1. After listing McCain‘s national security attributes at one point, she declared, "As the mother of one of those troops and as the commander of Alaska‘s National Guard, that‘s the kind of man I want as our commander in chief." At another point, she heralded his willingness to cut wasteful spending, noting that she had done it herself: "Senator McCain promises to use the power of the veto in defense of the public interest, and as a chief executive, I can assure him: It works." Still, Palin will take the stage Wednesday night amid a series of questions about her political résumé that have, at a minimum, created distractions from the convention message the McCain campaign has sought to present.