Spring Break
Getting to know the VP candidates
Jessica Morris
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Election '08
With the November election almost here, and a diverse group of candidates on the ballot, Americans nationwide are taking a closer look at their choices for president and vice president. The vice presidential candidates have proven interesting with the Republican's female contender, Sarah Palin, and the Democrats' choice, Joe Biden.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the current governor of Alaska. Elected in 2006, she holds the highest approval rating among United States governors. Before being elected governor she was a commissioner for the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, mayor, and city councilman of her home in Wasilla, Alaska. Palin was also a local sports reporter. Palin has five children, the eldest is a son who was just deployed to Iraq, her 17 year old daughter is a source of major controversy being unmarried and pregnant, and the youngest son is a toddler with Down syndrome. She is married to husband Todd Palin and is a member of the Assemblies of God church. Palin graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Idaho.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph R. "Joe" Biden, Jr. is currently a senator representing Delaware. He has been a senator since 1973 and formerly practiced law as an attorney. Biden is also an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law. He and his wife, Jill Jacobs Biden, raise their three children in Delaware and are of the Roman Catholic religion. Biden has also run for president in the democratic primaries both this year (he dropped out after Iowa caucuses) and also back in 1988 (although he withdrew before the first primary.)
While the candidates disagree on most issues, there are a few they agree on. Both candidates want harsher penalties and laws for drug use, citing the use of drugs as immoral. Palin, however, has admitted to smoking marijuana when it was legal in Alaska. Both also want tighter limits on campaign funds. But in comparison, the differences between the two are much more dramatic.
Senator Joe Biden is pro-choice, pro-stem cell research, and pro-same sex domestic partnership benefits. Palin is the opposite on all of these. Palin is a lifetime NRA member and strongly favors the absolute right to own a gun. She supports the Patriot Act and opposes taking the troops out of Iraq. Biden disagrees with all of these issues. Other issues that Biden disagrees on include Palin's opposition to federal funding for health care, and replacing coal and oil in America with alternative energy sources.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the current governor of Alaska. Elected in 2006, she holds the highest approval rating among United States governors. Before being elected governor she was a commissioner for the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, mayor, and city councilman of her home in Wasilla, Alaska. Palin was also a local sports reporter. Palin has five children, the eldest is a son who was just deployed to Iraq, her 17 year old daughter is a source of major controversy being unmarried and pregnant, and the youngest son is a toddler with Down syndrome. She is married to husband Todd Palin and is a member of the Assemblies of God church. Palin graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Idaho.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph R. "Joe" Biden, Jr. is currently a senator representing Delaware. He has been a senator since 1973 and formerly practiced law as an attorney. Biden is also an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law. He and his wife, Jill Jacobs Biden, raise their three children in Delaware and are of the Roman Catholic religion. Biden has also run for president in the democratic primaries both this year (he dropped out after Iowa caucuses) and also back in 1988 (although he withdrew before the first primary.)
While the candidates disagree on most issues, there are a few they agree on. Both candidates want harsher penalties and laws for drug use, citing the use of drugs as immoral. Palin, however, has admitted to smoking marijuana when it was legal in Alaska. Both also want tighter limits on campaign funds. But in comparison, the differences between the two are much more dramatic.
Senator Joe Biden is pro-choice, pro-stem cell research, and pro-same sex domestic partnership benefits. Palin is the opposite on all of these. Palin is a lifetime NRA member and strongly favors the absolute right to own a gun. She supports the Patriot Act and opposes taking the troops out of Iraq. Biden disagrees with all of these issues. Other issues that Biden disagrees on include Palin's opposition to federal funding for health care, and replacing coal and oil in America with alternative energy sources.
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