"Media Malpractice... How Obama Got Elected,"

Did the media dumb down the American public in order to get their man, Barack Obama elected President? A documentary takes on that question in Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected.You might do well to check out this documentary if you wonder whether or not there was media bias in the election of Barack Obama for President. A lot of people have talked about the apparent media bias, even media malpractice, in dumbing down the voting public. Many feel that’s how Obama got elected. Others think that the American public doesn’t need dumbing down because we are already there.

A documentary by www.HowObamaGotElected.com takes a hard look at the 2008 election coverage by the main stream media and whether or not that coverage had an impact on what Obama voters knew, or thought they knew, about the man they were voting for.

Obama supporters are asked a series of questions, along the lines of Jay Leno’s Jay Walking segment on The Tonight Show. The results are interesting but hardly unexpected. They were asked questions like who has been in control of Congress for the past two years and about key members of Congress. They were asked about gaffs made by different candidates. Interestingly, almost all attributed all gaffs to Sarah Palin even though most were made by Barack Obama and Joe Biden.


Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The upcoming documentary explores what information about which candidates was put out by the media, how it was portrayed and how it impacted voters.Check out the results of this Zogby poll on what Obama voters knew and didn’t know about their candidate.

512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)

81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)

82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)

88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)

56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet…..

Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes

Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter

And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her “house,” even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!

Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.

Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we “gave” one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

I realize that I pay much closer attention to these things than the average person does. Still, its amazing sometimes that people would bother to go to the polls to vote when they know so little about who they are voting for or against. It makes me think that they might not really understand the magnanimity of casting a vote. Perhaps they don’t understand what a privilege it is to be able to vote and take it for granted in a country that has had that right for so many years. I don’t know. Sometimes I think we should have to pass a competency test in order to be allowed the PRIVILEGE of voting.

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McCain Aide Knocks ‘Wasilla Hillbillies Looting Neiman Marcus

Oh, Sarah Palin, your trashy ass may be back in Alaska today, but you’ve left enough enemies down here in the contiguous U.S. — the real, pro-America America — to keep Wonkette going until Christmas. From this wonderful Newsweek collection of campaign trails, we learn today that Palin’s shopping spree was a lot worse than the original outrageous $150,000 orgy of luxury.

Palin’s behavior is exactly what happens when some ignorant white trash wins the lottery: total excess, ending in bankruptcy. But she bankrupted an entire major political party, ha ha. Also, her behavior is exactly like that of a gangsta-rapper who briefly hits the big time and immediately covers themselves in golden trinkets. Good god, Sarah Palin is human garbage:

One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family — clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards.

A disgusted McCain aide calls the Palins “Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.”McCain staffers tell Newsweek that Palin spent “tens of thousands” more than the original $150,000 reported before the election, as well as “$20,000 to $40,000″ in clothes specifically for her idiot husband, Todd.

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Barack Obama Thanked Campaign Manager David Plouffe

Congratulations David Plouffe (Campaign Manager for Barack Obama’s Presidential Election Campaign)…In his election night victory speech in Grant Park, Illinois, President-Elect Barack Obama thanked his campaign manager David Plouffe and his chief strategist David Axelrod.Your campaign was quite slick. You utilized technology, you utilized manpower, you have created a new template for Presidential elections. All future election campaigns will be held to a new standard and level of utilizing technology…long gone is the old way of campaigning.David Plouffe is the campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign in the United States. A long-time Democratic Party campaign consultant, he is a partner at the party-aligned campaign consulting firm AKP&D Message and Media, which he joined in 2000.

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John McCain Praises Barack Obama In His Concession Speech

On April 25, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire,John McCain officially announced his candidacy for president of the United States. On November 4, at precisely 9:18 p.m. PT, he officially ended it.Speaking before hometown supporters at the Arizona Biltmore, McCain conceded the race for president to Democrat Barack Obama, congratulating his opponent on a "historic" victory and praising his perseverance.

"My friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly," McCain said. "A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love."At the mention of Obama's name, McCain's supporters booed and hissed, but he quickly silenced them, and after a pause, he spoke of Obama's ability to inspire disenfranchised voters and touted this election's special place in history.

"That he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who once wrongly believed they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving," McCain continued. "This is a historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight."

McCain — who was joined onstage by his wife, Cindy; his running mate, Sarah Palin; and Palin's husband, Todd — called on those who supported him to now throw their support behind Obama, a suggestion that was met with more catcalls from the crowd. Still, he pressed on.

"Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt, many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight that I will do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face," McCain said. "I urge all Americans who supported me to join not only in congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and honest effort to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences."

McCain's speech was delivered on the Biltmore's Squaw Peak Lawn, the same site where, 24 years earlier, he had married his wife Cindy. And, somewhat fittingly — given both the location and the enormity of the moment — he continuously returned to the theme of history in his words.

"I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that too, but we both recognize that we have come a long way from the injustices that once stained our nations reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of citizenship," McCain said. "A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States."

The speech was supposed to be an invite-only capper to McCain's triumphant night at the Biltmore, but as election results began to pour in, the outlook changed, and by 9 p.m., the lawn was opened to everyone attending the Election Night rally. As supporters poured out of the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom — where they had been entertained throughout the night by acts like Hank Williams Jr. and the Phoenix Boys Choir — to make the trek to the lawn, most were inconsolable, some even in tears.

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Barack Obama Elected As 44th President of The United States

History was made today when an African-American clinched the most important job on earth.Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States.He took the election when he accumulated the required 271 electoral college votes after he won California and Washington state.He is expected to win more than 300 overall.

Earlier he took Pennsylvania and Ohio, states that voted Republican in 2004, and swept up other states of electoral and historic significance.President-elect Obama took New Mexico, next to his Republican rival Senator John McCain's home state of Arizona, and Iowa, a state that is more than 95% white.Veteran Senator Joe Biden will be the next Vice President.

President-elect Obama will take office on January 20th when he is inaugurated in Washington.He inherits a struggling economy that has slid into recession and the hopes of a people demoralised by two foreign wars and a general malaise about the country's future.At 47, he is one of the youngest men ever to become President and a strong supporter of gay rights.

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Barack Obama Set To Become US President After Early Results

Senator Barack Obama is poised to win the White House and seize his place in history as the first African American US president after the state of Ohio was called in his favour by major US networks.Fox News, ABC News and CNN all forecast he would win a state which was critical to Republican Senator John McCain's route to victory. It leaves John McCain needing to spring a very big surprise in the remaining states.

He would have to take a state won by Democrat John Kerry in 2004. He has already failed in his major Democratic target, Pennsylvania, despite making two dozen visits in the last few months. Or he would need to win a state in the western time zone, where polls are due to close three hours behind the east coast. Mr Obama, however, had solid leads the polls in that region going into election day.

With 20 seats in the electoral college, Ohio is one of the biggest prizes and was crucial to both candidates. Mr Bush won it in 2004, when it helped him reach 286 electoral seats, 16 over the winning figure of 270. Without Ohio, Mr McCain's forecast total falls to 266.Nicole Wallace, a senior adviser to Mr McCain, said: "At this point our vote is in the hands of voters still going to the polls. This was always going to be difficult."

There was a groan in the ballroom of the luxury hotel where Mr McCain's supporters were gathered to watch the results come in on giant screens.Networks also projected Mr Obama as the winner in Vermont, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maine, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and the District of Columbia.John McCain, his Republican opponent, was projected the winner in Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee and West Virginia.

With nearly a third of the votes counted in Indiana, a conservative state that has voted Republican since 1964, Mr Obama was just three percentage points behind and performing much better than expected in areas Mr McCain was counting on.

Virginia also appeared close, with Mr McCain leading by 10 percentage points with a third of the vote counted but the Democratic strongholds still to report and the Republican underperforming in conservative rural areas. A win there for Mr Obama would almost certainly signal a convincing overall victory for him.

One early disappointment for Mr Obama, however, was that black voters made up just 13 per cent of all voters, only a narrow increase over 2004. The black vote was unchanged in Virginia but up by five percentage points to 30 per cent in Georgia, a target state for Mr Obama.Six out of 10 voters said in an Associated Press exit poll that the economy was the most important issue facing the country, a concern Mr Obama has made the centerpiece of his campaign.

Officials said the long queues and heavy early voting in more than 30 states pointed towards a turnout of between 130 million and 140 million people, up from 121 million four years ago, and 65 per cent of those registered.This would represent the highest percentage turnout since 1908. Mr Obama's campaign, which heavily outgunned Mr McCain's in terms of the number of volunteer, fundraising and enthusiasm had poured immense resources into registering new voters.

High turnout was a key sign that David Plouffe, Mr Obama's campaign manager, had had succeeded. Even as voting was taking place, Mr Obama visited Indiana, a state that had not gone Democratic since 1964 - an indication of his confidence and his desire to secure a broad mandate to govern.In a Fox News exit poll, some 57 per cent of voters said they felt Mr Obama was is in touch with people like them compared to just 40 per cent saying the same of Mr McCain.

