Sarah Palin and Alaska's Leadership
The Governor Leaves Her Office in July
Two years ago, few people knew who Sarah Palin was. By late 2008, there was hardly anyone in the United States who hadn’t heard her name. On August 29, 2008, Sarah Palin became the first woman candidate to run as vice-president on the Republican presidential ticket when John McCain held a press conference in Dayton, Ohio and announced that she would be his running mate.
Sarah Palin in the Spotlight
Without forewarning, Sarah Palin was thrust into the spotlight. Like a summer’s rain that often follows a stretch of high temperature days, her family was pulled into the whirlwind of media attention and political scrutiny. Saturday Night Live put on popular skits based on her. Her daughter’s dating life became public knowledge. The bright lights had come on and they refused to be turned off.
Even after Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential race to the White House, a significant amount of attention from the media and American citizenry remained focused on Sarah. The shift from a small town upbringing to national focus must have felt a bit abrupt to the former governor.
Small Town Roots
As noted on the website, Biography True Story, Sarah Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath on February 11, 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho. More than 44 years after she was born, the small town of Sandpoint only boasts a population of 8,337. The town is about 60 miles south of the Canadian border.
Three years after Sarah Palin was born, her family moved to Wasilla, Alaska, another small town. As of July 2008, only 10,256 people lived in Wasilla. Popular even during her early years, Sarah earned the title of Miss Wasilla and Miss Alaska runner-up. Paradoxically she majored in journalism while she attended college at the University of Idaho. One of her early jobs was as a sports journalist.
Life as Alaska’s First Woman Governor
In 1997, Sarah Palin won her first major political office when she became mayor of Wasilla. Nine years later, she was elected as the state’s governor. With the election, she became Alaska’s first woman governor. She also became the youngest governor in the state.
Under her tenure as governor, she signed the largest operating budget for the state at $6.6 billion. To help Alaskans meet rising energy bills, she proposed sending the state’s residents $1,200.
She also proposed giving utility firms grant monies so that they, in turn, would pass the savings on to Alaskans through lowered monthly bills. Throughout much of her time in office as governor, Sarah Palin received very high approval ratings, generally between 80% and 90%.
Challenges for Sarah Palin
Yet, her tenure was not without challenges. Sarah has been criticized for her role in Alaska’s support of a bridge to a small Alaskan town, a bridge that has been reported to cost as much as $400 million. Sarah has denied that she supported spending federal money to build the bridge that has often been referred to as the “bridge to nowhere.”
Her firing of Walter Monegan, Alaska’s public safety commissioner, supposedly because he refused to fire her sister’s ex-husband Michael Wooten, a state trooper in Wasilla, did not earn her high marks. Sarah has stated that the firing was due to Monegan’s poor performance.
On October 10, 2008 after the termination was investigated by the Alaska Legislative Council, it was founded that Sarah had abused her power as the state’s governor by trying to fire her former brother-in-law, Michael Wooten.
Sarah Palin’s Future
After she announced on July 3, 2009 that she was stepping down as Alaska’s governor, speculations that she misused her official position by encouraging people to make donations to her legal defense fund while she was in office grew. It has been speculated that monies received by the fund have been used to help pay Sarah’s personal legal expenses. As of July 26, 2009, the website for the trust, Sarah Palin’s Defense Fund, was still up.
There is also speculation that Sarah Palin stepped down as Alaska’s governor so that she can concentrate on the 2012 presidential campaign. She comes across as candid, and at times politically inexperienced, especially when it comes to international affairs. However, she exhibits a rare boldness that is viewed as refreshing by more than a few people.
What Sarah Palin does next remains to be seen. One can only presume that she might step out of the glaring spotlight and return to her small town roots or she might step back but for a moment only to take on the media’s and the political machine’s glare with all of her strength.
Sources:
Biography True Story. Sarah Palin. 27 July 2009.
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