Sarah Palin Biography

Sarah Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho on February 11, 1964. She was the third of four children born to Charles and Sally Heath, a science and track teacher and a secretary. When Sarah was just an infant, Charles moved the family to Alaska to enjoy the great outdoors. When Sarah was only a few months old, her father moved the family to Skagway, Alaska for a teaching position. Later they moved to Eagle River and finally to Wasilla in 1972.

As Sarah was growing up hunting, fishing and enjoying the outdoors were a regular part of her life. She would sometimes go moose hunting with her father before school. The family also participated in 5k and 10k races. Sarah played the flute in junior high and attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska, about 30 miles north of Anchorage.

Sarah Barracuda

Sarah became a Christian as a young girl at Wasilla Assembly of God and was the head of her school's local chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. For most of her life, Sarah has attended Pentecostal churches. Don't know what a Pentecostal is? You can learn more about Sarah Palin's religious background here.

Sarah was very involved in high school sports. She was involved in cross-country running and was the point guard and co-captain of her high school basketball team. She led her team to win Alaska's small school championship in 1982, making a vital freethrow in the final minutes, even though she had an ankle fracture at the time. Sarah led prayer before her basketball games and earned the name "Sarah Barracuda" while participating in sports because of her competitiveness.

After graduating from high school, Sarah went to her first semester of college at Hawaii Pacific College, but then transferred to North Idaho College for two semesters. In June 2008, after becoming governor of Alaska, the Alumni Association of NIC gave Sarah its Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla pageant and then came in second runner up in the Miss Alaska pageant, playing flute in the talent part of the competition, where she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award.

Sarah then transferred to the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho the next year and attended Matanuska-Susitna College in Alaska for one semester in the fall of 1985. Palin then returned to the University of Idaho in the spring of 1986, where she finally settled down and received her bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism in 1987.

After graduating from college, Sarah Palin became a sports broadcaster for KTUU-TV and KTVA-TV in Anchorage, Alaska and a sports reporter for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman a newspaper covering Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

On August 29, 1988, Sarah eloped with her high school boyfriend, Todd Palin. They did it to avoid making their parents have to pay for an expensive wedding. Sarah began helping out Todd in his commercial fishing business. She enjoys fishing and hunting and is a lifetime member of the NRA.

Sarah and Todd's first son, Track, was born in 1989. Later children include Bristol, born in 1989, Willow in 1995, Piper in 2001 and Trig in April, 2008. Trig was born with Down's Syndrome. Sarah and Todd knew their son had Down's Syndrome before he was born. They chose to let their son live, unlike many others who have aborted Down's Syndrome babies, in accordance with their belief that all human life is special and sacred. Read an article from a mother who had a Down Syndrome child here to learn more about raising children with this special need. Sarah Palin was and is a devoted mother. She became involved in the local PTA and was very involved in her kids' sports activities.

Sarah Palin in politics

City Council of Wasilla

Sarah Palin's first venture into politics occurred in 1992 when, at the age of 28, she successfully ran for the city council in Wasilla. Wasilla is about 29 miles northeast of Anchorage and is the largest city in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. Sarah knocked on doors and asked people for their vote. Her congenial personality won them over and she was elected for two terms on the council in 1992 and 1995. Palin, however, did not finish her second term since she ran for mayor of Wasilla in 1996.

Mayor of Wasilla

Sarah won the position of mayor twice and served in the position from 1996-2002. In her mayoral role, Sarah Palin oversaw the city's police department, parks and recreation department, a planning office, public works department, a library and a small history museum. She oversaw around 50 employees with a budget of around $6 million. By the time Sarah left the office, the city had grown to around 6,300 people and become the fifth largest city in the state.

First term

Sarah Palin took office as mayor in October 1996 at the age of 32. She began a review of all city employees and policies. She reduced her own salary by 10% and hired a city administrator. Palin fired police chief Irl Stambaugh, an decision which would later become an issue during her vice-presidential bid. Stambaugh sued the city alleging "discrimination" and that he was fired for political reasons. The court decided that Palin had acted within her rights as mayor and ordered Stambaugh to pay $22,000 of Palin's legal fees.

Another issue from Palin's first term as mayor that would later arise during the vice-presidential nomination involved an Alaska bill called HB270. This bill eliminated charging rape victims for the cost of medical procedures to determine if a rape had occurred. After the bill was passed, Palin's new police chief Charlie Fannon made some public statements indicating he didn't believe the public should be charged for the cost of the rape kits. Instead, he believed the criminal should pay for it. This comment was incorrectly construed by some, who left out who Fannon believed should pay for the kits, to mean he believed the victim should pay for it. The accusation was transferred to Palin as his boss and is still a criticism of some who believe she wanted victims to pay for the tests, despite repeated statements from Palin clarifying that she was in favor of the new law has never supported the idea of victims paying for rape kits.

