ANCHORAGE, Alaska - He's known as a doting, blue-collar husband who stands on the sidelines as his wife blazes a historic trail in politics.
In this year's 2,000-mile Tesoro Iron Dog contest, Palin and racing partner Scott Davis were trying to defend their 2007 championship when Palin broke his arm in a crash. It was 400 miles from the finish line, but he refused to quit, coming in fourth, cheered on by the parka-clad governor waving a checkered flag.
"There are racers who throw in the towel pretty quick, without broken arms, with just a head cold," executive race director Laura Bedard said Friday. "This speaks highly of his character."
Todd Palin's good-guy image recently has been slightly clouded by speculation that his wife dismissed Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire a state trooper, her former brother-in-law, who allegedly made threats against the Palin family. The former commissioner, Walt Monegan, has said pressure to get rid of the trooper had come from those around Palin, including her husband.
Todd Palin has said he took his concerns directly to Monegan. But he said he never told anyone to fire the trooper.Todd Palin is a highly aggressive competitor but will stop to assist a rival in trouble, according to Bedard. She said that in last year's Iron Dog, Palin and Davis helped a racer with broken ribs reach the next checkpoint before heading on to victory.
Davis, a seven-time Iron Dog winner, could not be reached Friday, but a worker at his family's concrete block manufacturing business in Soldotna said Palin often comes into the office during race preparations. The worker, Vickie Aber, described Todd Palin as a quiet, unassuming family man not in the least intimidated by his wife's meteoric rise.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080830/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_todd_palin_profileI snipped and trimmed and highlighted an important snippet. The media is really digging and grasping. The following days will be interesting!
