McCain names Christian conservative Sarah Palin as running mate
Compiled by JewsOnFirst.org, September 2008
Please note that we are continually updating this page.
In Political Realm, ‘Family Problem’ Emerges as Test
Adam Nagourney, The New York Times, September 1, 2008
ST. PAUL — For at least the time being, Gov. Sarah Palin appears to have survived the initial test after the disclosure that her unmarried teenage daughter was pregnant. Republican delegates rallied around her on Monday, saying the disclosure would not threaten her hopes of being Senator John McCain’s running mate.
“It’s a challenge, and I just think we have to deal with it,” said Katon Dawson, the Republican chairman of South Carolina. “But it’s just not going to hurt her. This is a family problem that people have.” Continue.
Anne Kilkenny's Letter about Sarah
Anne Kilkenny, The Anchorage Daily News, September 1, 2008
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe.” Continue.
How religion guides Palin
By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune, September 6, 2008
When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin promised to lead the nation with a "servant's heart," evangelical Christians immediately recognized her as one of their own.
Whether before an audience of ministry students or on a national stage at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, the 44-year-old Palin speaks fluently about her faith, striking chords with phrases that evoke Christian virtue. Palin has called on people to pray for the cooperation necessary to build a natural gas pipeline across Alaska, labeled the U.S. mission in Iraq a "task that is from God" and argued that students should be taught the creation account from Genesis in public schools.
In a race where both presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, have tried to court religious voting blocs, Palin's introduction to the Republican ticket adds another dimension.
Just as McCain's politics are largely shaped by his experience as a prisoner of war and Obama's by his embrace of his racial identity, Palin's approach has been shaped by her relationship with God. Palin sees her government work as paling in comparison to a greater mission. Continue.
 Sarah Palin Signed "Christian Heritage Week" Proclamation
David Brody, Christian Broadcast Network, August 30, 2008
Here's a "ca-ching" moment for Evangelicals. John McCain's new vice-presidential running mate signed a proclamation back in October of 2007 which emphasized the Christian heritage of America.
You can read the proclamation that she signed below:
WHEREAS, the celebration of Christian Heritage Week, October 21-27, 2007, reminds Alaskans of the role Christianity has played in our rich heritage. Many truly great men and women of America, giants in the structuring of American history, were Christians of caliber and integrity who did not hesitate to express their faith. Some of their legacies are evidenced as follows: Continue.
 YouTube Videos Draw Attention to Palin’s Faith
By Laurie Goodstein, New York Times, October 24, 2008
In an interview this week with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, was asked to “clear up exactly what you believe in” about her religious faith, including her involvement with Pentecostalism.
Ms. Palin responded by speaking generally, but extensively, about how she counts on God for strength, guidance and wisdom. “My faith has always been pretty personal,” she said. But she did not talk more specifically about her church affiliation or her beliefs.
Ms. Palin’s faith has come under scrutiny after two videos taken in her former church surfaced on YouTube and became immediate sensations. The first showed a visiting preacher from Kenya praying fervently over Ms. Palin in a gravelly voice and asking God to favor her campaign for governor and protect her from “every form of witchcraft.”
The second showed Ms. Palin at an event in June praising the African preacher’s prayer as “awesome” and “very, very powerful.” She is also seen nodding as her former pastor from Wasilla prays over her and declares that Alaska is “one of the refuge states in the Last Days,” a piece of prophecy popular in some prayer networks that predicts that as the “end times” approach, people will flock to Alaska for its abundant open space and natural resources. Continue.
Palin Talks Faith, Campaign with CBN News
By David Brody, Christian Broadcasting Network, October 21, 2008
CBNNews.com - Since her nomination, Sarah Palin has possibly been the most talked about Vice Presidential candidate in history.
The Alaska Governor has faced intense media scrutiny and in an exclusive interview, she tells CBN News that her faith in God has been mocked during this Presidential campaign. Click here to continue reading the text report and for video clips of the interview.
Palin's Faith Is Seen In Church Upbringing
Suzanne Sataline, The Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2008
At the Pentecostal church where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin worshipped for more than two decades, congregants speak in tongues and are part of a faith that believes humanity is in its "end times" -- the days preceding a world-ending cataclysm bringing Christian redemption and the second coming of Jesus.
The Rev. Ed Kalnins, pastor of the Pentecostal church, Wasilla Assembly of God, says he has told church members that God put President George W. Bush in office and that America is locked in a "holy war" with terrorists. Continue.
