Alaska pedigree propels Palin to Republican VP pick

By Yereth Rosen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain's surprise choice for vice president, has a distinctively Alaskan pedigree that served her well in an improbable rise from small town mayor to one of the most beloved governors in the state's history.

In 21 months as governor, Palin has spoken out against corruption in her own party, battled the state's major oil producers and convinced the legislature to give a $1,200 "energy rebate" to nearly every Alaskan. Her approval rating in the state stands at 80 percent.

Alaska's first women governor and the state's youngest chief executive, the 44-year-old Palin gained statewide fame as a whistle-blower calling attention to ethical violations of high-ranking Republican officials, including the chairman of the state Republican Party.

She was elected governor in 2006 after trouncing incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and defeating two-time Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles in the general election.

A self-described "hockey mom" with five children, Palin is a former "Miss Wasilla" who was elected the town's mayor at age 32. Her experience in Wasilla -- a fast-growing bedroom community of nearly 10,000 people outside Anchorage -- was seen by skeptics as insufficient to qualify her to be governor.

"She has an extraordinary talent when it comes to communicating personally with people. It's as simple as that," said Ivan Moore, an Anchorage-based pollster and political consultant who usually works for Democrats. "That obviously propelled her into the governor's mansion in Alaska."

'AMERICA'S HOTTEST GOVERNOR'

Palin's Alaskan background helps her connect with her constituency. She has also been dubbed America's "hottest governor" by both the satirical Web site Wonkette and the more staid Alaska Magazine.

As a star on the state champion Wasilla High School girls' basketball team, Palin was known as "Sarah Barracuda" for her aggressive style of play.

She is an avid hunter, runner and outdoorswoman and her husband, Todd, a union oil-field operator who works on the North Slope, is a champion snowmobile racer.

"Obviously, we Alaskans, we identified with her," said Martin Buser, a four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. "We see a person with an incredible amount of integrity that happens to like to hunt and fish and subscribe to all the things that make Alaskans tick."

Palin's reputation as an ethics reformer is now under question while she faces an investigation for allegedly trying to arrange the firing of a state trooper involved in a contentious divorce and child-custody battle with her sister.

Palin has upset environmentalist by favoring oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and she also has fierce detractors in the oil industry. They oppose her for pushing through an oil-production tax overhaul that gives Alaska what they say is the highest oil-tax rates in North America.

"The governor took a pretty strong position that the industry didn't like," said state House Speaker John Harris. "But at that point in time, the majority of Alaskans thought it was the right thing to do."

(Editing by Daisuke Wakabayashi and Bill Trott)