Joe Biden.[316] A plurality of the television audience rated Biden's performance higher at the 2008 vice-presidential debate.[316][317] Media outlets repeated Palin's statement that she "stood up to Big Oil" when she resigned after eleven months as the head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, due to abuses she witnessed involving other Republican commissioners and their ties to energy companies and energy lobbyists, and again when she raised taxes on oil companies as governor.[167][318] In turn, others have said that Palin is a "friend of Big Oil" due to her advocacy of oil exploration and development including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the de-listing of the polar bear as an endangered species.[167][318] The National Organization for Women did not endorse McCain/Palin, endorsing Barack Obama instead.[312][319]
Palin was selected as one of America’s "10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" by Barbara Walters for an ABC special on December 4, 2008.[320] In April 2010, she was selected as one of the world's 100 most influential people by TIME Magazine.
In the wake of the January 8, 2011 shooting of Rep. Giffords, Palin faced criticism for her SarahPAC website's inclusion of a graphic that included a crosshair over Giffords's district. Palin responded to the criticism of the graphic, saying that "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them," controversially equating the accusations of her role in the shooting to a "blood libel". Following her response, an ABC News-Washington Post poll found that 46% of respondents viewed Palin's actions after the shooting unfavorably, while 30% approved and 24% had no opinion.
Bibliography
Going Rogue: An American Life (2009)
America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag (2010)
References from Wikipedia.com
