2008 Woodie Awards
The race to the White House officially begins
McCain chooses Alaska Gov. Palin as vice presidental running mate
Sydney Elliot
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: News
Sen. John McCain will officially accept the Republican presidential nomination Thursday at the Republican National Convention, and he will have Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin running alongside him as his vice presidential candidate.
McCain made the announcement Friday, just days before the Republican National Convention began in St. Paul, Minn. Political science professor Laurie Rice said Palin, who has been the governor of Alaska for two years, might be what McCain needs in order to win the election come November.
Rice said Palin was a surprising choice because her name had not been mentioned previously, but Palin could be what McCain needs to distance himself from the Bush Administration.
"The Democrats had really successfully painted McCain during their convention as four more years of Bush," Rice said. "He needed someone who didn't have any ties to George W. Bush and Washington D.C., so Sarah Palin … is a good example of that."
Carly Hayden-Foster, a political science professor with an emphasis in women in politics, said she found it interesting Palin was being greeted so warmly by the Republican party when, for so long, they advocated a more traditional role for women, especially since there are other women in politics with more experience than PalinHayden-Foster said she was shocked when McCain announced his decision on Palin for a running mate.
"McCain was trying to make his ticket more exciting, and he was certainly suffering from a lack of that before then," Hayden-Foster said. "The McCain campaign has been doing a lot of complaining that (Democratic presidential candidate Sen.) Barack Obama is the media rock star … I think he was trying to counter that."
Palin's personal life and that of her children have already been splashed across the media. At first, it was most notable that Palin once participated in a beauty pageant, competing in the Miss Alaska contest in 1984, according to CNN.com.
As the days continued and more information was given about Palin and her family, including the news that Palin's 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant.
McCain made the announcement Friday, just days before the Republican National Convention began in St. Paul, Minn. Political science professor Laurie Rice said Palin, who has been the governor of Alaska for two years, might be what McCain needs in order to win the election come November.
Rice said Palin was a surprising choice because her name had not been mentioned previously, but Palin could be what McCain needs to distance himself from the Bush Administration.
"The Democrats had really successfully painted McCain during their convention as four more years of Bush," Rice said. "He needed someone who didn't have any ties to George W. Bush and Washington D.C., so Sarah Palin … is a good example of that."
Carly Hayden-Foster, a political science professor with an emphasis in women in politics, said she found it interesting Palin was being greeted so warmly by the Republican party when, for so long, they advocated a more traditional role for women, especially since there are other women in politics with more experience than PalinHayden-Foster said she was shocked when McCain announced his decision on Palin for a running mate.
"McCain was trying to make his ticket more exciting, and he was certainly suffering from a lack of that before then," Hayden-Foster said. "The McCain campaign has been doing a lot of complaining that (Democratic presidential candidate Sen.) Barack Obama is the media rock star … I think he was trying to counter that."
Palin's personal life and that of her children have already been splashed across the media. At first, it was most notable that Palin once participated in a beauty pageant, competing in the Miss Alaska contest in 1984, according to CNN.com.
As the days continued and more information was given about Palin and her family, including the news that Palin's 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant.
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