The library matter

During the presidential campaign of 2008, the accusation that Sarah Palin was in favor of library book censorship arose repeatedly due to a series of events that happened at the Wasilla Public Library in the fall of 1996 and early 1997.

According to librarian Mary Ellen Emmons, she and Palin discussed the issue of censorship at a public meeting on October 28, 1996. Emmons said Palin's question was not in regard to any specific book, but was a general question about how censorship was handled by the library. This was at a time when the library's policies were being reviewed and updated. Anne Kilkenny, a long time registered democrat who filed numerous complaints against Palin, was at the meeting and said Palin clearly had certain books in mind that she wanted to censor. Kilkenny's views were often repeated by media outlets to the point that many believed them. According to the library, however, Palin never censored any books or even suggested that any be censored.

On January 30, 1997, Palin sent Emmons a letter stating that she was going to terminate her. This was the same day Police Chief Stambaugh was terminated. Palin reinstated Emmons though, the following day, saying that her concerns had been addressed, especially with Emmons agreement to merge the library and city museum.

Also during her first term as mayor, Palin reduced property taxes by 75% and eliminated personal property and business inventory taxes. She was able to do this due to a 2% sales tax passed prior to her election. Palin was able to reduce spending on the town museum by merging it with the library and stopped the building of a new library and city hall. She supported and implemented the installation of bike paths and secured funding for storm-water treatment to protect the area's lakes.

Second Term

In 1999, Sarah Palin was elected to a second term as mayor of Wasilla. She was also elected to lead Alaska's Conference of Mayors in this year and was also a co-chair of Steve Forbes' 2000 presidential bid.

During Palin's second term she introduced a ballot measure to build a new sports complex for the city. The public approved an increase in the local sales tax of half a cent. The complex cost $14.7 million to build and in Palin's view was a justified expense to the city. Subsequent mayor Dianne Keller estimated the loan would be paid off by the city two years earlier than planned due to growth of the city, which grew substantially during Palin's tenure as mayor. The city grew by 13% during Palin's last two years as mayor alone.

In 2002, term limits prohibited Sarah Palin from running for mayor again, but her stepmother-in-law, Faye Palin, ran for the position. Sarah Palin, however, did not support her stepmother-in-law for the position, but instead supported city council member Dianne Keller. Palin's stepmother-in-law is a pro-choice, registered Democrat.

After the mayoral years

In 2002, Sarah Palin ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. She came in second to Loren Leman in a five way race. Republican US Senator Frank Murkowski and Leman won the race. When he became governor, Murkowski considered naming Sarah Palin to his vacated US Senate seat, but named his daughter Lisa Murkowski to the position instead.

Governor Murkowski appointed Sarah to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003, which she headed until 2004. This commission overseas the safety, efficiency and regulation of Alaska's natural oil and gas resources.

In 2004, Sarah resigned her position on the Oil and Gas Commission in protest for what she believed were unethical practices by several participating Republican members. After her resignation, Palin filed formal complaints against Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, who was also the chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, and Gregg Renkes, a former Alaska Attorney General. The complaint against Ruedrich alleged that he did party work on public time and had too cozy a relationship with a company he was supposed to be regulating.

The complaint against Renkes was filed together with Democratic legislator Eric Croft and accused him of having a financial conflict of interest in a a coal exporting trade agreement he had been involved in. Ruedrich and Renkes both resigned their positions and Ruedrich ended up paying a record fine of $12,000. These incidents helped cement Sarah's reputation of fighting against government corruption, even within her own party.

In 2004, Sarah considered running for the US Senate, but decided against it because her teenage son, Track, wanted her home to be his team's "hockey mom."

From 2003 to 2005, Palin also served as a director of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a group created to train Republican women for political office in Alaska.

Governor Sarah Palin

In 2006, Sarah Palin ran for governor of Alaska. She ran on a platform of education, public safety, transportation and cleaning up corruption in government. She beat several longtime establishment Republicans, including the incumbent Republican Governor Frank Murkowski, to win the Republican primary in August of that year.

In November she defeated former democratic Governor Tony Knowles 48.3% to 40.9%, becoming Alaska's first female governor. She was elected at the age of 42, making her Alaska's youngest governor ever. Sarah Palin was the first person to be elected governor of Alaska that was born after Alaska became a state in 1959. Sarah was sworn in to office on December 4, 2006.

