Delegates laud Palin as source of energy
Dismiss criticism, coalesce around young newcomer
- |
ST. PAUL - If John McCain decided on Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate to help energize his party as it heads into the fall campaign, he has succeeded, judging, at least, by the reaction of Joshua Haeder, a delegate from South Dakota at the Republican National Convention. And the fact that she's unknown on the national political stage, he said, is her biggest selling point.
"She creates instant excitement because nobody knows her," said Haeder, who came to the
Haeder said he and others are so happy with McCain's pick that he predicted the arena will be "rockin' " when Palin takes the stage a day before McCain officially becomes the Republican presidential nominee. "I think people are just as excited about tonight as tomorrow night," he said.
Though analysts across the political spectrum described McCain's nomination of Palin - a young, first-term governor with no national experience - as a risk, a small, random sampling of rank-and-file GOP delegates consider her selection a slam dunk. Without exception, the delegates had high praise for Palin, 44, even before she had uttered a word from the convention rostrum. And all dismissed reports that she is under investigation for allegedly abusing her authority to fire a state official.
"It's the best decision John McCain could have made," said Alison Littell McHose, a delegate and state assemblywoman from New Jersey. The campaign has "generated a lot of excitement" by selecting a fresh face and "keeping it a surprise. It has energized all of us who have come together" to support McCain.
McHose, the mother of three young children, said she can relate to Palin's attempts to balance a demanding political career with the needs of a growing family - including a newborn son with Down syndrome. "I understand what's involved . . . a lot of people can really relate to her."
Before Palin's speech last night, most delegates knew little about her, other than what had been reported in the media and remarks by party heavyweights during the convention. They described her as an independent-minded, highly popular governor who has a reputation for fighting corruption and attacking big oil companies who operate in Alaska, winning royalty checks for residents to offset high gas prices.
Most were excited by her unconventional personal story - tenacious athlete, rugged outdoorswoman, beauty queen, mother, staunch conservative, rising Republican star - and the qualities they believe she would bring to the GOP ticket and to Washington.
Vergene Donovan, a delegate from Spirit Lake, Iowa, said she "liked what she had to say the day she was picked. She said all the right things" that conservatives want to hear. And, like Haeder, Donovan believes Palin's relative inexperience is an asset.
"She's just the opposite of Hillary Clinton," Donovan said. "Hillary is been-there, done-that. [Palin] is a bright, honest woman who will be going places."
Although Donovan, 84, doesn't consider herself a feminist - "I'm not a women's libber. I was a mom" - she admires Palin's decision to give birth to a disabled son, Trig, while in office. She also praised Palin for standing by Bristol, her 17-year-old daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock.
"She's so refreshing. She's just the right balance," Donovan said.
