Republican VP pick to bash Obama in first national speech

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-04 10:40

ST. PAUL -- Republicans' vice presidential pick Sarah Palin will attack Democratic presidential candidate in her first national televised speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night.

John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin greet the crowd at a rally in O'Fallon, Missouri. A flurry of personal and legal revelations battering Palin Tuesday raised new questions about McCain's risky running mate pick. [Agencies]

According to excerpts released by Republican officials, the 44-year-old female governor will contrasting her resume with that of Obama.

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer', except that you have actual responsibilities," she will say.

Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s before attending Harvard Law School.

Palin was a two-term mayor of the town of Wasilla, Alaska, a small town of about 5,000 people.

She also contrasts Republican presidential hopeful John McCain with Obama. "In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change," Palin will say.

Palin is a first-term governor of Alaska whose selection as McCain's running mate last week caught many seasoned political observers by surprise. Her convention speech will be the first time she has addressed a national prime time audience as a member of the Republican ticket.

In her prepared remarks, she directly addresses the skepticism some have expressed about her qualifications for the office, taking particular aim at the press.

"I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the Parent-Teacher Association because I wanted to make my kids' public education better," Palin will say.