Palin speeches all: patriotism, sparse detail

RICHMOND, Va. — Here is the thing about Gov. Sarah Palin: She loves America. Really loves it. She loves the smell of cut grass and hay, as she told Ohio voters Sunday. She loves Navy bases, she said in Virginia Beach on Monday morning. She loves America's "most beautiful national anthem," she told a crowd here a few hours later.

Apparently there are people who do not feel the same way about America as Palin does, she said at campaign rallies over the last two days. Those people just do not get it.

"Man, I love small-town USA," Palin told several thousand people on a field in Ohio, "and I don't care what anyone else says about small-town USA. You guys, you just get it."

Palin did not identify who "anyone else" was. But listening to her campaign speeches three weeks before the presidential election, an informed voter would not need two chances to guess between Sen. Barack Obama and John McCain. (The posters reading "Barack Bin Lyin" at the McCain-Palin rally in Virginia Beach might be a hint, too.)

"John McCain is always, always proud to be an American," Palin told more than 10,000 people at the Richmond International Raceway. "USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!" she continued, leading many of them in chant.

As the GOP vice-presidential nominee for 6 ½ weeks, Palin has emerged as the most electrifying speechmaker among the four politicians on the major-party tickets. She generates enormous fervor at her events; people sometimes do not stop clapping or shouting words of praise until Palin pauses.

But Palin's partisan zeal could repel some independent voters in closely contested states like New Hampshire and Pennsylvania; Democratic polling in both states shows Palin with high negative ratings among independents.

Palin advisers say many of these voters do not know enough about her; Palin is campaigning in Pennsylvania today and New Hampshire on Wednesday.

In some ways, Palin seems like a 2.0 version of George W. Bush — not the deeply unpopular president, but the plain-spoken and energetic campaigner who rose as a political talent in Texas and solidified his appeal in the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns.

Hers, like his, is a with-us-or-against-us message, as when Palin pledges total solidarity with "good, hardworking, patriotic Americans."

"For a campaign that says it's all about the future," Palin said to a mix of applause (for her) and boos (for you-know-who) in Richmond, "do you notice that our opponents sure have spent a heck of a lot of time looking to the past and pointing fingers? You look to the past because that's where you find blame, but we're joining you and looking to the future, because that's where you find solutions."

"America, doggone it, unfortunately we're deep in debt, and Barack Obama would put us even deeper in debt," she added. "We've got to reverse this. America, we cannot afford another big spender in the White House."

Palin's speeches do not acknowledge that looking at past mistakes is one way to avoid making those mistakes again. And her addresses gloss over some uncomfortable details, like that the most recent big spender in the White House is the Republican who lives there.

Palin rarely ends up in the weeds of policy details on the economy, health care or Iraq. When it comes to generalizing, she can muster strong passion, as in discussing McCain's ability to get out of a jam.

"He's got the guts to confront the $10 trillion debt that the federal government has run up," Palin said in Virginia Beach as McCain looked on with a stiff smile, "and we will balance the budget by the end of our term."

If there are holes in logic or a lack of specifics in Palin's speeches, her audiences tend to fill the absence with gushing affection.

"She's intelligent, she's adorable and she has the audacity to speak her mind," said Ray Gilson of Corapeake, N.C., who attended the Virginia Beach rally. "I've never loved a politician like I love her. I want her to be president someday."

Palin mistakes fans for heckler

RICHMOND, Va. — Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin mistook some of her own fans for hecklers Monday as a rally that drew thousands.

A massive crowd of at least 20,000 spread across the parking lot of Richmond International Raceway, and scores of people on the outer periphery more than 100 yards from the stage could not hear.

"Louder! Louder!" they began chanting, and the cry spread across the crowd. Some pointed skyward, urging that the volume be increased.

Palin stopped her remarks and looked toward the commotion. "I hope those protesters have the courage and honor to give veterans thanks for their right to protest," she said.

Some tried to shout toward her what was really being said, but she couldn't hear them.

The Associated Press