* NOVEMBER 18, 2009, 7:13 P.M. ET Diehard Fans Camp Out for Chance to Meet Palin By KATE LINEBAUGH KENTWOOD, Mich. -- On Tuesday evening, Laura Lomik donned three pairs of pants, four shirts and her sleeping bag to huddle with her good high-school friends as she geared up for a chilly night outside. The reason: a chance to get a moment with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at her first book signing. Ms. Lomik drove about two hours from her home to a Barnes & Noble bookstore here just outside Grand Rapids at 9 p.m. last night. By 3 a.m. she was at the front of a line numbering in the hundreds of people likewise dying to see Mrs. Palin and get her autograph on her new book. "She is my hero," Ms. Lomik, 19 years old, said Wednesday afternoon as the minutes ticked down to the opening of the book-signing session. "She stands for everything I believe in," said Ms. Lomik, a freshman at Washtenaw Community College in southeastern Michigan, citing her position on abortion and her support for the U.S. armed forces. It is by no mistake that Mrs. Palin's book tour is kicking off in western Michigan. During the presidential election Sen. John McCain decided to pull out of the state, a decision that Mrs. Palin openly disagreed with at the time giving rise to the title of her newly released book, "Going Rogue." At the time, Mrs. Palin pledged to return to the state. "I made a promise to the good people of Michigan that I would be back, and now I'm keeping that promise," the former governor wrote on her Facebook page. While President Barack Obama took Michigan in the 2008 elections, the western side of the state where Mrs. Palin is appearing later Wednesday evening is strongly conservative Republican, unlike the more Democratic southeastern side. Former President George W. Bush made his first post-presidential speech at a private gathering of a local economic club in western Michigan earlier this year. Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee visited the area on Tuesday with his book. Hundreds of people lined up outside the Woodland Mall in the predawn hours, some in pitched tents, to collect orange wristbands to get Mrs. Palin's signature. The crowd snaking through this suburban mall frequently broke into chants of "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah." Sbarro pizza handed out tastes and a pretzel shop distributed coupons hoping to turn the Palin fans into customers. An older man wearing a placard stating "Palin Power" with images including an oil rig, the Liberty Bell, and a moose, handed out bumper stickers to the crowd. Debra Burr, a 45-year-old ballet instructor, arrived at three in the morning with several layers and a folding chair. "I want to meet Sarah Palin, who is a wonderful conservative," Mrs. Burr said, proudly stating she and her college-aged daughter both voted for Mrs. Palin in the presidential election. "She means what she says and she says what she means." Sitting with Mrs. Burr was a new acquaintance from the afternoon, Maj. Carrie Atkinson. Maj. Atkinson took the day off from her job with the U.S. Marine Corps. to get two signed copies of the book, one for her and one for her boss's wife. Mrs. Palin "is part of U.S. history," said Maj. Atkinson. "Her future is unknown at this time," eluding to hopes that Mrs. Palin will run for president in 2012. That's what Ms. Lomik hopes too. Ms. Lomik says she voted for Mrs. Palin in 2008 "and John McCain came along with her." And she hopes to get another chance to vote for the former Alaskan governor in 2012, this time at the top of the ticket. Write to Kate Linebaugh at kate.linebaugh@wsj.com http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125857767877054273.html?mod=article-outset-box
she does seem to be popular with a subset of america but as far as winning an election its unlikely. how many rednecks can there be in the us?
She represents the return of common sense to politics, something we desperately need and that's her appeal to voters. Trying to paint her and attribute her success to being appealing to rednecks only shows your miscalculation and fear.
no fear here. just a source of amusement. i hope she runs. i live in a rural bible belt lower educated state that is mostly redneck. guns and god is a big security blanket for them. she is popular here too. there seems to be a pattern.
Palin didn't lose. McCain did. Palin didn't even know she had a race going on until the 11th round. Of course all this is just pure speculation, as I think Obama won on economic issues and a unpopular President, I think Palin can win on the same note, come 2012. It looks good for her. As her father says, "Sarah is not retreating, she is reloading"
Palin is not going to run for President in 2012. What she does though is stir up the grassroots of the Rep. party and she's a money maker for campaigns needing a boost. The Dems don't like her, and try to assassinate her credibility publicly every time she appears, and at the same time putting down her followers , but all that does is cement her position in the opposition. She's the best money making diversion the GOP has at the moment, it's really amusing to watch if you'll step back.
Point is that there is even less people with common sense in US than there is rednecks. Traditionally, the best bullshitter always won so no chance for her whatsoever .