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'''Sarah Louise Heath Palin''' (pronounced pay'-lynn) (born February 11, 1964) is a [[conservative]] [[Republican Party|Republican]] who served as the 11th [[governor]] of [[Alaska]] from 2006 through 2009. She is was both the first woman and the youngest person to hold this office in the state's history. On July 3, 2009 Palin announced that she would resign as governor of Alaska.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/03/AR2009070301738.html Sarah Palin to Resign as Alaska Governor, Citing Probes and Family Needs] Rucker, Philip and Eli Saslow, July 4, 2009, washingtonpost.com, retrieved August 20, 2011</ref> Executive power was transferred to [[Lieutenant Governor]] [[Sean Parnell]].
Palin is an advocate for the socially conservative base of the [[Republican Party]], and an effective critic of [[RINO]] [[Karl Rove]] as well as [[liberal]] [[Barack Obama]]. In her speech to [[CPAC]] in 2013, Palin mocked Obama:<ref>http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/03/sarah-palin-caustic-toward-karl-rove-and-barack-obama.html/</ref>
{{cquote|More background checks? Dandy idea, Mr. President — should have started with yours.}}
Palin came to the nation's attention as Senator [[John McCain]]'s vice presidential running mate in the [[2008 Presidential Election]].<ref>[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/08/palins_vp_selection_speech.html Acceptance Speech by Palin] realclearpolitics.com, August 29, 2008</ref> She is the first woman to appear on a Republican presidential ticket. In an appearance on August 30, 2008 in Washington, Pennsylvania, she was greeted by a surprisingly large crowd as she promoted the new McCain-Palin ticket. She brought a [[populism|populist]] image and a record of cutting wasteful spending and reforming government to McCain's ticket. In the summer of 2007, she was the most popular governor in America, having cut 13% of [[Alaska]]'s budget.<ref>[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/851orcjq.asp The Most Popular Governor] Barnes, Fred, Jul 16, 2007, weeklystandard.com</ref>