Thu, Dec 04 2008
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Published August 30, 2008 12:44 am - Local GOP delegates say McCain made good choice By D.E. Smoot Phoenix Staff Writer Local delegates to the Republican National Convention lauded the party’s presumptive nominee for president’s pick for vice presidential running mate.
U.S. Sen. John McCain tapped Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate first thing Friday morning. Pamela Coonce, an at-large delegate to the Republican National Convention from Tahlequah, said she doesn’t know much about Palin. But what she does know, Coonce said she likes. “She has fought against government corruption, and I understand she has taken her state in the right direction,” Coonce said. “She wants to take the politics out of politics. People are looking for reform and are wanting to move forward in this country. I think she will help do that.” One thing local delegates say Palin will bring is a notion of traditional conservatism. Muskogee Mayor John Tyler Hammons, another at-large convention delegate, said Palin is a “true conservative who stands for traditional values.” “It’s a first for the Republican Party,” Hammons said of McCain’s decision to choose a woman as the party’s vice presidential nominee, even though it came 24 years after the Democratic Party did the same. “I think it’s a good move for the party and for McCain.” According to the Associated Press, Palin became governor of her state in December 2006 after ousting a governor of her own party in a primary and then dispatching a former governor in the general election. Local opinions varied about whether McCain selected a woman as his running mate in an attempt to lure Clinton supporters into the GOP camp. Coonce and Hammons said gender may have been a consideration, but they said it was more likely Palin would bring some balance to the ticket or complement the qualities the presumptive nominee brings to the table. JoAnn Bradley, a two-term Tahlequah city councilwoman and alternate delegate from Oklahoma’s Second District, said she is sure gender played no part in McCain’s decision. “I know he didn’t pick her because she is a woman, because he would have picked somebody better known if that were the case,” Bradley said. “He selected her for her intelligence and her fiery spirit.” Bradley said she is familiar with Palin’s credentials because her son lives in Alaska. “I do know she is a go-getter, and she will fight with the best of them,” Bradley said. “We need McCain for his wisdom and her for youth and vitality.” In response to concerns about Palin’s lack of experience — before she was elected governor two years ago, her political resume consisted of her service as mayor of a town with a population of 6,500 — Coonce said she has “about as much experience (in foreign policy) as Obama does.” 
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