During the race she was endorsed by former Alaska Governor Walter Hickel, the Alaska Correctional Officers Association and Alaska Right to Life. After the primaries were over, Governor Frank Murkowski supported her election. Republican US Senator Ted Stevens also made an endorsement and filmed a television commercial supporting Palin for governor.

Energy resources

While she was governor, Sarah Palin devoted much of her time to energy issues. The people of Alaska jointly own vast tracts of land that are rich in energy sources. Palin successfully increased the severance tax oil companies pay in order to drill for oil on state land. She promoted the continued development of oil and natural gas reserves throughout the state, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Drilling in ANWR is still a violation of federal law, however, as some believe drilling would endanger the wildlife and environment.

In March 2007, Palin introduced the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, which created the state's legal procedure for building a natural gas pipeline from the state's North Slope. This arrangement negated the previous administration's arrangement that distributed the rights to a coalition of oil and gas companies, including BP, which was her husband's employer. Palin believed the previous arrangement was frought with conflicts of interest between the gas companies and members of the previous administration and that it did not pay enough to the citizens of Alaska for their resources.

In accordance with her strong support for Alaska's natural resources and wildlife, on September 14, 2007, Sarah Palin created Alaska's Climate Change Sub-Cabinet and commissioned it to create a climate change strategy for Alaska. Palin has stated publicly that Alaska is the state most substantially impacted by climate change. She has also stated that she is not yet convinced that global warming is a manmade phenomena. In January 2009, Governor Palin introduced a plan that would switch half of Alaska's energy resources to renewable sources.

On January 5, 2008, Sarah Palin announced that TransCanada Corporation, a Canadian company was the only company who was in complete compliance with the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. The contract for a $26 billion dollar pipeline from the North Slope to the lower 48, through Canada, was awarded to TransCanada. The pipeline is scheduled for completion in late 2018 and is the largest industrial project in the history of North America.

In June 2008, when gas prices began to rise substantially across the country, Governor Sarah Palin asked the Legislature to assist the citizens of Alaska by giving them a one-time payment of $1,200 to help with rising energy costs. She said the payments could come from the windfall the state was getting from high oil prices. The high prices were more than enough to cover Alaska's savings and spending priorities. Palin said that "With savings and funding priorities covered, I am confident that Alaskans, who are the owners of our resources, can spend their resource revenue better than government can." The Legislature passed the measure and it was signed into law by Palin in August 2008.

Palin had previously proposed giving Alaskans $100-a-month energy debit cards, but she later decided providing debit cards was too expensive for the state to manage and that the cards wouldn't work in many of Alaska's rural communities.

Wolves and bears

Another issue that received a lot of scrutiny later during Palin's vice-presidential campaign had to do with the aerial shooting of predatory animals such as wolves and bears in Alaska. In 1994, the Alaska State Legislature enacted the "Intensive Management Law," which required requiring increased hunting and trapping of wolves and bears in order to increase the populations of animals, such as moose and caribou, that are used widely in Alaska for human consumption. The policy of managing the predator population by paying bounties for the animals had been a longstanding policy in Alaska dating back to the early 1900's.

Alaska is divided into districts with varying rules for game hunting in each district, depending on local animal populations and conditions. In 2006, Alaska's Department of Fish and Game and the Board of Game extended the areas in which the aerial hunting of wolves was allowed under its Predator Control Program. Palin supported the department's policy allowing 180 voluntary pilots and hunters to shoot wolves from helicopters as part of the Predator Control Program.

Wildlife organizations sued to try and stop the practices. Friends of Animals, Defenders of Wildlife, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, and the Sierra Club. The activists succeeded in stopping the state from paying bounties for killed predators, but was not able to stop the aerial shooting. In addition, a federal judge in 2008 ruled the whole aerial shooting policy was legal, but required Alaska to stop the procedure in certain districts until further studies on the local animal populations were completed. The citizens of Alaska defeated a measure to end the state's predator control program in August, 2008, showing the widespread popularity of the policy in Alaska.

Clean Water

In 2008, Sarah Palin publicly announced her disapproval of a measure called Alaska's Clean Water Act. The measure was defeated by the public. The measure would have increased the regulations on mining operations in Alaska that could have shut down many mining operations or prevented the building of new ones. At issue was a proposed gold and copper mining operation by the Anglo-American Mining Company that was near Bristol Bay, a chief salmon fishing ground that provided thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in revenue to Alaskans every year. Palin and the public believed the state's existing mining and environmental laws were sufficient to prevent any pollution from the mining operations to damage the fishing grounds.

