Alaska's "First Dude" says Palin was always destined for higher positions

Anchorage (Alaska), Sept.17 : Sarah Palin's husband Todd Palin is also referred to as "Alaska's First Dude", and in his first major TV interview, he told FOX News that his wife is destined for higher positions.

Todd said that Sarah's nomination as Republican vice-presidential nominee did not come as a "huge surprise" to him, as he believed her sudden ascent from first-term Alaska governor to history-making vice presidential nominee had always been a "possibility".

He also talked about snowmobile racing, hockey, fishing, moose hunting and working on the Alaska oil fields.

"You know, for me, it wasn't a huge surprise. You know, I'm just glad that they tapped into her. And I think Americans are seeing what she's about. And so to me, it's just not a big shock. I knew that she was destined for higher positions, maybe not as soon, but that's just the way she is," he said.

He said he was at work on the night shift a few weeks ago when he heard about a fresh round of inquiries about the Palins' background.

"We didn't know if she was on a short list, or you know, if this was going to be for show," he said.

But since then he said it's been an "incredible experience" meeting John and Cindy McCain and working with the campaign.

The Palin family, with their five children including a pregnant teenage daughter, has been under the microscope since the Republican presidential nominee made his surprise announcement in late August.

Todd Palin said so far, the experience has not been overwhelming.

"Yes it's exciting, certain aspects of it," but that as a family "we like busy lifestyles," he said.

"Our kids are very adaptable," he added, citing his "week-on, week-off" schedule working in the oil fields of Alaska's North Slope.

Palin, also a champion snowmobile racer and commercial fisherman, described some personal details of how he met his wife and how they spend their swiftly diminishing free time.

Palin said he first noticed and met Sarah when he was 17, having moved to Wasilla from a "smaller community."

"(She was) very attractive, you know, an athlete," he said. "She was very shy."

As a basketball player, "she wasn't one that scored a lot of points," he said. "She was the type of player that you wouldn't see on all the stats, but she was a valuable part of the team."

He said they continued to date while she went to college in Hawaii, and married in 1988.

He said he figured from the beginning he would marry Sarah Palin.

As for his own career, he said he sometimes has to deal with temperatures that are "minus 80 below, with some wind chill factor on top."

"You just prepare for it, you know," he explained. "If it's raining outside, you put rain gear on. If you're on the slope working and it's 40 below, you bundle up and you make sure that, you know, you're going to be safe. ... They've got some great technology out there as far as clothing and protection."

ANI