Tonight is the night. Sarah Palin is going to make her national primetime debut at the Rebuplican National Convention. From what I’e heard so far, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin’s story is amazing. She’s not a lifelong politician. Shen went from being a PTA member at the Wasilla, Alaska schools to fisher with her husband to Mayor of Wasilla then governor of Alaska. Now she is the Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican party.

ST. PAUL (Reuters) – Sarah Palin has dominated the Republican convention for days without saying a word, but on Wednesday she takes the spotlight with a prime-time speech that will introduce her to American voters and try to answer questions about her experience and life story.

Since John McCain made the virtually unknown Palin his choice for vice president, the Alaska governor has been the center of a media storm fueled by disclosures about her unmarried teenage daughter’s pregnancy, a probe into her role in an Alaskan official’s firing and questions about her political record.

Palin’s anti-abortion and pro-gun history have excited conservatives and party activists but the appearance on Wednesday will be the first chance for voters nationwide to judge her for themselves.

More…

(AP) Palin’s experience – she has been mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska, and has served as the state’s governor for less than two years – has been questioned since McCain chose her last week. The process that led to her selection has been criticized as hasty because McCain had met her just once before he offered her the job.

Palin also is the subject of an ethics investigation involving the firing of the state’s public safety commissioner after he wouldn’t dismiss her former brother-in-law, a state trooper. Her efforts as mayor to gain millions of dollars in federal funding through the so-called “earmark” process appeared to be at odds with the McCain message of fiscal reform.

Her personal life became a topic of discussion after Palin revealed that her daughter was pregnant. Yet her candidacy has excited Republicans at the convention and across the country, in part because she has earned a reputation for taking on entrenched interests in Alaska and is staunchly pro-gun and anti-abortion.

“Give her a chance to make her first speech, give her a chance to do her first interview,” said former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the convention’s keynote speaker.

“Of course it’s going to be high stakes,” Giuliani said in an interview Wednesday with “Good Morning America” on ABC. “The media is ready to pounce on any mistake. … She looks to me like she’s got tremendous confidence, got tremendous ability as a speaker.”

The RNCC released excerpts from Sarah Palin’s speech:

“I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education better. When I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too. Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities. …

“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion – I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country. …

“Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems – as if we all didn’t know that already. But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all. Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines…build more nuclear plants…create jobs with clean coal…and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers. …

“Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. 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.”

My favorite excerpt is the third paragraph. Presidential Candidates have been saying, “We are going to be energy independent in 10 years” cliche for the past 30 years. It’s time for someone to say exactly what our nation needs to do in order to become energy independent. 

John McCain was right – this is exactly who we need.