First Dude: Courting the snowmobile vote

Alaska's First Dude is no first dud when it comes to politics. Todd Palin, husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is out there hitting the campaign trail where it counts -- with the critical snowmobiler bloc.

Of course those of you hip to the snowmobile scene already know what I'm talking about. Yes, Todd Palin manned the booth for Arctic Cat snowmobiles at the Hay Days Grass Drags snowmobile event in Forest Lake, Minn.!

This is not only good exposure for Todds, and of course, Arctic Cat snowmobiles, but it is shoring up an often looked group of voters. And just in case you thought he was just going about business as usual for the four-time winner of the grueling Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile race, check this out from the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch.

"Todd has wanted to come to Hay Days for 15 years, and we were proud to have him at our booth," said Christopher Twomey, Arctic Cat's chairman and chief executive officer.

First Dude: Todd important to campaign

Okay, we've all heard the buzz about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and how much she has energized the Republican presidential ticket now that she's the vice-presidential pick. Savvy pick? Maybe.

But the real genius of the pick may turn out to be Todd. Obvious to readers of the Famous Todds blog. But I'm glad the mainstream media finally picked up on the real importance of John McCain's choice for VP.

Bruce Reed of Slate.com suggests you do this: Forget Sarah Palin.

Reed writes: "Over the last two decades, the swing voters most prone to moving away from Republicans in elections Democrats won and toward Republicans in elections Republicans won have been white men with a degree from high school but not college. In other words, forget Sarah Palin: In recent elections, the biggest swingers looked more like her husband, Todd."

First Dude: A good judge of ... evening gowns?

Among the wave of information about Todd Palin, the husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is this gem about the snowmobiler's ability to look at women in bathing suits and pick a scholarship winner.

He was a judge in the 2008 Miss Alaska Pageant. In 1984, his wife was chosen as Miss Wasilla and went on to become the 1st runner-up in the Miss Alaska Pageant and received the Miss Congeniality award that year, that state's scholarship program said.

Todd Palin helped crown Stephany Jeffers, from Chugiak, as Miss Alaska 2008 on July 19.

First Dude: Todd as an Independent?

The media spotlight continues on Todd Palin, the husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, this time because he twice registered with the state's Independent political party.

From the Associated Press:

Gail Fenumiai, director of the Alaska Division of Elections, said Todd Palin twice registered under the Alaskan Independence Party — in 1995 and 2000. Some members of the party have advocated secession from the United States, though that is not a goal listed in the party's platform.

Todd Palin, who prefers the moniker "First Dude" of Alaska, is believed to be the first Todd on a presidential ticket. He is a champion snowmobiler and a four-time winner of the Iron Dog competition, a 2,000-mile race across Alaska.