ST. PAUL, Minn. — ST. PAUL, Minn. - In the five days since she was introduced as John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin has been defined by news media accounts of her views, her family and her brief record as Alaska governor.
Now it's her turn to define herself.
Palin is earning high marks from Republican politicians and the adulation of the party's delegates. Most share her socially conservative opinions and like having a woman who is balancing a large family and successful career on their national ticket.
McCain and his campaign portray her as a youthful partner to a seasoned maverick. They like her fearlessness in challenging her party establishment in Alaska and make the case that her decision-making role as a government executive trumps the purely legislative background of the Democratic ticket.
Palin slipped from public view after making her debut with McCain on Friday and appearing at his side over the weekend.
She's been in the Twin Cities area since Labor Day, officials said, rehearsing the defining speech of her career, an address tonight to the convention delegates and millions of voters at home.
Other than a campaign-released photo of her with first lady Laura Bush and McCain's wife, Cindy, she's not been seen publicly. A long-scheduled appearance in St. Paul at a gala reception of anti-abortion Republicans was canceled by the McCain campaign, disappointing delegates and, according to a well-placed source, angering the main organizer, longtime activist Phyllis Schlafly.
By keeping a low profile, Palin has built suspense for her emergence as a solo attraction in the bright lights of the Xcel Energy Center. Meantime, questions continue to swirl about just how thoroughly she was vetted by McCain's campaign before he picked her last week.
Doubts have been aired in news media accounts about her commitment to ending pork-barrel spending. National attention has been focused on a state investigation into whether a family dispute influenced her decision to fire the state's public safety commissioner. The governor and her husband, Todd, were forced to issue a statement, hours before the convention opened Monday, acknowledging that their unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.
This evening is her chance to change the subject. Before the biggest audience she's ever faced, she gets to tell her story in her own words.
It is her "national unveiling," as one of John McCain's closest friends, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, put it.
