ST. PAUL, Minn. – Sarah Palin introduced herself to the nation last night with a part-folksy, part-fiery convention speech, tongue-lashing Barack Obama and her critics and saying she’s been slammed simply for being a Beltway outsider.
Palin, who made history as the first woman to run as vice president on the GOP ticket, proved her chops as presidential nominee John McCain‘s tough attack dog.
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The former high-school basketball star nicknamed “Sarah Barracuda” shoved back hard at critics who’ve questioned her light résumé.
She touted her background as a small-town Everygirl and “hockey mom” who drives herself home and got rid of the Alaska governor’s luxury jet and personal chef.
“What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?” she asked.
“Lipstick.”
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The crowd chanted “Sarah! Sarah” as delegates held hand-painted signs saying “Hockey Moms 4 Palin.”
The mom of five smiled sweetly and thanked her fans – then came out swinging against Obama.
“What exactly is our opponent’s plan?” she asked, and then mocked him, saying: “What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?”
She made fun of the Greek forum staging at Obama’s convention acceptance speech, wondering what happens “when the Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot.”
On foreign policy, she said, “Victory in Iraq is finally in sight; he wants to forfeit . . . Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America; he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.”
In another zinger, the 44-year-old neophyte to the national stage declared, “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.”
The speech represented Palin’s first chance to fire back after days of stories questioning her qualifications and focusing on her pregnant teenage daughter.
She emerged to several minutes of sustained applause at the Xcel Center.
Palin introduced her husband and kids, including daughter Bristol but did not directly address the teen’s pregnancy. She did not mention Levi Johnston, the baby’s 18-year-old father, who sat beside Bristol.
Saying no family looks “typical” from inside, she added, “Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys.”
But Palin tossed mud at the members of the press, saying, “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.”
McCain strode onstage when she finished and thrilled the crowd as he shouted about his veep pick, “Don’t you think we made the right choice?” Shortly afterward, he was formally nominated for president in a roll call of the states.
Palin spoke about her son Track, 19, who will march off to war in Iraq on Sept. 11, and said she wants a former military man like McCain as commander-in-chief. She also mentioned baby Trig, who has Down syndrome, “Children with special needs inspire a special love.”
Palin described herself as “privileged” to have grown up in small-town America. She served as mayor of tiny Wasilla, noting, “I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education better.”
With the GOP banking that her regular-girl appeal would reach large swaths of America, Palin talked about the types of people she grew up with.
“They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America . . . who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars,” she said.
She also swiped at Obama’s days as a community organizer in Chicago, saying, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”