Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for Vice President, was first unleashed on the political scene in 2006, by becoming governor of Alaska. This feat was magnified by the fact that she was the youngest (aged 42) and first female governor of Alaska. Recent Alaskan approval ratings of her as governor are at 80%.
She is famed for winning the Miss Alaska beauty contest, becoming a Miss Congeniality figure in a beauty pageant of 1984 in her home town of Wasilla. Although in a political sense, she has a reputation for being a "gutsy maverick," who extols the virtues of truth. In fact, during employment on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, she built such a reputation whistleblowing on ethical infractions by state Republican Party leaders.
Sarah Palin has become a media personality, with a "hockey-mom" or "soccer-mom" appeal. She is a mother of five children, one of whom has incurred media attention by revealing that she is pregnant. Her fifth child has Down's Syndrome, which may help to substantiate her image as strongly pro-life. Her husband, Ted, is a Yupik Inuit.
She is a staunch social conservative, supporting gun rights. She recalls getting up at dawn in her childhood to go moose-hunting. Augmenting this, she is an active member of the National Rifle Association.
Further conservative traits are also apparent in her disapproval of same-sex marriage. That said, she has made endeavours to protect the gay community from discrimination. Such endeavours include legislative action to ensure equality of benefits to same-sex couples.
Economically, Palin has sought to cut public expenditure in the past. For instance, under her governance, she reduced the Alaskan state's budget for construction by $237 million. This was the largest budget cut in the state's history.
While maintaining a charismatic appeal to some, Palin has been the subject of some scandal. She was under questioning by the state over the firing of Walter Moneghan, commissioner for public safety. Moneghan claims that he was fired because he refused to fire a state trooper who was involved in a divorce with Palin's sister - Molly McCann. Thus the allegations surround an abuse of power on Palin's behalf.
