Alaska’s first female governor and John McCain’s running mate has been the subject of a lot of gossip because of her outspoken nature, Alaskan ways, and brood of children. But not many people know the extent of her policies in Alaska, or that much about her five children.

Governor Palin has done a lot to help the people of her state. Her priorities since she became the eleventh governor of Alaska have been resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development. She invested $5 billion in state savings, put into affect the Senior Benefits Program, which gives support to older low-income Alaskans, and overhauled education funding. She created the Petroleum Systems Integrity Office in Alaska to maintain oil and gas equipment, and the Climate Change Subcabinet, to prepare a climate change strategy for Alaska. Despite doing all this for her state, Palin has always put her family first.

After earning a Journalism degree from the University of Idaho in 1987, Sarah Heath returned to Alaska to marry Todd Palin in 1988. Sarah and Todd Palin have five children; Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig, who range in age from six months to nineteen years old. Track, 19, joined the U.S. Army on September 11, 2007. Trig, six months, was born with Down’s syndrome while Governor Palin was in office. Bristol is pregnant with the Palin’s first grandchild, and is engaged to her boyfriend, Levi Johnston. Piper and Willow Palin have stayed away from the spotlight, just shadowing their mom as she continues her quest for the White House.

The butt of many jokes, Governor Palin has taken it all with a sense of humor. No matter how the election turns out, Sarah Palin will be remembered as the outspoken Hockey Mom who shook up the historic 2008 election.



Information from:

http://gov.state.ak.us/bio.html

http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/sarahpalin.html