Polar Bears

Governor Sarah Palin wrote an op-ed in the New York Times describing her opposition to adding polar bears to the threatened species list under the Endangered Species Act. Adding the bears to the list would have greatly hindered Alaska's oil and gas development in regions where the bears lived. She also questioned the scientists that believed Alaska's polar bear population was endangered, stating that the population of bears was much higher than 40 years earlier.

In May 2008, the polar bear was added to the threatened species list and Palin quickly sued the federal government for its removal. In August, American Petroleum Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers, the United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute joined the suit. The government did allow Alaska an exemption to continue to develop its oil and gas fields, as long as the state complied with other existing regulations, but many local Inuit tribes felt the listing would endanger their local economies by reducing hunting trips from the lower 48 states due to the listing creating a ban on imported polar bear trophies. As of April 2011 the suit was still pending.

Sarah Palin - Fiscal conservative

While governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin was known for ethics reform and cleaning up corruption in Alaska's state government. Sarah was also known for reducing spending. She vetoed well over $500 million dollars in spending and sold a state jet that was purchased by the previous governor because she didn't think the taxpayers should have to pay for it. She originally tried to sell it on E-Bay, but it didn't sell, so it was sold through a private broker.

Palin lived in Juneau, Alaska's capital, during legislative sessions, but worked from an office in Anchorage near her Wasilla home for the rest of the year. The state allowed Palin a $58 a day "per diem" stipend to help with expenses when away from Juneau, which she took, and hotel reimbursements, which she did not take, choosing to stay at home instead. It was later pointed out that her expenses were 80% lower than those of her predecessor.

In December 2008, an Alaska state commission recommended raising the governor's salary from $125,000 to $150,000, but Palin said she would not take the increased salary. The commission dropped its recommendation in response.

In 2007, Sarah took her first trip outside of the United States to visit Alaska National Guard troops in Germany and Kuwait. Sarah's oldest son, Track, joined the US Army on September 11, 2007. He was deployed to Iraq on September 11, 2008.

The Bridge to Nowhere

In Sarah Palin's 2008 vice-presidential nomination acceptance speech, she said, "I told the Congress 'thanks, but no thanks,' for that Bridge to Nowhere." In reality, Palin originally supported the project, which was for a bridge to connect the town of Ketchikan to Gravina Island, where the Ketchikan International Airport is located. The bridge would have replaced the ferry that operated there for years and would have provided easier access to the airport and allowed for large tracts of land to be developed on the island.

The bridge was originally projected to cost $398 million and was to have been longer than the Golden Gate bridge and taller than the Brooklyn Bridge. The reason for the bridge's enormity was that it would have spanned the Tongass Narrows, which is part of Alaska's Inside Passage. This is a heavily traveled shipping lane with frequent cruise ships sailing the passage, so the bridge had to be tall enough for the ships to cross underneath.

The bridge project received national attention when Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma offered an amendment to stop the funding for the bridge in October, 2005 and divert the money instead to repairing a bridge over Lake Pontchartrain that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina. The bridge was widely criticized as a waste of money and became known as "The Bridge to Nowhere," becoming a symbol of earmark and pork-barrel government spending. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was widely criticized for his strong stand defending the bridge, even threatening that he would quit Congress if the funds were denied. In November 2005, Congress finally stripped the earmark for the bridge from its spending bill, but still gave the same amount of money to Alaska anyway to be used on other projects.

In September 2006, during her gubernatorial campaign, Sarah Palin publicly supported the Gravina Island Bridge project. In a public campaign stop in Ketchikan, she even held up a pro-bridge t-shirt created by a local artist. In October 2006, in response to a question of whether she supported the bridge project, Palin stated:

"Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now - while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." - Anchorage Daily News, October 22, 2006

By January, after her election, Palin had changed her mind about the project. Her first budget eliminated the state's $185 million portion of funding for the bridge. In September 2006, she cancelled the project entirely, stating:

"Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer. Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it's clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. Much of the public's attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened." - State of Alaska Press Release, September 21, 2006

Sarah Palin was later criticized for being "for the bridge before she was against it," but others have credited her with recognizing that the bridge had become too unpopular and changing her position on it, not wanting Alaska to be perceived as taking too many earmarks from Congress.

Troopergate

On July 11, 2008, Sarah Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan from his office, saying that his job performance was unsatisfactory. Monegan then accused Governor Palin of removing him from his position for failing to fire Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten, who was Palin's ex-brother-in-law.

Mike Wooten had been married to Sarah Palin's sister, Molly McCann. The two were divorced and McCann requested a restraining order against Wooten, claiming that he was violent and threatening. Many complaints were made by the Palin about his behavior. An investigation was conducted by the state police into allegations that Wooten had threatened to kill Sarah Palin's father, Charles Heath, that he was guilty of drunk driving, that he had used a taser on his own son and had shot a moose illegally. The investigation found Wooten guilty of the beer, taser and moose incidents.