More than half of voters told Fox that the US government should do more to solve problems, another positive indication for Mr Obama. A third of voters said they would be excited if Mr Obama won but a mere 12 per cent believed they would feel the same way if Mr McCain prevailed.

The Drudge Report teased other early exit poll results, declaring that they showed "Obama big" nationally. Republicans cautioned, however, that faulty exit polls in 2004 projected a win for Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, before President George W. Bush emerged the narrow victor.A victory for the young Illinois senator, who began his bid for the White House nearly two years as an unlikely outsider, would be a landmark in the long struggle for racial equality in America.

When he was born in Hawaii to a black Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas in 1961, many American states banned inter-racial marriages.Four years later, blacks in many Southern states were disenfranchised.McCain aides said they were "stoic" and "realistic", pointing out that Republicans had faced a very tough electoral environment because of President George W. Bush's unpopularity and the ailing economy. The mood inside Mr Obama's camp, in contrast, was one of controlled ebullience.

Mr Obama spent the early evening playing a game of basketball with old friends from Chicago - a now traditional election day activity for him. Later he was expected to settle down to watch election returns at the city's Hyatt Regency hotel before heading to an open-air post-election rally in Grant Park.

As the 21-month-long, billion-dollar-plus election campaign of unprecedented expense and intensity finally drew to a close, Mr McCain appeared wistful as his aides braced themselves for a difficult night."I owe this country more than it will ever owe me," the Arizona senator said at an election day rally in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Mr Obama, 47, the Democratic nominee and overwhelming front runner in opinion polls, and his Republican opponent Mr McCain, 72, who would be the oldest man ever to be first elected to the presidency cast their ballots in their home cities of Chicago and Phoenix respectively.An estimated 153 million voters, some 40 million of whom had voted early across more than 30 states, were eligible to take part in the election.

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Barack Obama Won Dixville Notch With Landslide Victory

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today won handsomely in the first election returns of the 2008 presidential race, winning 15 of 21 votes cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.People in the isolated village in New Hampshire's northeast corner voted just after midnight Tuesday.It was the first time since 1968 that the village leaned Democratic in an election.

Obama's rival, Republican John McCain, won 6 votes, CNN reported.A full 100 per cent of registered voters in the village cast ballots.The town, home to around 75 residents, has opened its polls shortly after midnight each election day since 1960, drawing national media attention for being the first place in the country to make its presidential preferences known.

The result in Dixville Notch is hardly a reliable bellwether for the eventual winner of the White House -- or even the result statewide, the report said.While New Hampshire is a perennial swing state -- with 4 Electoral College votes at stake -- Dixville Notch consistently leans Republican. The last Democrat it picked was Hubert Humphrey over Richard Nixon in 1968.

President Bush won the town in a landslide in the last two elections: He captured 73 per cent of the vote in 2004 (19 residents picked Bush while six preferred Sen. John Kerry), and secured 80 per cent of the vote in 2000 (21 votes for Bush, five votes for Al Gore.) But villagers expected the results to be close this year given Democrats now outnumber Republicans there.

Meanwhile Barack Obama's grandmother, who helped raise the US Democratic presidential candidate in Hawaii, passed away on Monday after a prolonged battle with cancer.Madelyn Dunham, 85, had been gravely ill for weeks, prompting Obama to interrupt his campaign for a few days last month to visit her in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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John McCain Appeared On "Saturday Night Live"(SNL)

John McCain began “Saturday Night Live” with a mock infomercial, which touched on Barack Obama’s 30-minute spot earlier this week. See John McCain in the monologue and three other videos from SNL below.

It is pretty cool of John McCain to appear on SNL this close to the election to actually do a parody of his campaign’s standing in the current polls, Palin’s wardrobe expense, and speaking of his term “Maverick”.“These final days have been the most essential,” McCain stated. “Barack Obama purchased air time on three networks. We, however, can only afford time on QVC.

“I would rather be on three major networks. But I’m a true maverick, a Republican without money.”John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain even made a cameo on SNL showing off jewelry the Arizona Senator hawked as “McCain’s fine gold,” alluding to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.Of course Tina Fey returned as Sarah Palin, at one point turning to the camera and whispering, “I’m going rogue so keep your voices down.” She then holds up a Palin ‘12 T-shirt and says she’ll either run or be a “white Oprah.”

