Alaska Klub Cool to Gov. Palin

Despite advertising an event entitled “Wasilla Drinks”—what would have been an Alaska Klub-sponsored drinking game for the vice presidential debates—Harvard Alaskans were few and far between in the Currier viewing room when their governor took the stage last night.

While the Institute of Politics had a line of Harvard students wrapped around the Kennedy School, with Harvard University Police Department officers on hand to maintain order, less than five Alaska Klub members—out of the 60 members the Klub boasts—made it to the Quad. And the ones who were in attendance are not supporting Sarah Palin’s bid for vice president.

“Somebody back home said a good metaphor for her as a leader is like a surfer waiting for the waves to come and just choosing one to ride in,” said Alaska Klub Co-President Timothy L.H. Treuer ’10, who said he is going to vote for Law School graduate Barack Obama. “She doesn’t have a comprehensive political outlook and just picks and chooses what’s most popular.”

Throughout the debate, Currier House residents punctuated Palin’s responses with shouts and sarcastic remarks about her vocabulary usage, accent, and deflection of questions.

Last night Palin focused on her experience as a former-mayor and governor of Alaska to answer questions posed to her, particularly with regards to energy policy, which she called her “area of expertise.” Palin also hailed her family background and “outsider” status in Washington.

“Oh man, it’s so obvious that I’m a Washington outsider and someone who’s so unused to the way you guys operate,” she said.

Palin also criticized Obama’s Senate record and his foreign policy suggestions.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden countered Palin’s critiques by scrutinizing Senator John McCain’s political record, rather than directly addressing Palin’s. He also called McCain “out of touch” with the average American and emphasized Obama’s dedication to the middle class. He also called McCain’s healthcare plan the real “bridge to nowhere.”

Although Treuer said he does not support Palin as the next vice president, he said that he is still excited to see his governor on the national stage.

“There’s just sort of a general spirit of excitement,” Treuer said. “A couple of years before, she was just a minor political figure you’d recognize while shopping at Costco.”

Earlier this year, the Alaska Klub—whose main events are the Polar Bear Swim and Human Iditarod—deemed this year the “Year of Alaska” in honor of Palin. The group’s Facebook profile advertises an open forum—time and location to be announced—on Sarah Palin the “poorly known but very attractive governor.” Smoked wild Alaskan sockeye salmon is supposed to be provided.

—Staff writer Vidya B. Viswanathan can be reached at viswanat@fas.harvard.edu.