Student Reaction to Governor Sarah Palin

Senator John McCain’s vice presidential pick answers Obama’s challenge that change must go to Washington, not come from it.

Sarah Palin, the 44-year-old Governor of Alaska, made her national political debut today with her acceptance speech at Dayton, OH. In the gubernatorial race of 2006 Palin defeated former democratic Tony Knowles on a clean government platform and became Alaska’s first female governor. Palin is the first woman to receive a Republican vice presidential nomination. A member of Feminists for Life, Palin emphasized in her acceptance speech that if Hillary Clinton had cracked the glass ceiling then with McCain’s election they could shatter it.

McCain’s selection will appeal to two important demographics in the 2008 presidential election: women voters disappointed in Senator Barrack Obama’s vice presidential selection and Republican voters disillusioned with insider politics in Washington, D.C.

Both McCain and Palin have earned reputations as scrupled politicians willing to dissent from their party line if principled otherwise. McCain emphatically stated, “She’s got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today.”

Matt DeLeon, 1st vice chairman of the college republicans, expressed, “I really think its good for a couple of reasons: one, her conservatism is in no way questionable. She’s been a conservatist from the very beginning. That’s going to help unify the ticket at the very end. I think her being a woman will come into play, especially with the undecided and Hillary Clinton voters and I also think her and Senator McCain are going to work well together. They both have a history of tackling the party when they thought it was necessary.”

Palin began her political career as a city council member in Wasilla, Alaska. After serving on the city council for four years from 1992 – 1996 Palin ran for ,and was elected, mayor of Wasilla.

Upon entering gubernatorial office, Sarah Palin spearheaded a governmental ethics reform, her administration immediately passed a state ethics law overhaul.

Sarah Palin is fiercely pro-life and refused to terminate a pregnancy after discovering that her child would have Down Syndrome. During her second term as city council member Palin supported the teaching of Intelligent Design alongside Evolution in public schools. She is opposed to same-sex marriage.

Governor Palin is a lifelong member of NRA, hunts moose and is a candid defender of 2nd Amendment rights. Palin’s official website claims that she is a supporter of privatizing the healthcare system in order to drive down health costs and reduce government healthcare subsidies.

Though experienced in state and national politics, many pundits have expressed worry over her lack of foreign policy experience. Concerning McCain’s choice, Grant Herring, president of the college democrats at George Mason University, said, “I don’t think she has any experience in foreign policy and obviously McCain is not concerned with experience in the vice presidency. John McCain needed to find someone who is ideologically like George Bush so it’s a good fit for him.”

Some Republicans were confident in Senator McCain’s nomination. Joshua St. Louis, second vice chairman of the college republicans, said, “it’s a very strong choice. I think it surprised people and I think she’ll be ready to take on Joe Biden in the vice presidential debate.”