Sarah Palin on faith, life and creation
Michael Paulson, The Boston Globe, August 29, 2008
John McCain's vice-presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is an evangelical Protestant with a strong record of opposition to abortion and an openness to teaching creationism in the public schools. Continue.
McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate
Michael Cooper and Elisabeth Bumiller, The New York Times, August 29, 2008
DAYTON, Ohio — Senator John McCain astonished the political world on Friday by naming Sarah Palin, a little-known governor of Alaska and self-described “hockey mom” with almost no foreign policy experience, as his running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.
Ms. Palin, 44, a social conservative, former union member and mother of five who has been governor for two years, was on none of the widely discussed McCain campaign short lists for vice president. In selecting her, Mr. McCain reached far outside the Washington Beltway in an election year in which the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change. Continue.
In Palin’s Life and Politics, Goal to Follow God’s Will
Kirk Johnson And Kim Severson, The New York Times, September 5, 2008
Wasilla, Alaska — Shortly after taking office as governor in 2006, Sarah Palin sent an e-mail message to Paul E. Riley, her former pastor in the Assembly of God Church, which her family began attending when she was a youth. She needed spiritual advice in how to do her new job, said Mr. Riley, who is 78 and retired from the church.
"She asked for a biblical example of people who were great leaders and what was the secret of their leadership,” Mr. Riley said. Continue.
Examining Palin's Pentecostal Background
Barbara Bradley Hagerty, All Things Considered, September 5, 2008
On June 8, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin dropped in on the Wasilla Assembly of God, the church she and her family attended until 2002. During the service, she addressed a group of young missionaries and said she had a "word" from the Lord for them. She prayed that Jesus would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation.
"That spirit of revelation also including the spirit of prophecy that God's going to tell you what is going on, and what is going to go on, and you guys are going to have that within you, and it's just going to bubble up and bubble over and it's going to pour out throughout the state of Alaska," Palin said at the time. Continue.
How the Media Have Handled Palin's Faith
Jesse Holcomb, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, September 22, 2008
Who is Sarah Palin? The question has dominated campaign coverage in the weeks since her nomination as John McCain's running mate. In the mainstream media at least, the answer has focused almost as much on her family life as on her public record. But despite that focus, and the debate over her beliefs, coverage of her religious background and beliefs has often been a peripheral element in the story. These are among the findings of the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which examined front-page and lead stories among top print, television, radio and online news media. Continue.
 To some evangelicals, Palin's career violates biblical teachings
The Alaska governor has lifted John McCain's support among conservative Christians, but some believe her work outside the home has turned 'husbands lead, wives submit' on its head.
Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2008
In a white-steepled church along a stretch in picturesque canyon country, the preacher laid out the basic blueprint of a godly marriage: Husbands lead, wives submit.
Speaking recently before hundreds of worshipers at Placerita Baptist Church in Newhall, guest preacher Chris Mueller affirmed the view that loving male headship and gracious wifely submission are God's plan for spouses.
Placerita, like many conservative Christian churches, teaches that a wife's role is to be her husband's helpmate (Genesis), "workers at home" (Titus) and submissive to her husband in everything (Ephesians). Continue.
One thought pushes fence-sitters to the left: Palin
Adam C. Smith, St. Petersburg Times, September 20, 2008
ST. PETERSBURG — Five weeks ago, the St. Petersburg Times convened a group of Tampa Bay voters who were undecided about the presidential election. Their strong distrust of Barack Obama suggested it was a group ripe for John McCain to win over.
Not anymore. The group has swung dramatically, if unenthusiastically, toward Democrat Obama. Most of them this week cited the same reason: Sarah Palin. Continue.
Was Sarah Palin Sent By God to Battle the Anti-Christ?
Steve Waldman, BeliefNet.com, September 21, 2008
For some time, we've seen the material flowing around the internet arguing that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ or a false Messiah. Now there's a new twist: Sarah Palin is sent by God.
That's the message of this essay by Jim Bramlett, a former official at the Christian Broadcasting Network and Campus Crusade for Christ. I've heard this is being emailed around quite a bit but don't really know how much it's been read. Continue.
God’s Army: A short guide to Sarah Palin’s extreme religious worldview
Andy Birkey, The Minnesota Independent, October 2, 2008
Media coverage of Sarah Palin during the run-up to her debate with Democratic counterpart Joe Biden has focused increasingly on her apparent ignorance in matters of policy and public affairs, and understandably so. But it’s an open question whether all the things Sarah Palin doesn’t know are really more disturbing than the things Palin believes she does know as a function of her religious faith — a militant (and, where real-world politics are concerned, militaristic) evangelical creed that sees it as the task of committed Christians to ready the way for Jesus’s earthly return and subsequent thousand-year reign. Continue.
