A Republican source confirms that John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Campaign officials, however, remain mum this morning.
McCain is expected to announce his choice at a rally in Dayton later.
Palin is the first woman governor of Alaska, elected in 2006. She was also the youngest ever elected at the age of 42. She is the mother of five children, the youngest of whom was born in April and has Down's Syndrome. She ran on a clean government platform in '06 to defeat the incumbent Republican Governor Frank Murkowski.
McCain reportedly considered Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, among others.
Palin is a social conservative who is strongly opposed to abortion and same sex marriage. In addition, she is pro-gun and wildly popular in Alaska.
"I have known and been friends with John McCain for almost 22 years, but every day now I learn something new about Candidate McCain. To those who still believe in the myth of a maverick instead of the reality of a politician, I say let’s compare Senator McCain to Candidate McCain.
Candidate McCain now supports the very wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once called irresponsible. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain’s own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote.
Are you kidding me, folks?
Before he ever debates Barack Obama, he should finish the debate with himself.”
Hoo Rah to Hillary! The pundits were saying she had to deliver her flock to Obama in this speech and, to quote Olbermann, she hit it out of the park!
Political_Guy is blogging from Denver. He had this to say:
Nobody would call me a Hillary fan But that was a perfect speech. Beautifully done. Competely overshadowed Mark the Warner, but in a good way.
The pundits are gushing, and I'm gonna grab the transcript and dissect the text. She had four or five speeches worth of great material stuffed into one package -- and that Harriet Tubman bit at the end was inspired.
Hey Barack! This is an ad I'd love to see you run. Tough but true, it lays to waste the Maverick Myth. This is NOT the change we're looking for, my friends.
Transcript:
He's the worst president in history and an international embarrassment. It took years for George Bush to squander the faith of this country. We wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.
But as Americans learn more, his approval ratings slide lower and lower. Yet, there is one man whose support of Bush just keeps growing. They campaigned together as our soldiers died. They ate cake together as New Orleans fell.
And each year, he votes with Bush by ever increasing percentages. 77% of the time in 2005. 86% in 2006. 95% in 2007 and 100% in 2008.
As time finally runs out on this presidency, ask yourself this: "Do you support Bush today more than you did four years ago?"
