FAIRFAX, Va. - It was Republican John McCain’s turn on Wednesday to relish the kind rock-star treatment usually associated with his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, in the tightening race for the White House.
Under burning sunshine at a park in a suburb outside Washington, D.C., McCain and his newly minted running-mate Sarah Palin drew a crowd of approximately 23,000, which his campaign said was his biggest on the presidential trail.
Campaigns are notorious for inflating crowd estimates. But a McCain’s aide stressed the number was the real thing — provided by a fire marshal no less.
It could very well be accurate. Supporters by the thousands poured onto the grassy slopes of Fairfax’s Van Dyke Park waving blue and yellow McCain-Palin placards and chanting slogans (“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah” ranks among the loudest). Some chastised the media for “picking on” Palin.
The pair did not diverge from speeches they’ve delivered all week, almost to a word, threading a folksy narrative of their lives with the bread-and-butter assertions of their campaign: the Iraq war can be won, drilling for oil in the United States to secure energy independence and that their ticket would bring reform to Washington.
Much of the crowd was a sea of red shirts, courtesy of the Virginia Republican Party, which exhorted on its Web site for supporters to wear red, the party’s color, to keep the battleground state Republican.
After backing President George W, Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections, Virginia is now a swing state, according to an average of statewide polls by Real Clear Politics which has McCain up a slender 0.7 percent in the state.
The growing turnout at McCain’s events has followed his surprise pick of the little-known Alaska governor as his vice-presidential nominee. Attesting to her draw, one supporter shouted her name holding aloft a sign that read “Palin power”.
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.
- Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed
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Funny one should say that about Ms. Palin, as Obama’s problems this week with the lipstick comment came when he was not scripted on his teleprompter. What will he do in the debates?
- Posted by don sI did not come up with the phrase that “Obama’s camp was in turmoil.” THat was spoken by a Democratic Strategist for the Party on the mornign news shows this week.
Let the games begin…………………….
Enough is enough! Palin can not even speak unless she’s totally scripted. I guess Charlie Gibson is going to ask her pressing questions like ‘how do you live through all the negative attacks?’ ‘what is your best remembrance as governor of Alaska’?
- Posted by JoyceThe Obama camp is not in turmoil; they have the best campaign strategists and managers in history. Ms. Palin will fizzle quicker than a cold moose stew.
http://www.prefixmag.com/forum/prefix-fo rum/2559/
- Posted by NevermindIt is amazing to see Obama and his supporters resorting to personal attackes against anyone who does not blindly support his candidicay. Watch the comments of the vast majority of writers who are Obama supporters. Instead of trying to intelligently put forth their reasons for supporting him, they personally attack and try to portray McCain supporters as just stupid, uninformed and ignoratnt people. No one has said that about you that I have seen.
- Posted by Don SI have heard no one accuse Obama of being just another John Kerry, or another George McGovern, or Jimmy Carter but his politics appear to be the same to me. That is my opinion.
I don’t resort to calling you stupid, or uninformed, or just people who swallow the lies of your candidate. I merely say I have a different view than you. I was taught early in my life that people who call you insidious names are just like people who use profanity; simply too uneducated to be able to express themselves in an inteligent manner.
Grow up people. Don’t use these blogs to hide in anonymity and toss knives into the backs of those who disagree with you. State your case, but don’t use inuendo, or what you want to believe is truth to attack others.
This morning I heard Paul Begala state on The Today Show that George Bush was reaponsible for tainted jalapeno peppers that came in from Mexico. Because John McCain voted with George Bush 90% of the time, he inferred that McCain was just as responsible! It is apparent that Obama’s camp is in turnoil, and all of the hitmen have been brought out to try and viliify him. It appears to me that Obama says he is not going to get cought up in the “politics of swift boaters”, but has his hitmen out doing the same thing on his behalf. He can’t have it both ways. He cannot talk the high road, while having his hitmen take the low road.
All my opinion of course, and my opinion is offered without accusations about my detractors character. The longer I live, the more I believe that the “definition of a bigot is anyone who disagrees with a liberal”
Race is a strong undercurrent in this election. That’s such a shame. Mr. Obama describes himself as a mama’s boy. He loved his mother as we all love our mothers. He lived with his grandparents and they sacraficed for him because they loved him so. I was looking at a TV special where people who knew Mr. Obama growing up kept commenting on how close his relationship was with his grandfather. Mr. Obama’s father visited him once while he was growing up and he was not raised around other Blacks. Otherwise, he was raised by three strong and loving WHITE people who instilled in him all that you see when you look at him, today, an exceptional PERSON. When he looks at older White women, he has to see in them his mother and grandmother. When he looks at older White men, he has to see in them the image of the only man in his life - the one who taught him what it was to be a man. Together, these three wonderful White people gave the world Barak Obama. And after all of that, White women will not vote for him because his COLOR is not White. I hope he understands and I hope he does not feel betrayed.