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Obama Infomercial Video Called ‘American Stories, American Solutions’ :Obama 30-Minute Ad

With the election only six days away, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s long-awaited campaign infomercial aired Wednesday night (Oct. 29) and flooded seven television channels with a warm fuzzy message that was slickly produced to tout his everyman campaign.

Obama looked as polished as former President Ronald Reagan, who spent a career developing an on-air presence, as he talked about the troubles average Americans are facing both in the current downturn and long-term. The televised infomercial was only the first thrust of his closing campaign blitz.

He is also giving an interview to a prominent network news anchor, and appearing with fellow still wildly popular former President Bill Clinton at a rally timed to make the late-evening news. The effort was targeted at undecided and independent voters, who have been bombarded Republican John McCain’s strongly negative, last-ditch campaign that is going all out to attack Obama’s character.Watch Obama Infomercial Video here.

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McCain Volunteer Ashley Todd Assaulted By Obama Supporter

A 20 year old Republican volunteer worker has reportedly been attacked by an Obama supporting mugger in Pittsburg.Ashley Todd, 20 from Texas, alleges that she was robbed at knifepoint at an ATM and knocked down by a man who then carved a “B” in her face after noticing a sticker for John McCain on her car. The story first came to prominence from the SarahsArmy blog, then picked up by the Drudge Report who initially claimed Todd was a McCain campaign worker.

Police have told the media that they are exploring all angles, including the alleged political side.Besides the timing this close to the election, the story raises some interesting questions. Was the attack on Todd politically motivated, or is it an elaborate hoax?

There’s are couple of strange things: like Todd not immediately seeking help after the attack (despite her visible injuries), then only later reporting the matter to police, and then only getting medical help the following day. Women who are attacked sometimes don’t act rationally due to shock, and we wouldn’t suggest that her delays were solid evidence of the hoax.But then there’s the B. It’s backwards. Maybe the mugger was a dyslexic black Obama supporter

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Sarah Palin To Appear on Saturday Night Live

The Associated Press and CNN report that Gov. Sarah Palin will appear on this week's edition of "Saturday Night Live." A spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign confirmed that Palin would appear.This week's host is Josh Brolin, who plays President George Bush in the new Oliver Stone movie "W." (For more on "SNL," including interviews with cast members and its executive producer, look here.)In an interview earlier this week, Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of "Saturday Night Live," said that Tina Fey would return to do her Palin impression before the election, but he didn't say when.

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Obama and McCain At the Alfred E. Smith Dinner 2008

Barack Obama and GOP rival John McCain trade their boxing gloves for formal wear - and some self-deprecating humor - at Thursday night's Alfred E. Smith Dinner.The annual see-and-be-seen political roast, named for the famed 1920s New York governor, is "the last time they're going to be together before the election," said Smith's great-grandson and namesake.The dinner has a storied history, having featured luminaries from Winston Churchill to George W. Bush.

And with the excitement generated by the presidential candidates at the top of the marquee, this year's soldout soiree has surpassed its goal of raising $2.5 million for Catholic causes."I've heard from people I haven't heard from in 20 years," Smith told the Daily News.Political heavyweights will pepper the dais: Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Former Gov. George Pataki, former Mayor Ed Koch and Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau will be there, too.

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Who Won The Debate :McCain, Obama Both Claim Victory

The presidential campaigns of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama rattled off duelling press statements, each declaring victory just minutes after their debate ended today."This was a clear victory for Barack Obama on John McCain's home turf,'' read a statement from the Obama campaign, referring to the night's main topic, US foreign policy.

Not so, said the McCain campaign."John McCain won this debate and controlled the dialogue throughout, whether it was the economy, taxes, spending, Iraq or Iran,'' read a statement from communications director Jill Hazelbaker.For the Obama campaign, Seantor McCain "offered nothing but more of the same failed Bush policies, and Barack Obama made a forceful case for change in our economy and our foreign policy,'' the statement read. And while Senator McCain "wants to keep giving huge tax cuts to corporations and said nothing about the challenges Americans are facing in their daily lives, Barack Obama will be a fierce advocate for tax cuts for the middle class, affordable health care, and a new energy economy that creates millions of jobs.''

Ms Hazelbaker emphasised Senator McCain's leadership abilities, and what she said was Senator Obama's lack of them."There was a leadership gap, a judgement gap, and a boldness gap on display tonight, a fact Barack Obama acknowledged when he said John McCain was right at least five times,'' said Ms Hazelbaker. "Tonight's debate showed John McCain in command of the issues and presenting a clear agenda for America's future.''

