The power of one: Sarah Palin

Just when women all over the United States began to lose hope of having a female representative running in the upcoming election, hope has come from an unlikely source: the Republican Party.

Gov. Sarah Palin is an interesting woman, filled with surprising bits of history. Though there are many aspects of Palin’s character that are interesting, the media has latched onto two main points: love of guns and love of family.

Palin is a member of the National Rifle Association. For many years, she and her husband have hunted and fished for everything they ate.

In most interviews and articles surrounding Palin’s life, there are photos of felled moose, strung fish and guns. But hasn’t America had enough experience with vice presidents and guns?

Next to these photos of typically masculine-related themes, photos filled with smiling faces of Palin and her five children cover the page. Perhaps the family related photos balance out the Woman vs. Wild shots, thus making Palin marketable as an aggressive female, while still retaining feminine grace and family values.

What does it take for a woman to become involved with politics? In a male-dominated profession, women have a difficult time getting their high-heeled feet in the door.

Hillary Clinton has often been picked apart for having “masculine” qualities. America is still afraid that politics will drastically change if made too feminine-friendly. Gov. Sarah Palin might be the moderate mix of masculine and feminine suited for American politics.

Palin seems like a competent woman. She graduated with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science.

Palin tried her hand at sportscasting for a short time before entering the turbulent waters of politics, and it seems she has found her niche.

In various positions she has held in Alaska, Palin has disrupted the quiet of small-town politics. By exposing corruption and cutting down on unnecessary spending, Palin’s appeal is in her conservatism and down-to-earth behavior.

Is the Republican Party prepared for such a competitive and feisty woman? More importantly though, is Palin qualified for the job?

McCain and the Republican Party seem to have made a hasty choice in Palin. Whether the choice was to grab media attention away from the all-encompassing and media friendly Obama campaign – or whether the choice was legitimately due to Palin’s qualifications, we may never know.

Palin has next to no experience in issues of national security, and Alaska’s proximity to Russia seems a fairly weak argument. Yet, perhaps running with McCain will balance out her inexperience.

As we learn more about Sarah Palin in the next few weeks before the election, I look forward to hearing more about her experience and plans for the vice presidency.

We have come down to an historic moment in American politics. As the first woman ever chosen to run for the vice presidency in the history of the Republican Party, Gov. Sarah Palin has the eyes of America watching her every move, and she seems up to the challenge of meeting the campaign head-on.