Palin Casts Herself as Washington Outsider, Slaps at Obama

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The self-described "hockey mom" has come out slashing.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin told delegates at the Republican National Convention that she's an outsider ready to join John McCain in helping to bring real change fo Washington.

But Palin also unleashed a smiling attack on Barack Obama. She accused Obama of wanting to forfeit the victory in Iraq that "is finally in sight."

Palin said that "Al-Qaida terrorists" want to cause "catastrophic harm on America" and that Obama is "worried that someone won't read them their rights."

Palin was joined after the speech by her family and John McCain. He asked roaring delegates "Don't you think we made the right choice" for vice president?

It was an apparent reference to the convention-week controversy that has greeted Palin, including the disclosure that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant.

Democrat Joe Biden responds to Palin speech

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Last night his running mate, Sarah Palin, energized the convention crowd and also took plenty of swipes at the Democratic
ticket.

This morning her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, complimented her but also says she ignored some important issues.

Biden told CBS' "The Early Show" he noticed "a deafening silence" about what he describes as "the hole that the Republicans have dug us into." He says there was no mention of the term "middle class" or the things he says affects middle-class lives.

Cindy McCain parts with Palin on abortion, sex ed

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The wife of Republican presidential nominee John McCain doesn't agree with vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's opposition to abortion in cases of rape and incest.

Cindy McCain also parts ways with her husband's running mate on sex education.

Palin opposes abortion and rejects the view that pregnancies caused by rape and incest should be exceptions.

Cindy McCain tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that "I don't agree with that aspect, but I do respect her for her views." Palin has opposed funding sex-education programs in Alaska.

Cindy McCain tells ABC that she advocated abstinence as a part of sex education at her children's school. "I believe that it's twofold and I think all of it should be taught."

Report: Palin sent e-mails complaining of trooper

By STEVE QUINN
Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Gov. Sarah Palin sent e-mails to the state's top police official, criticizing Alaska State Troopers for their investigation of an officer who went through a bitter divorce with her sister, a newspaper is reporting.

Former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan showed copies of the e-mails to The Washington Post. He didn't provide copies to the newspaper, but says he has turned copies over to an investigator probing the firing for the Legislature.

Monegan has said he felt pressured by Palin family members and her administration to fire Trooper Mike Wooten, whom they say threatened to kill Palin's father, among other accusations, all taking place before she became governor. Monegan was fired by Palin in July.

McCain cites Palin's energy, mayoral experience

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - John McCain says Sarah Palin is a solid running mate because she's "in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply" as Alaska's governor, she has served as a mayor and the voters in her state have thoroughly evaluated her.

The Republican presidential nominee also told ABC News, in an interview Wednesday, that his running mate is capable in foreign policy matters in part because "Alaska is right next to Russia."

By contrast, McCain says, Democrat Barack Obama's accomplishments are "very meager."

And he says that Obama is vulnerable on foreign policy matters because the freshman Illinois senator has never traveled south of the U.S. Border.

Palin's hometown crowd crams into bar to watch speech

WASILLA, Alaska (AP) - Dozens of Wasilla, Alaska, residents say they loved every minute of hometown girl Sarah Palin's speech.

More than 100 people packed a sports bar to watch John McCain's choice for vice president deliver her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

She got a loud laugh when she joked that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick, but her biggest roars at home came early on when she was introducing her family to the convention crowd.

In Wasilla, the McCain-Palin shirts being worn around town have been dubbed "Sarah wear," and wear them they did.

After the speech, one woman admonished the pundits who expect Democrat Joe Biden to overwhelm Palin in the debates, saying she thinks "the opposite" will happen.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)