Alaska's Chief of the State Police, Colonel Julia Grimes stated that:

"The record clearly indicates a serious and concentrated pattern of unacceptable and at times, illegal activity occurring over a lengthy period, which establishes a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession."

Wooten was eventually reprimanded and suspended for five days, but retained his job.

After becoming governor, many contacts were made from Palin's administration to Commissioner Monegan concerning Wooten. Monegan told them the investigation was already complete and that there wasn't anything else he could do about it. In July 2008, Monegan was relieved by Palin, who offered to transfer him to become executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he turned down.

Commissioner Monegan then alleged that he was being inappropriately pressured by the administration and members of Palin's family to fire Wooten. On August 1, the Alaska legislature voted to appoint an independent investigator to examine the situation. This was only a few weeks before John McCain announced her as his vice-presidential running mate on August 29.

The "Troopergate" issue became fodder for Democrat opposers of McCain's run for president. Numerous news articles related the details of the situations, especially focusing on negative claims about Palin's behavior during the whole incident.

On October 10, three weeks before the 2008 election, the Alaska legislature released the Branchflower report, named after the attorney in charge of the investigation. Branchflower's investigation determined that Palin was guilty of abusing her power as governor of Alaska, but that no laws had been violated. Specifically, the report found that:

1. Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as Governor in that her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act, which provides "The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.
2. Although Walt Monegan's refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin's firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.
3. Harbor Adjustment Service of Anchorage, and its owner Ms. Murleen Wilkes, handled Trooper Michael Wooten's workers' compensation claim properly and in the normal course of business like any other claim processed by Harbor Adjustment Service and Ms. Wilkes. Further, that he received all the workers' compensation benefits to which he was entitled.
4. The Attorney General's office failed to substantially comply with (the investigation's) August 6, 2008 written request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of emails.

By Alaska law, the state Personnel Board had jurisdiction over ethics complaints and therefore had jurisdiction over the accusations against Palin improperly pressuring Monegan with a personal agenda against Wooten. On September 1, Palin filed an ethics complaint against herself, asking Board to review the matter.

The Personnel Board's findings were released on November 3 and contradicted the Branchflower report. The Personnel Board's decision was that Sarah Palin was not guilty of abusing her power as governor. The Board's decision carried the weight of law, whereas the Legislature's report did not. The Personnel Board's decision included the following findings:

1. There is no probable cause to believe that Governor Palin violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act by making the decision to dismiss Department of Public Safety Commissioner Monegan and offering him instead the position of Director of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board.
2. There is no probable cause to believe that Governor Palin violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in any other respect in connection with the employment of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten.
3. There is no basis upon which to refer the conduct of Governor Palin to any law enforcement agency in connection with this matter because Governor Palin did not commit the offenses of Interference with Official Proceedings or Official Misconduct.
4. There is no probable cause to believe that any other official of state government violated any substantive provision of the Ethics Act.
5. There is no legal basis or jurisdiction for conducting a "Due Process Hearing to Address Reputational Harm" as requested by former Commissioner Walter Monegan.
6. The Amended Complaint by the PSEA should be dismissed.
7. Independent Counsel recommends that the appropriate agency of State government address the issue of the private use of e-mails for government work and revisit the record retention policies of the Governor's Office.

Resignation as Governor of Alaska

On July 26, 2009, Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska, a little less than a year and a half before the end of her term. She publicly stated that her reason for stepping down was that so many frivolous lawsuits were being filed against her that it was effectively stopping her from managing Alaska's government business. The state was spending millions of dollars to defend the governor and Sarah and Todd Palin personally racked up attorney fees of $500,000.

Numerous lawsuits were filed against her after she was announced as John McCain's running mate in 2008 and these lawsuits were draining her office, her staff and her funds. She decided Alaska would be better off if she quit and allowed her Lieutenant Governor, Sean Parnell, to take over. The state's business would get back to normal and she could go on to support the Republican party on a national basis.

Many critics accused Palin of being weak and a "quitter" for leaving the governorship early. Others accused her of leaving for financial profit - to write a book, go on the speakers' circuit and so on. Others praised Palin for putting her state first and put the blame squarely on the frivolous lawsuits, all of which were later resolved finding no guilt on Sarah Palin's part. Her supporters believe that leaving the governorship gave her an opportunity to promote conservative values on a national stage, rather than just in Alaska and possibly freed her up to pursue a 2012 presidential bid.

Sarah Palin for
Vice-President!

