Vermont Republicans excited about Sarah Palin

MONTPELIER, Vt.—Vermont Republicans are pleased with John McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

Revelations about Palin's family have not dampened the enthusiasm of the state's delegates to the Republican National Convention.

"The things that made Senator McCain want to pick her as a choice, being a maverick, being a reform candidate, having the executive experience of the governor's office, these things are the things that all of us as Republicans are looking to out of Sarah Palin and we think she's a fine choice," said former Vermont House Speaker Walter Freed, one of the delegates.

Palin disclosed on Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and plans to marry the baby's father.

That does not reflect Palin's qualifications, said Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.

"Things happen in a family. We all can learn from our families. But families aren't a part of politics," Dubie said. "Senator Obama knows that. I'll just reiterate the conversations that I'm having with people I talk to in Vermont, people here in Minneapolis: Everyone's excited."

Critics also point to Palin's husband's involvement with the Alaska Independence Party, some of whose members support secession from the United States. A lawyer also has been hired -- at a cost of up to $95,000 to the state of Alaska -- to defend her in an ethics investigation involving the dismissal of a public safety commissioner after he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin's sister.

Freed says those issues haven't been a topic of discussion among Vermont Republicans.

"The real discussion is about the greater issues of this campaign and what she adds to the ticket," he said. "This is a ticket of two reformers, two mavericks, looking to create change in Washington and I think that's the part that inspires so many of us."

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