Sarah Palin becomes first Republican woman to accept VP nomination
In a confident speech to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has accepted the party’s nomination for Vice President of the United States.
The 44-year-old was the surprise choice of Senator John McCain, the party’s nominee for President.
“We are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and … a servant’s heart,” she said.
Governor Palin praised her running mate’s record as a war hero.
“As the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. I’m just one of many moms who’ll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm’s way.
“Our son Track is 19.
“And one week from tomorrow – September 11th – he’ll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.”
Governor Palin presented a lengthy resume of her achievements in Alaska and called for an end to dependency on foreign oil by drilling for more in her home state.
She then turned her fire on Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.
“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,” she said.
“This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign.
“But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed … when the roar of the crowd fades away … when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot – what exactly is our opponent’s plan?
“What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger … take more of your money … give you more orders from Washington … and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy … our opponent is against producing it.
“In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.
“And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.”