On August 29, 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced that Sarah Palin would be his vice-presidential running mate for the 2008 election. This announcement was a surprise to the nation because McCain's campaign had kept the matter a complete secret. Sarah was the first Alaskan nominated to a national ticket of a major party and was also the first female candidate nominated to run for president in the Republican party. She was picked over other veteran politicians whom many believed McCain might choose, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, US Senator Joe Lieberman, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Why was Sarah Palin chosen for this important position by McCain? She was chosen for several reason. One is that because of her strong Christianity, she would be favored by the large block of evangelical Christians within the Republican Party. Palin was also chosen because she is a woman. It was hoped that many women would be able to relate to her and would vote for the ticket.

Palin was also chosen because she was a new and fresh face with little exposure on the national scene. Many voters were disgusted and jaded with existing and known politicians, so having someone new was considered an advantage. In addition to these factors, Palin was known in Alaska as a maverick who was not afraid to challenge the political establishment. She worked against leaders in her own party on many occasions in Alaska when she believed they were in the wrong. She was known for working together with members of the opposing party when they shared the same goals. All of these served to make Palin an attractive running mate.

On the day McCain announced Palin as his running mate, she gave a a 20 minute speech to introduce herself to the nation. In this speech she introduces her husband and children and detailed her record of public service in Alaska. A few days later the GOP National Convention was held in Saint Paul, Minnesota. At her nomination acceptance speech, Sarah delivered a memorable speech that electrified the nation. The speech was watched by over 40 million people. You can watch each of these Sarah Palin speeches here. In this speech, she came across as sincere, trustworthy and someone who is "just like me." Sarah's traditional family life inspired people around the nation. Her joking and cleverness led to several memorable moments that are now part of every day parlance in America, including "hockey-mom," "You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick!" Predictably, many media personalities did not like her homegrown, small town America image and began to relentlessly criticize her and her family.

Sarah Palin immediately came under intense media fire after she was announced as John McCain's running mate. Droves of reporters descended on Wasilla looking for any information they could find about her. Negative media coverage became so intense that many Americans were disgusted with what they perceived as a partisan agenda by the media to support the Democrat candidate Barack Obama and oppose the Republicans at any cost.

The McCain campaign announced immediately after announcing Palin as its running mate that her oldest daughter, Bristol, who was 17 at the time, was pregnant. The father was Bristol Palin's boyfriend, 18 year old Levi Johnston. The campaign announced the pregnancy to prevent political opponents from digging up the issue and using it against them. It was also announced that Bristol and Levi were planning to get married. The marriage eventually fell through though.

The pregnancy drew intense scrutiny from both sides. Opponents said Sarah Palin's "family values" weren't working in her own family and she must be failing as a mother for her daughter to get pregnant. Supporters were for the most part forgiving and supportive, recognizing that a young pregnant girl would need all the help and support she could get. Being overly harsh and critical would be the last thing she would need. Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston was born on December 29, 2008

Sarah Palin was criticized for numerous issues during the next few months of campaigning before the November 2, 2008 election including having some differing policy issues with John McCain and giving a few lackluster media interviews. She was also criticized for using $150,000 worth of clothes during the campaign. Media critics alleged that the campaign bought them just for her, but the clothes were actually given to charity after the election.

In particular, Palin gave an interview to Katie Couric of CBS News, in which Palin appeared to not have good answers to a few of Couric's questions. The media interpreted the interview as Palin not being very knowledgeable of current events and unready for the vice-presidency.

After the interview, Palin's support numbers began to sag and many questioned whether having her on the ticket was a good idea. Even some Republicans began to question the decision. Many though, believed the real problem was with how Palin was being handled by the McCain campaign. There was a very high degree of control over Palin, her interviews and what she was allowed to say. Many believed that if Palin was just allowed to be herself she would have been just fine. In addition, after the lackluster interviews, the campaign kept a tight leash and rarely allowed Palin to interview with anyone. Critics thought this was exactly the opposite strategy they should have used, since Sarah Palin's power was in her personality.

Sarah Palin was frequently parodied on Saturday Night Live during the campaign and was portrayed by Tina Fey, who looks somewhat like Palin. In a gesture of goodwill, Sarah Palin appeared on the October 18 show herself, a move showing that she was not intimidated by her critics.

Election 2008

The McCain-Palin team lost the election on November 4, 2008. The final popular vote total was 53% to Barack Obama and 47% to John McCain. Barack Obama won 365 electoral college votes, while John McCain won 173. 270 votes are needed to win.

