Oprah and Sarah Palin's First Meeting

As a woman running for office, Palin says she faced a lot of questions regarding family that her male counterparts did not. Specifically, many people questioned her ability to be a mother to five children while serving as the vice president. "I was asked those questions all along, and my answer was always, 'I will be able to do this job the same way that the men are able to do this job with five kids,'" she says. "It never occurred to me that I couldn't do the job because of the children. My children are my strength. They allow me to be grounded. They allow me to know at the end of the day what really matters." 

Palin says so much of performing both roles is about balance. "I am a believer in making the choices that are appropriate for you at the time depending on how you can most efficiently use your time and what your support system is around you," she says.

One of the most vital contributors to that support system is her husband, who Palin says picks up the slack when she can't do everything at once. "There's a lot of equality in our marriage. We don't bicker and fight over who's going to do the dishes or pick up a kid or do what needs to be done. We both just pick up and get the work done, and it's a great partnership."