So who is this Sarah Palin chick anyway?

The Facts:

Sarah Louise Heath Palin, 44 years old, is the governor of Alaska and the Republican vice-presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election.

She  served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska city council from 1992 to 1996, then  two terms as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002.

After her campaign bombed for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002, she chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004 while also serving as Ethics Supervisor of the commission. Ironically, she resigned in 2004 due to "lack of ethics" of her fellow Republicans.

In November 2006, Palin was elected the governor of Alaska, becoming the first woman and youngest person to hold the office.

Palin was nominated to run for vice president  at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is the first Republican woman to run for vice president.

Political Positions:

• Opposes abortion unless the mother's life is at stake
• Member of Feminists for Life (large pro-life feminist organization)
• Opposes gay marriage
• Opposes stem cell research
• Backs capital punishment
• Member of the NRA
• Strong supporter of the development of natural gas and oil drilling in AK, including in their national wildlife refuge (go figure since her husband works for BP)

The Juicy Bits:

Sarah Palin is a tomboy.  She loves hunting, fishing, and ice hockey. She can shoot and gut a moose. 

That being said, you may not be able to tell by looking at her now, but Ms. Palin is a beauty pageant queen. Yes, in 1984, she won the Miss Wasilla Pageant and then finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant. She also won an award for Miss Congeniality (anyone getting Sandra Bullock flashbacks?!) at the Alaska pageant.

What find interesting is Miss Congeniality admits to smoking marijuana but not enjoying it. Hmm, I think I heard that one before.

Palin has five children, 2 sons and 3 daughters.  Recently she announced the pregnancy of her daughter, Bristol, 17, and she plans to wed the father. Rumor mills are already flying with the scandal that Palin's 5^th child Trig is actually the child of Bristol. At the time of the announcement of her 5^th pregnancy, Palin's daughter Bristol was out of school for several months. Coincidence?  I am sure if Bristol was the real mother, the political attack dogs would have found actual proof by now. Let's face it, you can only cover up scandal so long before someone figures out a way to make a buck off unveiling the truth.

After the announcement of the pregnancy and wedding of her 17 year old, I have to ask, maybe the whole conservative approach to not teaching birth control is just not working. Worse, what kind of parent lets their child wed at 17? What child has the maturity to understand that kind of responsibility and commitment?

A few hours into the nomination and Sarah Palin is covered in scandal. Question is, can she dig herself out enough to get her political views known, or will the scandal leave a dark cloud over her nomination.