Naturally, after losing such a crucial election, there was plenty of blame to go around. Some blamed Sarah Palin, saying she was not ready for such a powerful position. Others blamed John McCain, saying he was too liberal a candidate for many conservative Republicans to get behind. Some blamed the media's obsessive fawning over Barack Obama, saying that they never analyzed his record or gave him anywhere near the harsh treatment given to Palin. Others blamed Obama and the Democrat party for misrepresenting their true beliefs and agenda for the country, making their election more palatable to a wider group of voters.

Sarah Palin after the 2008 Election

After the election was over, Sarah Palin was back to governing Alaska. She was drowned in lawsuits and ethics complaints from political opponents who saw her as a threat, even though the election was over. Many believed she would continue to be a rising star in the Republican Party and might eventually run for president.

The plethora of claims against her began to take their toll. The state of Alaska was paying for numerous investigations and Palin was accumulating hundreds of thousands in legal fees. Much work of the governor's office ground to a half because the staff was focused on dealing with the numerous ethics investigations.

Eventually Sarah Palin decided it was better for the state that she leave her position so the state could get on with its business. She left the position on July 26, 2009. Her resignation speech drew 5,000 people. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell succeeded her.

Since leaving office, Sarah Palin has become a mass media phenomenon, with regular television appearances, two best selling books and numerous speaking engagements. All of these have allowed Palin to earn millions since leaving the governorship of Alaska.

Sarah Palin became a paid contributor to Fox News in January, 2010, signing a multi-year, million dollar a year contract to make appearances and give her opinions on the Fox News Channel, Fox Radio and the Fox Business Channel. If she should decide to run for president, the contract would be terminated because Fox has a policy that bars active presidential candidates from receiving salaries from the channel. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Senator Rick Santorum lost their commentator gigs at Fox for this reason when they both announced their presidential campaigns in the summer of 2011.

Sarah Palin also starred in her own tv show called "Sarah Palin's Alaska," which aired on TLC beginning in November, 2010. The show's first episode garnered TLC its highest audience ever for the premiere of a new show with 5 million viewers. The show maintained 3.2 million viewers on average for its 8 week long stint. The show featured Sarah Palin and her family visiting various sites in Alaska and showcased the Alaskan wilderness and natural beauty. The Palin's were camping, fishing and doing other Alaskan activities and were praised for showcasing the state they love. Critics of course, said it was nothing but an attempt to revive Sarah Palin's political career. Others accused her of trying to milk her moment in the limelight.

Sarah Palin has amassed an enormous amount of power in the media. Many news organizations and commentators have commented that whenever they write about Sarah Palin their readership goes off the charts. Sarah Palin began using platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to share her opinions on the issues of the day.

One Facebook post she made in August, 2009 gives an idea of how much she is able to influence the national political debate. In the post, she said the new nationalized health care legislation President Obama was espousing would create "death panels." Citizens with terminal illnesses or other defects might have "to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care."

Many people criticized the notion, but the phrase stuck and is frequently used today when discussing the health care legislation. Anyone who can coin a term and have it instantly become a part of American daily speech has an enormous amount of influence.

Sarah Palin's enormous media influence was demonstrated again when she spoke at Susan B. Anthony List fundraiser in May 2010. The Susan B. Anthony List is a pro-life organization that supports female candidates for office. During her speech Palin coined the term "Mama Grizzly" in reference to mothers who were willing to fight for their political convictions to protect their families. Just like the "death panels" term, the term "Mama Grizzlies" caught fire immediately and became a buzzword in national politics.

Palin's Facebook and Twitter posts frequently draw attention from other news media sources such as CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, the New York Times, Washington Post and other outlets. You can read Sarah Palin's Facebook posts here and Sarah Palin's Tweets (posts on Twitter!) here.

Going Rogue by Sarah Palin

In November 2009, Sarah Palin's first book Going Rogue: An American Life was published. The autobiography was an immediate bestseller, rising to #1 on the New York Times and selling 1 million copies in the first two weeks, with 300,000 copies being sold on the first day alone. This put Going Rogue into a unique class of only four political memoires that sold more than one million copies - including Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope," Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Living History" and Bill Clinton's "My Life." By December 2009, over 2.7 million copies of Going Rogue had been purchased.

Going Rogue covers Palin's early life and young family and goes into great detail about her political history in Alaska. Readers will find a lot of information about her Wasilla town council years, her tenure as mayor of Wasilla, the details of how she fought against corruption in Alaska's legislature and oil and gas commission and her time as governor. Anyone who is unfamiliar with her political accomplishments or who believes she is unqualified or has too little experience for higher public office will have their eyes opened. Palin also shares in detail the 2008 election campaign. She addresses the rumors of infighting with the McCain campaign staff and other controversies. Learn more about Going Rogue here.

