On Sept. 3, the political landscape of the Republican Party changed forever as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took the podium at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., and accepted her nomination as the first female Grand Old Party vice-presidential candidate.
As Palin took the stage to thunderous applause from the standing-room only crowd, the doubts that the conservative base had displayed previously at the surprise vice-presidential pick, seemed to evaporate.
The worries of the conservative base that Sen. John McCain, with his largely independent voting record, would not suffice to represent the Republican ideology seemed to be decisively compensated by Palin’s strong support of the conservative agenda.
For example, at the RNC Palin stated, “But listening to him [Sen. Barack Obama] speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform – not even in the state senate.”
In the eyes of many voters and pundits alike, McCain had found his political “attack dog.”
As always, along with the positive aspects of the GOP nomination came the negative spin and new controversy surrounding Palin’s relatively short public career and the issue of McCain’s age.
The day the GOP pick was announced, on Aug. 29, Obama released a statement saying, “Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.”
Obama is not the only person who feels this way. “I think she [Palin] will become the first female president if McCain is elected,” freshman Cody Dunbar said.
Palin began her political career when she was elected to city council of her hometown, Wasilla City, Alaska, in 1992. After two terms on the council she was elected as the city’s mayor in 1996 where she served the two-term limit.
She made her first statewide bid to be the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor in 2002 and lost.
That same year, however, Palin was appointed to chair the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission by Frank Murkowski who was governor at that time.
Afterward, ascending to the Alaskan gubernatorial office in 2006, Palin upset Gov. Murkowski in the Republican Primary and then defeated former two-term Governor Tony Knowles, a Democrat, in the general election.
Politics aside, the historical aspect of a GOP candidate picking a female running mate is a resounding testament to how much our nation has progressed since its founding.
There is still a great number of problems plaguing the United States, but to see such a ground breaking vice-presidential pick in the midst of an already historic presidential campaign should make all of us very proud and excited to be a part of it.
Some students agree with the GOP pick for vice president.
“I think Sarah Palin is a well-suited, prepared, experienced and an appropriate choice for Republican vice president who just happens to be a woman,” freshman Teresa Robinson said, “Gender has nothing to do with being a good politician.

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