JUNEAU, Alaska — In two short years, Sarah Palin moved from small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers to the governor's office and now — making history — to John McCain's side as the first female running mate on a Republican presidential ticket.

She has more experience catching fish than dealing with foreign policy or national affairs.

Talk about a rocketing ascent.

In turning to her, McCain picked an independent figure in his own mold, one who has taken on Alaska's powerful oil industry and, at age 44, is three years younger than Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and a generation younger than McCain, 72.

Palin's selection was a jaw-dropper, as McCain passed over many other better-known prospects, some of whom had been the subject of intense speculation for weeks or months. "Holy cow," said her father, Chuck Heath, who got word something was up while driving to his remote hunting camp.

Palin had been in the running-mate field but as a distinct long shot.

She brings a strong anti-abortion stance to the ticket and opposes gay marriage — constitutionally banned in Alaska before her time — but exercised a veto that essentially granted benefits to gay state employees and their partners.

"She stands up for what's right, and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down," McCain said in introducing her to an Ohio rally. "She's exactly who I need."

Said Palin: "I didn't get into government to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not why the ship is built."

Democrats seized on the gaping experience gap and said McCain now has no business questioning the seasoning of their nominee.

Palin lives in Wasilla, a town of 6,500 about 30 miles north of Anchorage, with her husband, Todd, a blue-collar North Slope oil worker who won the 2007 Iron Dog, a 1,900-mile snowmobile race. He is part Yup'ik Eskimo. The two have spent summers fishing commercially for salmon, an enterprise that once left her with broken fingers aboard their boat.

These days, she's typically seen walking the Capitol halls in black or red power suits while reading text messages on BlackBerry screens in each hand. She often reads and dexterously types responses without upsetting her stride, but she'll stop to greet tourists touring the Capitol.

She came into office preaching reform at a time when a federal corruption investigation shadowed a number of Alaska's Republican elected officials. To rid the Capitol of the appearance of undue influence, she kept lobbyists out of her office.

After two years in office, her popularity remains high; she has 80 percent approval ratings.