ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin cast herself as a small-town outsider and "just your average hockey mom" on Wednesday as she introduced herself to the nation as John McCain's vice presidential running mate and fellow maverick.
In excerpts of the most anticipated speech of the Republican National Convention, the 44-year-old first-term governor also took a swipe at Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and what she called the "Washington elite."
"Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country," she said in her prepared remarks.
Selected by McCain less than a week ago, Palin was addressing the convention - and millions of voters at home - amid questions about her qualifications and relative lack of experience.
The Alaska governor had top billing at the convention on a night delegates also lined up for a noisy roll call of the states to deliver their presidential nomination to McCain.
"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 PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better," she said, speaking of her home town of Wasilla, Alaska, with a population of about 6,500.
"When I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too."
Before becoming governor, Palin served as mayor of Wasilla, she recounted, adding: "And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."
That was a clear jab at Obama, who as a young man worked as a community organizer in Chicago, an experience he speaks about frequently on the campaign trail.
In another indirect barb directed at the Illinois Democrat, Palin said: "Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. 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."
In town for the speech were members of Palin's family, including husband Todd, and their children, including 17-year-old Bristol Palin, whom Palin disclosed earlier in the week was five months pregnant. Bristol Palin and her 18-year-old boyfriend, Levi Johnston, were expected to appear together as part of the GOP convention program Wednesday night.
The pair were with Palin when she greeted McCain at the airport earlier Wednesday.
McCain shook up the presidential race last Friday by picking Palin, a little-known governor less than two years in office. Since then, a bright spotlight has been trained on the life and record of the Republican governor who has bucked the state's political establishment.
Days after Palin made her debut on the national stage with McCain, the campaign announced her unmarried daughter's pregnancy. Other disclosures followed, including that a private attorney is authorized to spend $95,000 of state money to defend her against accusations of abuse of power and that Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her city and state, contrary to her reformist image.
The speech was Palin's first chance to fully introduce and define herself to the American public and to seek to explain how her experiences as Alaska governor would help galvanize the GOP ticket.
In the excerpts released by the McCain campaign, Palin emphasized energy policy, one of her areas of expertise as governor of a state that derives 85 percent of its general revenue comes from oil production
"Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already. But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all," she said.
Palin has been an aggressive advocate for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, while McCain opposes drilling there. That difference was not touched on in the excerpts.
Palin said that in a McCain-Palin administration "we're going to lay more pipelines, build more nuclear plants, create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.
