In the chow line, Gov. Sarah Palin visited Alaska Army National Guard soldiers in Kuwait in July 2007Photo: Staff Sgt. Mac Metcalfe, Alaska Army National Guard
Friday, August 29th, 2008 was an unusual, sunny day on the North Gulf Coast of Alaska, brimming with mountains surrounding Prince William Sound. After weeks of bleak summer weather, it was refreshing to wake up to, along with my first phone call at 7:30 a.m., from a friend in Anchorage, telling me the news that our governor was selected as presidential hopeful John McCain's running mate.
Alaska's come a long way, baby!
Suddenly, Alaska is cooler than cool.
I don't have a tv, but I can imagine moose stew, snowmachining and hockey were mentioned more in one hour on FOX News Friday than they have in all the years since the channel began broadcasting.
Being a blogger and a blog reader, I was aware as early as last May that Governor Palin was on McCain's short list as a potential vice-president of the United States of America.
My feelings upon hearing the official news have been as follows:
I was never more proud to be an American -- where anybody can say, "when I grow up, I'm going to be the President of the United States," whether you're a girl or a boy, born in any state/territory.
Sarah Palin rose up from the ranks, from local city council to Governor of Alaska. She let the executive chef go at the governor's mansion in Juneau, sold the previous governor's jet on ebay and drives herself around just like you and me. I'm sure that will all change now. I commend her for giving up her personal freedom and privacy, that we all enjoy, for the sake of our country.
In this country, a little girl basketball player, from a small town in rural Alaska, can grow up and do what no woman has done in U.S. history before. That is run on the presidential ticket as a card-carrying Republican. This is a first.
Everybody knows Alaska is a Republican state with three electoral votes. Who wins this election will be decided before the polls close here. Well, maybe not, this year. This could be the year that Alaska and Hawaii will be considered as part of the USA by the federal government, the US Post Office, and the Internet.
Gov. Sarah Palin put her predecessor's jet up for sale on ebay
Photo: Courtesy Alaska Governor's Office, via the Star-Bulletin [1] (Honolulu, HI)
It's been four days now since the announcement and Alaska is buzzing with excitement. We know Sarah as our head of state who fired an offending state trooper monarch for repeatedly brushing her off.
Most Alaskans like Palin. I know I do. My two sisters in Alaska oppose her and emails have been bouncing back and forth. One in Fairbanks says Palin is being used, and the other in Kenny Lake says Sarah Palin is a communitarian [2].
All good points for discussion at the dinner table before, during and after the pinochle game.
Kathy Kitts, a "citizen photo-journalist, weather reporter, cook/cleaner, fish canner, Photoshopper and a certified Alaska Nanook Hockey nut, lives in Valdez, Alaska, and is now off to Cold Bay (presumably to fish). She blogs at Fish Taxi [3].