Todd Palin unique among nation's 5 first husbands

Anchorage Daily News ^ | May 27, 2007 | JEANNETTE J. LEE

[nickcarraway]

THE MAN: He's worked the oil patch, won the Iron Dog and takes care of the kids

That same week, his wife, Gov. Sarah Palin, was in Juneau requesting more money for the state budget and assuring legislators they'd soon see her plan for a natural gas pipeline that could one day be the most expensive construction project in North America. Then she flew to Fairbanks to wave her exhausted husband across the finish line.

It's not just his title as the state's reigning snowmobile co-champion that sets 42-year-old Todd Palin apart from the nation's other first spouses. And it's not that he's one of just five who are men.

White-collar jobs in law, education or health care are typical among the current crop of first spouses, but Palin spent nearly 20 years as a blue-collar employee in the oil fields of the North Slope. And every summer he heads west to his birthplace in Dillingham to work the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery from his property on the Nushagak River.

A lifetime of manual labor in the state's two largest and most physically demanding industries is helping Palin carve out his role as Alaska's first spouse, or "first dude," a nickname he has in common with the Kansas governor's husband, Gary Sebelius.

Like other first spouses around the country, Palin has been asked to champion an array of causes or institutions since his wife took office in December.

His favorite is steering young Alaskans toward stable jobs in the oil and gas industry. It's a singular choice among his counterparts, whose pet issues include schools, public health, domestic violence, poverty or the arts.

[TribalPrincess2U]

Cindy and Sarah will continue to enhance the White House with #1 CLASS!

[penelopesire]

The DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW call of 70% of the American people just got a voice too... that Nazi Pelosi is going to have a hard time ‘turning the lights off’....LOL

Sarah is going to kick Pelosi’s ass all over Washington!!

[rmlew]

< a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Exposure">Northern Exposure.
Good show, has its fanatics. HDNet re syndicated the series last year in 720p.

[CodeToad]

He can make a woman like her happy and keep his manhood intact...he’s a man’s man.

Obama is a mextrosexual.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Unfortunately, none of these men were going to vote for Hussein anyway.

[retrokitten]

LOL! Thanks for the ping!

I’m going to have to break up with my imaginary boyfriend, Eric Cantor and start to imaginary date Todd Palin.

[Joan Kerrey]

WOW! A real blue collar man, and is even in a union.
Reagan Dems, can you hear me now?
______________________________
I expect the Obama camp to file suit any day now to keep this information from the public.

[Joan Kerrey]

Dang! He is one HANDSOME man! Not a bit of metrosexual in him!
_________________
I’m sure the Dems will come up with a gay lover somewhere in his past.

[Joan Kerrey]

Lovely as the VP mansion in DC is, he will probably just hate living here. And who could blame him?
_________________________
Good point. That could be a problem down the line. Living in DC will be hell for the whole family.

[Joan Kerrey]

Sorry, but Iron Dog Racer’s are hardly regular guys.
____________________________
Just wait. The envirowackos will start blasting away at the harm the Iron Dog’s cause to the enviroment. Think of all that wasted fuel and carbon going into the atmosphere.

[truthluva]

No kidding. I keep pinching myself.

[proudofthesouth]

I haven't had a crush on a man in a l-o-o-o-o-n-g time but I've got one on him! He has eyes you can get lost in..... sigh! Geez, I'm 51 years old you'd think I'd be beyond a teenage crush by now....

[GAB-1955]

I see his picture and I see “Construction worker at a wedding...” I love these two already.

[Joan Kerrey]

I’m 51 years old you’d think I’d be beyond a teenage crush by now....
_____________________________
I’m 68 and you better believe no 51 year old hag is going to snag MY man. B**ch, you stay away from him or else.

[proudofthesouth]

LOL!

[webrover]

I've heard about folks like you who try to bully others. If the woman thinks it rude, I'll gladly discuss it with her. You're just lookin’ to intimidate. And newbie or not, I won't play that game. You haven't been around very long yourself. I made not personal attack or tried to intimidate anyone as you have done.

[Las Vegas Ron]

Looking to intimidate? Shirly you jest.

You won't play the game but you will play the victim?

Go back to DU newbie troll.

Oh yeah, BOO!

[CottonBall]

This is in stark contrast to the elists in the Dem party.

Palin was making between $100,000 and $120,000 a year before he went on leave in December to make more time for his family and avoid potential conflicts of interest.

...

At home, Palin takes care of the cooking, the bills and other domestic paperwork, in addition to driving the kids to extracurricular activities like basketball and soccer, according to his wife. He divides much of his time between Wasilla, where Track is recovering from shoulder surgery, and the capital in Juneau, where the Palin daughters are in school.

"He can go on just an hour or two of sleep a night. He says, 'I can sleep when I die,' " said Sarah Palin. "There is no way I could have done this job without his tremendous contributions to the home life. He's able to keep it organized, like a well-oiled machine."

I have so much respect for a good dad. They seem to be farther and fewer between these days. (Except on this site, I'd bet) This family has some real conservative values that don't stop when they go home.

[CottonBall]

Geez, I'm 51 years old you'd think I'd be beyond a teenage crush by now....

I think we're shocked to find a real man that does outdoor things AND takes care of the kids ...(and is nice to look at as well). I'm also assuming he is conservative as well, otherwise I'd have no interest.

[CottonBall]

Ladies, ladies! Take a cold shower and come back when your hormones are back in check. LOL!