McCain's VP Courts Conservative Evangelicals
Kathryn Joyce, Religion Dispatches, September 2, 2008
"Friday morning, before the major news outlets made any definitive announcements, Christian right pundits were buzzing about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's likely nomination for vice president. Rev. Rob Schenk, President of the National Clergy Council and a member of the National Pro-Life Action Center, and Steven Petrouka, founder of Pro-Life Radio, both made early predictions based on confidential sources, and sung of the governor's conservative credentials. She's a devout Christian, a vocal antiabortion advocate and gay rights opponent, and the mother of five children — including a new baby diagnosed with Down's Syndrome. Palin's decision to continue the pregnancy after learning the diagnosis was declared proof positive, to pundits of the religious right, of how good the Alaska native would be for the pro-life cause: a beautiful, quasi-"feminist" face for social conservative politics." Continue.
McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate
Selection of anti-choice Palin shows just how extreme McCain presidency will be
NARAL Pro-Choice America, News release, August 29, 2008
Washington, D.C. – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that Sen. John McCain’s selection today of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate is further evidence that a McCain presidency will be just another four years of the same old Bush-style anti-choice policies. Just like McCain, Palin opposes a woman’s right to choose. Palin has also stated her opposition to abortion even in cases of rape or incest. Continue.
Allies, foes scrape through Palin bio for Jewish material
Rom Kampeas, JTA, September 4, 2008
ST. PAUL (JTA) -- A small Israeli flag propped up on a window frame. A Pat Buchanan button sported briefly as a courtesy. A prospective son-in-law with a biblical name.
Little about the Frozen North is Jewish outside the realm of fiction (see Mordechai Richler. Michael Chabon, “Northern Exposure”), so when Republicans pitch Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s vice presidential pick, to the Jews and Democrats try to undermine her, both sides tend to reach. Continue.
National Jewish Democratic Council Speaks: Selection of Palin is a Bizarre Choice
National Jewish Democratic Council, News release, August 29, 2008
Washington, DC - Ira N. Forman, Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) today released the following statement:
Today, Senator John McCain made his first critical presidential decision with his selection of his Vice Presidential running mate. McCain’s judgment appears lacking. Continue.
Preaching Abstinence
Editorial, Forward, September 4, 2008
In a rare moment of consensus and civility in mid-campaign, Democratic and Republican leaders concurred last week that public debate over the candidates’ family troubles — specifically the pregnant, unwed 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — is “off-limits,” in Barack Obama’s words. Families, even public families, should be left to sort out their private lives in privacy. Democrats come to this privacy notion easily; they’ve been trying to make that point for years.
As for the Republicans, they have every reason to want their embarrassments kept off the front page. Their party has been preaching for decades that single motherhood reflects a character flaw. They’re wedded to the notion that the government should stop giving handouts to single moms. Now they are attacking Democrats for, of all things, lacking sympathy for a family in turmoil.
In the end, both parties are wrong. The Palin pregnancy is a genuinely important political event, and it should be debated. It’s not that the Palins, parent or child, deserve punishment. What makes this an important public issue is the light that it sheds on government health policies, which are often based on religious beliefs rather than on science. Simply put, the policies that Sarah Palin champions, as a standard-bearer of the Christian right, do not work. No one should know that better right now than Palin herself. Continue.
Palin's Church May Have Shaped Controversial Worldview
Nico Pitney and Sam Stein, The Hunffington Post, September 2, 2008
Three months before she was thrust into the national political spotlight, Gov. Sarah Palin was asked to handle a much smaller task: addressing the graduating class of commission students at her one-time church, Wasilla Assembly of God.
Her speech in June provides as much insight into her policy leanings as anything uncovered since she was asked to be John McCain's running mate.
Speaking before the Pentecostal church, Palin painted the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair in which the United States could act out the will of the Lord.
"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan." Continue.
Jewish voters may be wary of Palin
Ben Smith, Politico.com, September 2, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Barack Obama has struggled for 18 months to lock down the support of a traditionally Democratic group, Jewish voters.
In the past week, John McCain may have helped Obama with his Jewish problem by choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
McCain and Obama are battling over a portion of the Jewish community: older, conservative Democrats, largely in South Florida, some of whom backed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. McCain’s secular, hawkish credentials appeal to many in that group, who are skeptical of Obama’s relatively short record and have been deluged with rumors about his pro-Palestinian leanings.
