Her husband Todd Palin is (at least part) Yupik eskimo. He’s a blue collar guy who works as a commercial fisherman and oil field worker. He is also a champion snowmobiler.
The NYTimes reports:
In choosing Ms. Palin – a 44-year-old conservative Christian and self-described “hockey mom” who has been governor for less than two years – the McCain campaign reached far outside the Beltway in an election where the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change.
The pick, confirmed by Republicans familiar with the decision, amounted to a roll of the dice, a gamble that an infusion of new leadership – and the novelty of the Republican party’s first female candidate for vice president – would more than compensate for the risk that Ms. Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central arguments, their claim that Mr. Obama is too inexperienced to be president.
But Ms. Palin ran as a change agent when she was elected as governor of Alaska in 2006, and in a move that might have appealed to Mr. McCain, she took political heat from members of her own party for turning the spotlight on the failures of Alaska Republicans, some of whom had been beset by corruption scandals.
Unlike Biden, who has the knowledge and experience to run the country, Palin had slightly more experience as Kerry Healy when she ran for governor. Mayor of a city of less than 9,000 people? Less than two years as governor in one of the least populated states in the country? No national or legislative experience? The choice of Palin may be a good campaign choice, but not for America. McCain is getting long in the tooth and his choice of vice president matters.
Sarah Palin is the Clarence Thomas of Election 2008. Thomas, an unaccomplished jurist and intellectual weakling happened to be a conservative black man who qualified for the Republican version of affirmative action. Palin is similarly unaccomplished, though she could conceivably have more talent, than Thomas. She was appointed for the fact that she is a conservative Christian and a woman who fits the political bill, not because she is anything close to being ready to step in as President.
here and here