Palin bids fond farewell to Alaska to campaign

By Steve Holland

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin bid farewell to Alaska on Saturday to hit the campaign trail in the lower 48 states with a strong defense of her home state.

Addressing several hundred supporters who chanted "Sarah, Sarah," Alaska Gov. Palin made an indirect reference to some critics who have argued that her experience leading the sparsely populated state did not prepare her to be a heartbeat away form the presidency if John McCain were to win the November 4 election.

Palin said she had heard critics say "'Oh, you're a sparsely populated state,' and at a time like this, I say, you know, thank you, God, for this."

"We're small enough to be family and we can look past some political differences to work as a family and to protect one another and to make each other's lives a bit better, a bit more secure. We're going to look out for each other in Alaska," she said.

She spoke a day after a state legislative committee in Anchorage ordered subpoenas of her husband, Todd Palin, and 12 others to question them about charges that the governor abused her power by firing a public safety commissioner who refused to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with her sister.

Palin's stay in Alaska over the past couple of days was her first since McCain made her his surprise choice two weeks ago to run with him against Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Out of respect for U.S. efforts to grapple with Hurricane Ike, Palin held back from criticizing Obama.

ALASKAN HUMOR

Palin, 44, sprinkled her speech here with Alaskan humor, introducing Todd as "the First Dude" and chuckling that in the state, "Men are men and women win Iditarods" -- referring to Alaska's grueling sled dog race.

"Going forth in these days ahead, Alaska, I pledge to do my level best and to be worthy of the confidence that this beautiful state has put in me and I hope to reflect the very very best of Alaska as we work for a better America," she said.

Palin came back to Alaska to conduct her first television interview since becoming McCain's running mate. Her appearances on ABC News over the past couple of days drew mixed reviews.

She was faulted by some analysts for not immediately recognizing what ABC News interviewer Charles Gibson was talking about when he asked her about "the Bush doctrine" -- a 2002 strategy from President George W. Bush that declared the United States had the right to intervene militarily if it felt it was under immediate threat of a terrorist attack.

On the other hand, she made no major gaffes and McCain campaign officials were generally pleased with her performance.

Palin has quickly soared from political unknown to popular Republican politician in the space of two weeks, helping McCain vault into a slight lead in public opinion polls over Obama.

The Obama campaign, which has struggled to respond to the Palin phenomenon, has issued fierce attacks against her in an attempt to undermine her credibility as a self-styled reformer.