Palin packs Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center

With fewer than 120 hours before Missourians begin voting, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin put on a crowd-pleasing performance Thursday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, hit on all the major themes, save one, that she and her presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, have used in recent weeks as they seek to dig into Democratic nominee Barack Obama's lead in national polls. She told the crowd of more than 7,000 packed into the arena that Obama is wrong on taxes, the economy, energy independence, the Iraq war and leadership skills.

Palin took the stage just after 9:30 a.m. as the song "Nine to Five" by Dolly Parton played.

The crowd at the Southeast Missouri State University arena cheered a series of top state Republicans but saved their most enthusiastic reception for Palin. In the speech interrupted by chants of "Sarah, Sarah" and "USA, USA", Palin promised that under four years of a McCain administration, federal spending would be restrained and taxes would be cut.

Palin was introduced by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson of Cape Girardeau following a 20-minute break in the speeches as the hall filled. Emerson took aim at the skepticism about Palin's experience. Palin became governor of Alaska in January 2007.

John McCain "picked a woman who is ready to serve as vice president," Emerson said. "What makes her ready? It is the only question the national news media cannot look her straight in the eye and ask."

The rally was designed to fire up the faithful, identify volunteers and attempt to counter the get-out-the-vote effort of Obama and his supporters. Missouri is a key state for McCain, a state that President George Bush carried in each of his two elections and a state that has sided with every presidential winner since 1956.

After the rally was over, Josh Haynes, a political adviser to Emerson, said the impact will be felt Tuesday.

"With the event, we have a lot more volunteers than we would have had without it," he said. "It puts John McCain and Sarah Palin a lot closer to carrying Missouri."

When Palin attacked Obama on taxes, she said: "Senator Obama has an ideological commitment to higher taxes and though, granted he's changing his tax plan pronouncements almost every day now, flip-floppin' around on the details now but his commitment to higher taxes, though, never changes and you just have to be able to look at his record to be able to prove this."

She promised lower taxes on wages, investment income and corporations. She also invoked the famous Ohio plumber who has come to represent average Americans for the McCain campaign.

"But remember good ole Joe the Plumber there in Toledo, Ohio," she said. "Joe the Plumber said to him that plan sounded like socialism. Now is no time to experiment with that, and Joe the Plumber, here, good hard-workin' American who just asked a simple, straightforward question and ever since then because he finally got a candid answer, not a scripted answer from Barack Obama, ever since then the guy has been investigated and attacked just for asking a good question."

As she turned to foreign policy, she zeroed in on the Iraq war and Obama's support for a timetable to withdraw troops within 16 months. That, she said, means admitting defeat.

"John McCain served our country in uniform for 22 years, five and a half years as a POW," Palin noted. "Those years as a POW, meeting adversity, great adversity in the service to his country, in his own life, he knows how tough challenges are overcome. He will not wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists."

On economics, Palin attacked "greed and corruption" on Wall Street. "We're gonna help our retirees keep their savings and their investments. These are our esteemed elders in this nation who have built up our families and our communities, and then they trusted other people to manage their savings for them, and because of that corruption and greed, they're forced now to worry about their investments. That's not right, that's not fair, it won't happen on our watch."

The one area Palin didn't mention were charges that Obama has attempted to hide his associations with former Weather Underground member and current college professor William Ayers or that the Los Angeles Times was suppressing a video of Obama with another professor, Rashid Khalidi, who has strongly supported Palestinian rights.

The enthusiastic crowd included Republican activists from the Cape Girardeau area, people eager to see the latest star on the national political stage and people who feel they have a special connection to Palin. Tamilla House brought her 11-year-old daughter Carley, who has Down syndrome, as does Palin's youngest son, Trig. House also brought two other children, daughter Calli and son Cody, as well as her family friend and baby sitter, Becky Christian.

Wedged up against the railing, House said she will vote for Palin but came to the rally because of her daughter, who cried as she was held in her mother's arms.

"We here to show Gov. Palin that 11 years later, everything is still great, that we are just a family with a little extra special needs," House said.

During the speech, Palin addressed the need for better funding for programs for special-needs children. "Our vision is of an America where everyone has a chance to contribute and every child is cherished, and that's the spirit that we want to bring to Washington."

After the speech wrapped up at 10 a.m., Palin and her husband, surrounded by Secret Service officers, waded into the crowd to shake hands. She touched Carlie's hand.

Once she was finished greeting audience members inside the arena, Palin was led to a nearby overflow area where she shook hands with more people.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Sarah Palin in Cape - Part 1

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Sarah Palin in Cape - Part 2

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