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Of all the criticisms an apparently panicky Dem party has heaped on Sarah Palin in the hours since her selection was announced, Keith Boykin [bio] has come up with perhaps the unseemliest. The former aide to President Clinton has accused Palin of being an "affirmative action" pick. Boykin, a graduate of Dartmouth and Harvard Law, was debating the selection with Republican Joe Watkins at the end of MSNBC's 4 PM EDT hour. After some preliminary jousting, Boykin dropped his bomb. KEITH BOYKIN Let me just say something about this choice. The reason why she doesn't help, quite frankly, is because...

Family and personal background Palin was born as Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, U.S.A., the daughter of Charles and Sally (Sheeran) Heath.[2] The family moved to Alaska when Sarah was an infant.[3] Charles Heath was a popular science teacher and coached track.[3] The Heaths were avid outdoors enthusiasts; Sarah and her father would sometimes wake at 3 a.m. to hunt moose before school, and the family would regularly run 5k and 10k races.[3] Palin was the point guard and captain for the Wasilla High School Warriors when they won the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982; she earned the...

Sarah Heath Palin (born February 11, 1964) is the current Governor of Alaska, and a member of the Republican Party. She is the youngest and first female governor of Alaska. Brought to statewide attention because of her whistleblowing on ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders,[1] she won election in 2006 by first defeating the incumbent governor in the Republican primary, then a former Democratic Alaskan governor in the general election. On August 29, the Associated Press reported that "speculation [has] moved to [Palin as a] darkhorse" pick for the vice president running mate slot by presumptive Republican nominee John...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are probably cobbling together the campaign ad right now: "John McCain's running mate is for big oil and against the environment," a somber voice intones as cute baby polar bears scamper across the screen. If McCain hoped to stop Democrats from getting much mileage out of the oil issue in this presidential election, he picked the wrong vice presidential candidate. His choice, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, comes from a state whose lifeblood is oil. Palin favors opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, something McCain opposes. Her family even gets one of...

Aug 29th, 2008 (Boca Raton, FL.) – Lt Col. Allen West (Ret.) announced today that he strongly congratulates Senator John McCain for choosing Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his pick to be the next Vice President of the United States of America. Below is LTC. Allen West’s entire statement: Governor Sarah Palin is a principled reformer of the wasteful policies that characterizes Washington. Governor Palin’s personal and professional background is an honest testament to her conservative values. Hers is not a record of hype – but of action. She has a record of fiercely battling special interests and political...

Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney - considered a leading contender for John McCain’s running mate - praised the Arizona senator’s surprise pick today, saying Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s story is “inspiring.” “Governor Palin’s story is one that all Americans will find inspiring,” Romney said in a statement issued earlier today. “She’s a Washington outsider with a commitment to the conservative principles that will make our nation stronger. I look forward to campaigning for Senator McCain, Governor Palin and Republicans all across the country,” Romney said.

The wisdom or error in selecting Palin will be determined later, when the public gets to know her, hears her speak and debate, and the mad-dog, in-the-tank press goes after every detail in her bio. She will have a very thin margin of error as far as gaffes go, in as much as the Quayle syndrome will be quickly invoked at the slightest slip.  But in political terms today, right now, one can appreciate the political brilliance of her appointment, which — given Obama's doctrinaire liberal laundry-list speech — turns the attention to the McCain camp and will hinder the...

They're already attacking Palin, saying she's too inexperienced, that she is not prepared to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Of course, the media NEVER delves into Obama's stunning lack of depth, experience or knowledge. So, how do we counter the inexperience meme for Governor Palin? Please add your arguments on this thread.

Lot's of guesses about the music-- Hoosiers, Forrest Gump, -- Medved just said "Seabiscuit"-- but the music is for sure Jerry Goldsmith's brilliant theme from the football movie "Rudy." You can hear a clip of the score from the climactic final game on the link. This is the music that was played when she came out and took the stage.

I really don't care about our nation's top leader's workouts. In fact, those are usually a source of annoyance to me. I'm tired of seeing Bush on a bike, hated seeing Clinton jogging, and was annoyed by Jimmy Carter's aggressive management of the White House tennis court schedule, while he let America fall apart. Most annoying to me we're all the ceaseless, braggadocious stories about Condi Clueless and her hard workout. Look at me, I workout. So what? She's a terrible Secretary of State. That's the fitness I care about. Still, with this election, in which the press constantly contrasts...