America By Heart by Sarah Palin

In November 2010, Sarah Palin released her second book America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag. The book contains some of her favorite speeches, quotes, sermons and inspirational moments from other famous Americans such as Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy, as well as stories of patriotic Americans she met during her travels.

America By Heart was the fifth best selling non-fiction book in America in 2010 and sold over 797,000 copies that year. Learn more about America By Heart here.

Sarah Palin and the Rise of the Tea Party

The Tea Party movement began in early 2009 as a response to increasing government taxation, government bailouts of banks and voters anger with elected politicians for not listening to their concerns. This grassroots movement is made up of average Americans from all political stripes who want to see taxation and government regulation reduced. The Tea Party movement has no official leaders, but is made up of many smaller local organizations across the country each with their own agenda.

Sarah Palin became affiliated with the Tea Party right from the beginning since its beliefs and hers about smaller government fit hand in hand. On February 6, 2010 Palin spoke at a large Tea Party rally held in Nashville, Tennessee where she talked about President Obama's failed economic policies and criticized his apologies while on trips to foreign countries. Many Tea Party supporters consider Palin one of the lead members of the movement.

During the mid-term elections of 2010, Sarah Palin showed her Tea Party power by choosing to endorse and campaign for candidates across the country who had strong Tea Party roots and convictions, including many female candidates. Palin's endorsement helped many candidates rake in political donations to fund their campaigns and undoubtedly helped put many over the top. Her success rate was remarkable. Of the candidates she endorsed in the 2010 season, 7 of 9 won Senate seats; 7 of 13 won House seats; and 6 of 9 won governorships.

There were a few races in particular, which gained widespread attention because many believed Sarah Palin's endorsements actually hurt the Republican Party. Christine O'Donnell ran for Senate in Delaware and Joe Miller ran for Senate in Alaska. In each case, Palin endorsed these candidates over the more liberal establishment Republicans, Mike Castle in Delaware and Lisa Murkowski in Alaska.

Palin's endorsements helped both O'Donnell and Miller gain more traction in the primaries, endangering the favored candidates. O'Donnell and Miller both went on to win the Republican primaries. Pundits decried the O'Donnell win because they believed she was too conservative to win in Delaware. They believed her victory in the Republican primaries simply gave away the Senate seat to Democrats. They were right. O'Donnell was defeated by a wide margin by Democrat Chris Coons.

In Alaska, even though Lisa Murkowski was the Republican incumbent holding the Senate seat, Joe Miller beat her in the primaries. Not giving up, Murkowski ran again as an Independent and beat Miller and the Democrat candidate to win the election. Again, many believe Palin's endorsement endangered the Senate seat, which may have gone to the Democrat had Murkowski not run again as an Independent. Although others think Murkowski is liberal enough that it might as well have gone to a Democrat.

Nonetheless, Palin's endorsement did help many, many candidates with Tea Party-esque convictions gain office. There are large caucuses of Tea Party politicians in the House and the Senate and the movement shows every sign of continuing to grow and exert its influence.

Sarah Palin 2012

There has been much speculation about whether or not Sarah Palin would run for president in 2012. Many commentators believe she would be the instant front-runner due to her enormous favor with conservative Republicans. Democrats believe she is unqualified and many relish a Palin run, thinking she would be easy to defeat.

By the end of the summer in 2012, Palin has still not announced whether or not she will run. Many candidates have already announced and have been running campaigns all summer. Palin has definitely left the door open, saying she would make an announcement by August or September.

Sarah Palin's moves over the last two years have been closely followed for signs of whether or not she would run. Many people attribute her two successful books to her attempt to keep brandish her credentials and keep herself in the public eye, as well her television shows and appearances.

In March 2011, Palin took a speaking engagement in India and traveled to Israel. This trip was interpreted by some as an attempt to increase her foreign policy knowledge and credentials. She has also reportedly been in training sessions with various political experts to sharpen her awareness of various political issues and policies.

In May 2011 Sarah Palin announced she and her family would be taking a cross country bus tour to visit patriotic sites and to put the spotlight on American history. As she traveled to Gettysburg, the Statue of Liberty, the Paul Revere House and other places in her motorcoach decked out with American flags, eagles and other symbols of Americana, pundits couldn't help but think it was largely reminiscent of political candidates who travel from town to town during their political campaigns.

Palin has always been an unconventional candidate and if she runs it would undoubtedly be an unconventional campaign. Some have interpreted her moves as sure signs that she is running. However, there have been no rumblings that she is doing things behind the things that candidates typically do, such as sounding out potential donors and assembling a campaign team. All will be known though before long.

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