Palin takes battle to Democrats

ST PAUL, Minnesota, (AFP) - Republican vice-presidential pick Sarah Palin lashed out at Barack Obama Wednesday and styled herself as a scourge of the Washington elite in her high-stakes convention debut.

The Alaska governor, in the most important speech yet to the party bonanza that will nominate John McCain, defended her credentials to serve as vice-president, saying she was steeped in executive leadership experience.

“Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election,” the 44-year-old mother of five said in excerpts of her intensely anticipated address, the highlight of day three at the convention.

“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.”

The speech represented a key moment in a Republican bid to quell a personal and political storm raging around Palin, which led Democrats to question McCain’s judgment and the extent to which he vetted his shock choice.

Palin also painted herself as an outsider, primed to go to Washington to launch a wave of reform, in line with McCain’s narrative that he is a maverick reformer.