......Here's the statement from Wexler, who represents 10 central and northern Broward communities: "Today, John McCain proved he is a complete and utter hypocrite. This past week we saw the first test of judgment and leadership from America's presidential nominees. Barack Obama made the outstanding choice of Joe Biden. John McCain made a sad political choice by picking Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. "In doing so John McCain has failed both the test of leadership and judgment. John McCain has been unable to generate any genuine excitement with his tired campaign and his selection of Palin as his running mate is...

Please post pictures of our future Vice President here.

What kind of impact has the Palin pick had on MSM coverage? We've gone from wall-to-wall adoration of last night's speech, to—literally within hours—Andrea Mitchell having to remind viewers of some guy named Barack Obama. Mitchell was kibitzing the choice of Palin with Bloomberg's Margaret Carlson and Time editor Rick Stengel. Not merely did the liberal [see here and here] Stengel praise Palin, he even compared her favorably with . . . Hillary Clinton. And Mitchell closed the segment by acknowledging that Obama had been "overshadowed." RICK STENGEL: She has a very, very appealing story, and one of the things...

“Not again!” I thought to myself this morning, as news trickled out that John McCain was set to pick Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Not again, because too often women are promoted for the wrong reasons, and then blamed when things don’t go right. Don’t get me wrong: what I know of Palin (which admittedly isn’t much), I kind of like. I don’t agree with her politics. But in her two years in Alaska’s state house, she’s shown herself to be a scrappy reformer, a no-nonsense manager, and a consistent conservative. She’s also a mother of five,...

Programming Note: I will be giving a radio interview today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on "The Blog Bunker" show on Sirius Channel 110 to talk about the selection of Sarah Palin and the race in general.Johnny Mac shoots out the lights with the Palin pick. Absolute Masterstroke. We became a fan of Sarah Palin in March when we posted Gov. Sarah Palin: Good Looking and Good for You. This will not only cause the base to open up their wallets, get the yard signs (with pictures?) out, and boost the get-out-the-vote efforts, it may just grab enough of Hillary's folks...

he Case for McCain Bruce Herschensohn August 27, 2008 One of my favorite conservative columnists recently started a column with the words, “Back before the Republican Party was saddled with John McCain as its nominee…” How was the Republican Party “saddled” with him when more Republicans voted for him than for anyone else running in the Republican primaries and caucuses? I was one of those who voted for John McCain in the California primary—and did it with enthusiasm. As someone who is as conservative as the columnist, of course I have had disagreements with Senator McCain on some issues, but...

Though I'm no big fan of John McCain, his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate is a stroke of genius. Brilliant. I'm not into affirmative action picks, but Palin is smart, articulate, and competent in her own right, regardless of whether she has a uterus. And in this case, McCain picking a woman--a bright conservative who happens to be female--was necessary. It was necessary because Barack Obama made a big mistake in picking Joe Biden. He angered female Hillary supporters. Now, they will have a tough time voting for the Obama-Biden ticket, which dissed them, and...

"When we first heard, it was kind of confusing," Palin, 44, said. She called the revelation "very, very challenging" and said she initially felt sad. But the family has worked through that. Palin said she and Todd feel blessed and chosen by God. With a big family including four older kids, grandparents, aunts and uncles, Palin said, they will have lots of support for what's ahead. In their eyes, she said, "he's absolutely perfect." --- In a letter she e-mailed to relatives and close friends Friday after giving birth, Palin wrote, "Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want...

by Steven Ertelt Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a decision that's sure to unite the pro-life advocates behind his campaign, presidential candidate John McCain selected pro-life champion Sarah Palin as his pick for vice president. Palin, the 44-year-old governor of Alaska, takes a strong pro-life position on both abortion and bioethics issues. She is strongly pro-life and, in April, Palin put those pro-life views into practice. As many as 80 percent of unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome become victims of abortion, but Palin didn't let her child become a statistic. Palin, who has deeply-felt pro-life views, gave birth to...

MSM says Pawlenty and Romney are OUT. If it is Governor Palin, FR had it at 2:29 AM. And we were first, AGAIN! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2070367/posts A bunch of us worked it most of night. We may be wrong, but if not, then MSM, Kiss My Keyboard!