But Democrats hope Palin’s social conservatism, her paper-thin record on Israel, and — perhaps most importantly — her cultural roots in evangelical Christianity may be a major turnoff to Jewish voters, just as Republicans have tried to reach women disappointed that Obama didn’t choose Hillary Clinton,
Democrats have already begun to to capitalize on the choice of Palin — over Jewish Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman — in South Florida and elsewhere. A prominent Obama backer, Florida Rep. Robert Wexler, has attacked Palin for appearing at a 1999 event with Pat Buchanan — who has attacked the influence of the Israeli lobby in America. And the same factors that are rallying the evangelical base to Palin may push away the Jews.
“There is almost always an inverse proportion between a candidate's popularity among conservative Christians and secular Jews,” said Jeff Ballabon, a Republican lobbyist long active in Jewish politics who supports McCain.
An illustration of that gap came just two weeks ago, when Palin’s church, the Wasilla Bible Church, gave its pulpit over to a figure viewed with deep hostility by many Jewish organizations: David Brickner, the executive director of Jews for Jesus. Continue.
You will find an audio and video version of David Brickner's sermon on the website of the Wasilla Bible church.
McCain team: Palin rejects views of church's Jews for Jesus speaker
Ben Harris, JTA, September 3, 2008
NEW YORK (JTA) -- Vice presidential pick Sarah Palin says she doesn't share the views of a Jews for Jesus leader who in a speech at her church suggested that violence against Israelis resulted from God's judgment against Jews who have failed to embrace Jesus.
David Brickner, the executive director of Jews for Jesus, suggested in his Aug. 17 sermon at Wasilla Bible Church that the refusal to accept Jesus was responsible for the long history of devastation visited upon Jerusalem. He also described his group's successful targeting of Israeli Jews, both in Israel and elsewhere. Continue.
You will find an audio and video version of David Brickner's sermon on the website of the Wasilla Bible church.
Saradise Lost - Chapter Sixteen -- Palin's Views on the End Times
Philip Munger, Progressive Alaska, September 3, 2008
I first met Alaska Governor and GOP Vice Presidential aspirant Sarah Palin when she was on the City of Wasilla Planning Commission. I appeared at one of their meetings, along with my boss at that time, now-convicted ex-Allvest CEO, Bill Weimer. We were presenting a proposal Allvest was working on, in conjunction with a Wasilla-based mental health clinic, to open a community corrections project there, and needed a facility permit.
At that time, I remembered her, because she seemed to be the only person on the commission who had actually read our proposal. It was obvious from her questions. Continue.
Evangelical faith drives Palin's pro-Israel view
Ralph Z. Hallow, The Washington Times, September 4, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. | Sarah Palin displays an Israeli flag in her governor's office in Juneau, even though she has never been to the country, and attends Protestant evangelical churches that consider the preservation of the state of Israel a biblical imperative.
Her faith makes her a favorite with the staunchly pro-Israel neoconservative elements in the Republican Party. Continue.
Evangelicals Energized by McCain-Palin Ticket
The Church Report, September 1, 2008
Sarah Palin already has energized conservative religious leaders who had fretted that John McCain would pick an abortion rights supporter as his running mate. The Alaska governor was raised in a Pentecostal church and has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be."
To Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religion Liberties Commission, Palin is "straight out of veep central casting." Land said he had urged the McCain camp to consider the political unknown. Continue.
News Media, Left See Christianity Rooted in Forgiveness
There is more to the faith than simply "Thou shalt not."
Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family, September 2, 2008
The political Left seems determined to cast doubt on Sarah Palin as a strong vice presidential candidate, but in the process it may be learning something about the heart of biblical Christianity.
When it first became widely known that Gov. Palin’s daughter Bristol was pregnant out of wedlock, commentators on the Left – some with palpable excitement – began to wonder whether this would dampen the roar of enthusiasm with which social conservatives greeted Palin’s candidacy. After all, don’t evangelicals oppose the idea of sex apart from marriage? Continue.
The Palin factor
Matt Friedman, OneNewsNow.com, September 2, 2008
Well, OK, not quite over. But I have always thought that the presidential sweepstakes of 2008 was McCain's race to lose. Now, because of the addition of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to the ticket as running mate, I am more convinced than ever that Barack Obama's inaugural ball isn't happening anytime soon.
Could McCain lose? Sure – anything can happen in the next few months; but if he keeps speaking truth to power in juxtaposition to Barack Obama whistling into the wind (reference the Saddleback Forum) and continues making excellent campaign choices (see appointment of campaign guru Steve Schmidt and selection of Palin), then Obama ought to be worried. Very worried. Continue.