Not at all, countered the Obama campaign.Senator Obama "commanded'' the foreign policy part of the debate "with a clear call to responsibly end a misguided war in Iraq so that we can finish the fight against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan,'' read the statement.Senator McCain, who has slipped in the polls in the past days, "needed a game-changer tonight, and by any measure he didn't get it,'' said Obama-Biden campaign manager David Plouffe.

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Carol McCain Was First Wife Of John McCain

It's been said that when a person runs for president, the whole family runs for president.For the McCains, that means nine people involved in a complex campaign. Right now, John, Cindy and the seven McCain children are in St. Paul, Minn., home of the Republican National Convention, and are spread out all over town engaging in politics and public service.The McCain household, like so many in America, is a blend. Navigating through the McCain family album might require a road map.

When John McCain married his first wife, Carol, he adopted her sons from a previous marriage. Doug, 48, is a pilot for American Airlines, and Andy, 46, is an executive at the family beer distribution company, Hensley & Co.John and Carol McCain had Sidney, who is now 41 and in the music business in Toronto. After John and Carol McCain divorced in 1980 and John married Cindy, they had three children, Meghan, Jack and Jimmy. They adopted another child, Bridget, from Bangladesh.

Meghan, 23, is a Columbia University grad and has been a constant presence on her father's campaign. She also writes about her experiences on the road at McCainBlogette.com. "I wouldn't do this if it wasn't really fun," she said last year on "Nightline." "And I think anyone that looks at my blog can tell that we're having a good time."She also has written a children's picture book, "My Dad: John McCain," which was just released Sept. 2.McCain's two younger sons are in the military. Jimmy, a 20-year-old Marine, has served a tour in Iraq. Jack, 22, just graduated from the Naval Academy and shares a love for NASCAR with his mother.As for Bridget, her story with the McCains began in 1993 when Cindy visited Bangladesh and met the baby at an orphanage, who had a severe cleft palate.Cindy decided to bring the baby back to the United States, where she underwent years of surgery. Today, she's a typical 17-year-old.

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Roberta McCain Is The Mother of Presidential Candidate John McCain

Roberta Wright McCain is the widow of Admiral John S. McCain, Jr. (1911-1981) and mother of Arizona Senator and presidential candidate John S. McCain III.Her parents were married in Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas, on June 18, 1901. Her father was Archibald Wright, a Los Angeles oil wildcatter, born October 23, 1875, near Kossuth, Alcorn County, Mississippi. Wright died in Los Angeles, California, on January 13, 1971. Her mother, Myrtle Fletcher, was born January 8, 1885, in Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas. Fletcher died in Los Angeles, California, on December 29, 1972. McCain and her twin sister, Rowena, were born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She married John S. McCain, Jr., on January 21, 1933, in Caesar's Bar, Tijuana, Mexico.

McCain's son, John S. McCain III, was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years. When notified upon his release on March 15, 1973, that he had shouted expletives at his captors, Mrs. McCain's response was, "Johnny, I'm going to come over there and wash your mouth out with soap."John McCain has said of his mother: "My mother was raised to be a strong, determined woman who thoroughly enjoyed life, and always tried to make the most of her opportunities. She was encouraged to accept, graciously and with good humor, the responsibilities and sacrifices her choices have required of her. I am grateful to her for the strengths she taught me by example."Roberta McCain is still active and, at age 96, has campaigned during her son's 2008 presidential campaign.

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Bridget McCain Is McCain Adopted Daughter

Bridget McCain,John McCain’s adopted daughter has been missing in action since the campaign started.The entire McCain family along with the Palin’s family did a photo shoot with People magazine on Friday and Bridget McCain was nowhere on the pictures.Apparently McCain’s camp is hiding Bridget McCain since they hired Tucker Askew, the same man who worked for president Bush and used Bridget’s Bangladeshi heritage and dark skin tone in a nasty smear campaign back 2000.And it worked because Bush won the primaries and went on to win the presidential election.

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Sarah Palin Is Hottest Vice Presidential Nominee Ever!

Tough call, but Sarah Palin edges out Dick Cheney for that distinction. Republican John McCain made the biggest gamble of his presidential bid by naming 44-year-old Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, a striking selection that he hopes will boost his support among women and evangelical Christians.Palin is a reform-minded conservative governor, a moose-burger-eating former small town mayor, a 1984 Miss Alaska runner-up, a "hockey mom" and an abortion foe who gave birth to her fifth child in April after learning from a prenatal test that he would have Down syndrome.At a rally in Ohio on Friday, she made clear her role on the ticket by praising Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's historic run, adding, "It turns out the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all."

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