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McCain taps Alaska Gov. Palin as vice president pick

* Story Highlights
* NEW: Sen. John McCain praises Gov. Sarah Palin's "grit, integrity, good sense"
* Palin, 44, has been governor of Alaska since 2006
* Before becoming governor, Palin was mayor and council member of a small town
* Palin known for backing tough ethical standards, focus on energy, natural resources

(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain on Friday announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate, calling her "the running mate who can best help me shake up Washington."

"She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second," the presumptive Republican nominee said at a Dayton, Ohio, rally of about 15,000 supporters, who welcomed the surprise pick of the relatively unknown politician with cheers and flags.

"She's got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today," McCain said.

Palin, 44, told the crowd, "To have been chosen brings a great challenge. I know that it will demand the best that I have to give and I promise nothing less."

Palin is a first-term governor who unseated incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary in 2006 and went on to defeat former Gov. Tony Knowles, a Democrat, in the general election.

She will be the first woman to be nominated for vice president as a Republican and only the second to run for vice president on a major party ticket, after Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. VideoWatch Palin say she's honored to be chosen »

Palin also will be the first Alaskan to be on the ticket of either party.

Palin made her name in part by backing tough ethical standards for politicians. During the first legislative session after her election, her administration passed a state ethics law overhaul.

Nevertheless, she is under investigation for her firing of a state official, Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. She has been instructed to hand over documents and recordings of telephone conversations as part of the probe, which grew out of allegations she sacked Monegan for refusing to fire her former brother-in-law from the state police.

Palin acknowledged that a member of her staff made a call to a trooper in which the staffer suggested he was speaking for the governor.

Palin has admitted that the call could be interpreted as pressure to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, who was locked in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister.

"I am truly disappointed and disturbed to learn that a member of this administration contacted the Department of Public Safety regarding Trooper Wooten," Palin said. "At no time did I authorize any member of my staff to do so."

Palin suspended the staffer who made the call.

McCain apparently is making a concerted effort to reach out to Sen. Hillary Clinton's former supporters who may be unhappy with the choice of Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee. VideoWatch McCain praise Palin »

Reacting to the choice of Palin, Ferraro said, "I believe that people will look back and assess how Hillary was treated by the media during the campaign primaries. And it remains to be seen whether or not the ugly head of sexism -- in the media -- will raise its head again." iReport.com: What do you think of McCain's VP pick?

Most of the speculation about McCain's choice had focused on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas also had been mentioned as a possible long shot if McCain were seeking a woman as his running mate.

Palin is the youngest person ever elected governor of Alaska and the first woman to hold the job.

She was dubbed "Sarah Barracuda" by opponents when she was mayor of the town of Wasilla, Alaska, resurrecting a nickname she earned as a state champion high school basketball player, according to the Almanac of American Politics.

She was elected mayor of Wasilla at 32, defeating a three-term incumbent. Wasilla had a population of 5,469 in 2000, according to the city's Web site.

She is married to Todd Palin, an oil production operator on Alaska's North Slope. They have five children, including a son who enlisted in the Army last year.

Little known outside Alaska, Sarah Palin is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and takes part in two of the state's popular pastimes -- fishing and hunting, according to her biography on the governor's Web site.

Palin has focused on energy and natural resources policy during her short stint in office, and she is known for her support of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a position McCain opposes but many grass-roots Republicans support.

Born in Idaho, she is a longtime Alaskan and a Protestant. Her biography says she arrived in Alaska in 1964 "when her parents came to teach school in Skagway."

She graduated from Wasilla High School in 1982 and received a bachelor of science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987.

Her past occupations included being a commercial fishing company owner, outdoor recreational equipment company owner and sports reporter, according to Congressional Quarterly.

Palin also made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor in 2002. iReport.com: McCain's pick called "a stroke of genius"

The last vice presidential nominee from a major party with less than two years' experience in statewide or federal office was Spiro Agnew in 1968. Richard Nixon picked Agnew, who had been elected as Maryland's governor in 1966 and inaugurated in January 1967, to be his running mate in August 1968. Agnew's previous experience had been at the county level.

Agnew also was the last sitting governor to be chosen as a major party's vice presidential nominee.