Dr. James Dobson: The Palins Are in My Prayers
The governor and her family 'should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out.'
News release, Focus on the Family, September 2, 2008
Colorado Springs, Colo. – James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today in the wake of media reports that Bristol Palin, 17-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is pregnant.
"In the 32-year history of Focus on the Family, we have offered prayer, counseling and resource assistance to tens of thousands of parents and children in the same situation the Palins are now facing. We have always encouraged the parents to love and support their children and always advised the girls to see their pregnancies through, even though there will of course be challenges along the way. That is what the Palins are doing, and they should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances.
"Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord. I've been the beneficiary of that forgiveness and restoration in my own life countless times, as I'm sure the Palins have.
"The media are already trying to spin this as evidence Gov. Palin is a 'hypocrite,' but all it really means is that she and her family are human. They are in my prayers and those of millions of Americans." Continue.
Family Research Council Statement on Gov. Palin's Daughter
News release, Family Research Council, September 1, 2008
FRC President Tony Perkins released the following statement regarding the reports of Gov. Palin's daughter, Bristol being pregnant.
"Unfortunately, teenage pregnancy has become all too common in today's society regardless of a family's economic or social status. It is a problem that we remain committed to reducing through encouraging young people to practice abstinence," Perkins said.
"Fortunately, Bristol is following her mother and father's example of choosing life in the midst of a difficult situation. We are committed to praying for Bristol and her husband-to-be and the entire Palin family as they walk through a very private matter in the eyes of the public," Perkins added. Continue.
Gov. Palin Proves Again - Embracing Unexpected Babies is the Best Choice
Many families can relate to the Palins' predicament
News release, Concerned Women for America, September 2, 2008
Washington, D.C. - "The surprise announcement that Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant provided another opportunity for the vice-presidential candidate to make a politically convenient choice or the right one. The family could have treated the innocent baby as a 'punishment' and secretly snuffed out the child's life to avoid a high-profile embarrassment. Instead, they are embracing this unexpected baby as a child worthy of love, a human being who deserves respect, a weak member of their family who needs their care. The Palins have opened their family's challenge for all the world to see, providing a beautiful example for other families, many who have faced the same predicament," said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee. Continue.
If God Was A Republican
Frank Schaeffer, The Huffington Post, September 2, 2008
The 60 million (or so) born-again Bible believing American voters who read the weather, disease and natural calamity for "signs" of God's blessing or damnation should, following the logical presuppositions of their thinking, be reconsidering their support for Senator McCain--given the weather forecast. If one takes the Evangelical's moralistic God's-in-charge-of-everything view of life, the universe and its contents at face value one has to assume that the hurricane interrupting the Republican convention is God's unexpected answer to James Dobson. Apparently God hates John McCain.
James Dobson (of the Focus On The Family radio show and Evangelical empire) told Christians to pray that Senator Obama's acceptance speech in Denver would be interrupted by rain. As my late evangelical leader father, Francis Schaeffer, used to say; "God always answers our prayers but sometimes in unexpected ways." Continue.
Dobson Commends Palin's Support of Pregnant Daughter
Liz Sidoti, Associated Press, The Christian Post, September 2, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, said Monday her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement stealing even more thunder from McCain and a Republican presidential convention already overshadowed by Hurricane Gustav.
Adding to the day's drama, McCain aides said the announcement was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's.
The national convention, which a political party counts on to send its candidate surging into the fall campaign, already had been relegated to a distant second to the hurricane on TV, in newspapers and on Internet Web sites. Continue.
The Palin Choice: The Reality of the Political Mind
George Lakoff, CommonDreams.org, September 2, 2008
This election matters because of realities-the realities of global warming, the economy, the Middle East, nuclear proliferation, civil liberties, species extinction, poverty here and around the world, and on and on. Such realities are what make this election so very crucial, and how to deal with them is the substance of the Democratic platform.
Election campaigns matter because who gets elected can change reality. But election campaigns are primarily about the realities of voters' minds, which depend on how the candidates and the external realities are cognitively framed. They can be framed honestly or deceptively, effectively or clumsily. And they are always framed from the perspective of a worldview. Continue.
The Palin Church
Rod Dreher, Beliefnet.com, September 6, 2008
The New York Times pays a visit to Sarah Palin's church, the Wasilla Bible Church. I'm sure there will be more to come, but for the life of me I can't see what the big deal is. She believes the Bible is true and leaders should seek God's will in their vocations. Shocked, shocked, I am by this. Continue.
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