- Posted by defer2karmaDon S said:
“Fairfax is a bastion of Democrats. They even voted for a Democrat for the State Legislature who the Washington Post reported was grossly unqualified. She refused to debate her opponent (as she would glorify her incompetence), and still lost by only a handful of votes.
”
Hmmmm…grossly unqualified…refused to debate…You described Palin to a T!
You people are either duplicitous or duped - but in your case I’d say it is both. And by you people I mean “lying idiots”.
- Posted by joel
Grossly unqualified…refused to debate… sounds a lot more like Obama than Palin. So we’re either liars or stupid in thinking that Palin is qualified. How about naming ONE accomplishment Obama can claim. I’ll help you. There are none. He has a record number of “Present” votes in the Illinois State Senate, has done absolutely nothing in the US Senate, all of his associates are criminals or as bad (Rezko, Ayers, Wright, Jim Johnson), his so called “community organizing” was to help develop housing projects with the help of slumlord Rezko, that are now boarded up. Great work!
As far as the debating issue? Obama refused to do the town hall debates McCain had proposed because he is embarrassingly weak when he doesn’t have a prepared speech. Rest assured, Palin will trounce Biden in the VP debate.
- Posted by MattDidn’t McCain fair well in Fairfax during the primaries? I seem to recall he did, however he came in second in Hampton Roads to Gov. Mike Huckabee, I feel the choice of Palin for his vice president is going to cost him the election. I know I won’t be voting for him.
- Posted by DixieI am finally proud of the Republicans.
- Posted by Charlie MillerPalin is a doer, Obama is a talker. I LOVE PALIN, and am voting McCain. And I’m a Democrat!
- Posted by J. JohnsonSo many of us do not have enough to put our children through college.
So many of us do not have enough to pay our mortgage.
So many of us do not have enough to pay our bills.
So many of us do not have enough for health care.
So many of us do not have enough for gas.
So many of us do not have enough.
But there is something we have had enough of.
Enough of Bush.
Enough of McCain.
A note to Kevin B - I am far better off now than 8 years ago. This country offers unlimited opportunity - IF you want to take advantage of it. I resent that the democrats think they have a right to take more of my hard earned money and give it to people who don’t want to take advantage of opportunity or even work. It’s my choice where to make charitable donations and assist - not the governments.
Enough is enough.
- Posted by Donna NorisDon’t take it to heart Don. Voters who are informed just get tired of people like you who swallow the lies your candidates feed you rather than taking the time to be informed. The reality is that Palin is unqualified to serve as VP or as president. Her lack of legislative experience coupled with her outsider status will get her laughed out of DC? Do a little research and you to will discover her reformer record is paper thin, and unfortunately, she can’t seem to stop telling the lies even after she is called on them. Does the bridge to nowhere ring a bell? How about the millions in earmarks she got as mayor? How much respect do you think she will get if she has to become the commander of our troops? Pick a number between zero and zero… World leaders are smart people who have a depth of knowledge that starts with a quality education. It took her 5 years at six different obscure schools to get her BA, so while she may be a great speaker-does she have the intelligence to deal with the world? However, this isn’t about her-it’s about him and frankly, this military family is not interested in voting for a man who makes such risky choices or in rewarding a party that is so greedy and has served its country so poorly. America deserves an informed vote, please try to be one!
- Posted by 1armywifePamela, you are oblivious of the true issues in today’s American Life - Gas prices at record high, bigeest budget deficit in history, tanking of giants like Freddie, Fannie, Bear Stearns, Lehman, lowest high education numbers in history, higest foreclosure rate since great depression and the list goes on and on. AND ALL YOU COULD TALK ABOUT IS LIPSCTIK ISSUE?!?? McCain is a sexist, he has proved that time and time again. Obama camp will soon start to air negative ads as well and the truth will be
- Posted by Guy From LAclear. But if you are an American like me, should you not talk about the REAL ISSUES?!? Or you also got bought by the republican mantra that this election is NOT ABOUT ISSUES, BUT ABOUT A COMPOSITE VIEW OF THE CANDIDATES!!! If so, please say so LOUD AND CLEAR. Else please open up the dialogue. You will do all Americans a favor.