YORK, Pa. - It was an entrance almost worthy of Madonna.
As the lights went down inside the Toyota Arena late yesterday afternoon and spotlights swept the crowd of more than 5,000, the Straight Talk Express bus pulled directly into the hall. Out stepped the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, to rousing cheers.
It was Palin's fourth rally in Pennsylvania in the last two days - an indication of the critical role the state plays in the McCain campaign's intended path to victory. Dressed all in black, she appeared on a stage decked out with straw and pumpkins, joined by her husband, Todd, and daughter Piper, 7, who was dressed all in white as a snow princess for Halloween.
Many in the crowd wore buttons that said, "Sarah!" and one woman sported a T-shirt she designed herself, featuring a pit bull with red lipstick. Some said they would not have attended if Sen. John McCain had been speaking. They wanted Palin.
"I was very undecided before she came on the ticket," said Hilary Trout, 41, of York, who attended the rally with her mother and 12-year-old son. "There's just something about her. She's different. She doesn't fit the mold. I can relate to her."
The intense feelings Palin stirs in some voters, as well as some of her recent breaks with McCain on campaign issues and tactics, have fueled speculation that she's preparing for her own run for the White House in 2012. Palin herself, in an interview with ABC News this week, said, "I'm not doing this for naught."
But yesterday she seemed to dial back any talk of her own political future. She spent the better part of her 25-minute speech extolling McCain, when she wasn't attacking their opponent, Sen. Barack Obama. And after the rally, in response to a reporter's shouted question of whether she would run for president in 2012, Palin said, "I'll be campaigning for John McCain's re-election bid in 2012," pumping her fists into the air.
The governor certainly took it to Obama in her speech, suggesting that he would not defend the country. She described his tax plan as "phony" and approvingly quoted the now ubiquitous Joe the Plumber in describing the Obama tax plan as "socialism," drawing some of the loudest cheers of the afternoon.
"The time for choosing, as it's coming near, I sure hope voters are realizing ... that now more than ever we need a leader who is ready on Day 1," Palin said. "And John and I also, joining you in always being proud to be an American, we believe that America is not the problem, America is the solution."
