If anything can sum up the charm of Sarah Palin, the moose-hunting Governor of
Alaska and now the Republican Party’s vice-presidential nominee, it is
perhaps the nickname she gave her husband, Todd: “First Dude”.
It would, after all, take an icy heart not to warm to an oil rig worker and
commercial fisherman from the far reaches of Alaska’s North Slope: a man’s
man; a beer drinker; a salt-of-the-earth type. As far as the US public was
concerned, Mrs Palin might as well have been married to Jeff Bridges in The
Big Lebowski. Adding to the charm were the stories about the 44-year-old
sourdough (slang for an Alaskan native) being a stay-at-home dad who cooked
for their five children and put them to bed every night.
But amid all the extraordinary revelations about the Palin family that have
emerged since her appointment as John McCain’s running-mate last Friday —
including the pregnancy of her 17-year-old daughter — a far more complex
picture of Todd Palin has emerged.
He is a former member of Alaska’s fringe separatist movement; an almost
recklessly competitive snowmobile racer who was once jailed for
drink-driving; a Miss Alaska beauty pageant judge; a veteran oilman who used
his First Dude status to promote the drilling industry; and a man who once
hired a private investigator in an attempt to get his sister-in-law’s
husband fired as a State Trooper. As Andrew Halcro, the Anchorage blogger
and former Palin rival wrote: “One question keeps surfacing over and over
again; why does the Governor’s husband, Todd Palin, appear to hold so much
power?”
Todd Palin was born in Dillingham, a town in western Alaska, accessible like
many parts of the 49th state — including its capital, Juneau — only by boat
or aircraft. His grandmother, a Yupik, used to say that he was so good at
trawling for salmon that he must be related to a fish. As he entered his
teens, it was clear that he had another talent: looks. According to Mrs
Palin’s minibiography, Sarah, Todd Palin created a “small-town buzz” when he
moved northeast and enrolled at Wasilla high school: several girls penned
“T-O-D-D” across their knuckles in admiration. “I thought he was so
adorable,” said Mrs Palin, who would later go from teaching an aerobics
class in the town to toppling its mayor (and trying to ban books at the
library, if you believe the latest allegations). Other boys at the school
were jealous, and Todd Palin didn’t exactly soothe their feelings: he was a
sportsman, and extremely competitive. The new arrival’s sex appeal was
enhanced by his ownership of a blue Ford Mustang with a white racing stripe.
When asked what he saw in his future wife, he said: “She was the
best-looking girl on the basketball team.”
This judgment was later confirmed when Sarah Palin won the Miss Wasilla
pageant title, later becoming runner-up Miss Alaska.
The couple were inseparable. They lived five miles apart but talked every
night on two-way radios. They fished together in Bristol Bay. When Mrs Palin
broke her hand during one particularly brutal trawl, she went straight back
out to sea for the next catch. “I couldn’t disappoint [Todd],” she said. “No
matter how cold or nauseous, you just didn’t complain.”
The two later eloped to avoid the cost of a wedding. Reading through all these
anecdotes, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that for all Mrs Palin’s
independence, her husband likes to get his own way. Earlier this year, when
Mrs Palin was heavily pregnant with their fifth child (Trig, who has Down’s
syndrome), she found herself leaking amniotic fluid during a business trip
in Texas, almost a day’s travelling away from home. Instead of going to a
hospital, she took an epic multi-leg flight back to Anchorage, followed by a
drive back to her home town, where she gave birth a month early. Todd Palin
later explained the decision: “You can’t have a fish picker from Texas.”
Schoolfriends have said that Mr Palin was relatively well-off by the
standards of Wasilla, but even now he’s by no means rich: he earned just
under $100,000 (£56,000), according to financial statements. He is a member
of the United Steelworkers union and has worked for BP for almost two
decades, taking temporary leave to avoid conflict-of-interest allegations
when his wife was negotiating pipeline contracts as Governor. He’s as much
of a jock as he is a redneck. The Palins’ first child was named Track
because he was born during the track and field season (he is now in the US
Army and will be deployed to Iraq on September 11). If Track had been born
during the basketball season, he would have been named Hoop. Another of the
Palin brood, Piper Indy, is named in honour of a snowmobile.
In Alaska, of course, snowmobiling is the ultimate glamour sport, like Formula
One racing in Europe. Todd Palin is a snowmobiling god. During this year’s
1,971-mile (3,172km) Tesoro Iron Dog race — which the First Dude has won no
fewer than four times — he was flung 70ft (21m) from his machine when it hit
a barrel hidden in deep snow. He broke his arm but completed the race,
finishing fourth.
But how much restless political ambition, if any, tugs beneath the surface?
The attempt by his stepmother, Faye Palin, to run for mayor of Wasilla when
Sarah Palin’s term maxed out can probably be dismissed, given that she ran
as a pro-choice Democrat.
Meanwhile, his influence over the federal funding worth $197.8 million (£113.5
million) requested by his wife remains unknown (John McCain has made his
opposition to such earmarks a central part of his campaign). Likewise, the
First Dude has so far made no public explanation of his voter registration
as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) between 1995 and 2002.
Many members want full secession from the US and the party’s motto is Alaska
First — in stark contract to Mr McCain’s Country First slogan. The former
secretary of the AIP, Lynette Clark (a freelance gold-miner) this week
memorably described the McCain camp’s efforts to spin Todd Palin’s secession
sympathies as “like a cat covering up crap in its litter box”.
Then, of course, there’s Troopergate — Todd Palin’s infamous attempt to get
his sister-in-law’s now ex-husband fired, after an investigation decided
only to suspend him for five days over allegations that he drove while
drunk, Tasered his stepson and made a death threat against Sarah Palin’s
father. According to various complaints, Todd Palin sat in on his wife’s
meetings, got copies of her e-mails and hired a detective to investigate the
trooper.
A report on the case is expected before the election. Republicans believe that
it will clear the Palins. Democrats think it could be an “October surprise”,
perhaps ruining John McCain’s election chances. Whatever the case, it’s
likely to provide yet more contradictory evidence on what being a First Dude
in Alaska really means.
First catch your moose
Moose Rump Roast
6 lb Moose rump roast
4 tb Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
1 ts garlic powder
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup water
Trim off fat, rub with vegetable oil.
Sprinkle on salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Put sliced onion in roasting pan, pour over two tablespoons of Worcestershire.
Put roast on onion.
Pour over rest of Worcestershire.
Add wine and water.
Seal pan with foil and bake at 325F for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, adding water to keep
moist.
Source: bowhunt.com
