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'Help us carry this state,' Palin urges Coloradans

GOP hopeful visits Springs, Loveland, Grand Junction

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 21, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Nathan Howard, 8, plays behind a huge American flag before Sarah Palin took the stage Monday night at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction.

Photo by Judy Dehaas / The Rocky

Nathan Howard, 8, plays behind a huge American flag before Sarah Palin took the stage Monday night at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction.

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin enters the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland with daughters Piper, right, and Willow, and husband Todd on her second of three Colorado stops.

Photo by Dennis Schroeder / The Rocky

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin enters the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland with daughters Piper, right, and Willow, and husband Todd on her second of three Colorado stops.

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Fighting to hold on to Colorado and a handful of other states that went Republican in 2004, Gov. Sarah Palin crossed the state Monday telling voters with two weeks until Election Day that they can make the difference.

"Colorado, are you ready to help us carry this state to victory?" the Republican vice presidential candidate asked a crowd the campaign estimated at 10,000 inside Security Service Field in Colorado Springs Monday morning.

"Are you ready to make John McCain the next president of the United States of America?"

Palin's visit to Colorado Springs, Loveland and Grand Junction coincided with the start of early voting in Colorado.

It also came as Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, helped by record fund-raising and an unpopular Republican in the White House, remained competitive or was leading in the polls in several other traditionally red states, including Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.

Polls show Obama leading in Colorado, but Palin told crowds Monday she expects it to be tight.

McCain's campaign also said there's no truth to a CNN report citing anonymous sources as saying the Arizona senator is giving up on Colorado.

"We see the race tightening both internally and in public polling. We are within striking distance in the key battleground states we need to win," said Jill Hazelbaker, the McCain campaign's national communications director.

If anyone is pulling the plug on Colorado, you couldn't tell it by the candidate traffic in the state.

Today, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, will make his first trip to Colorado since the Democratic National Convention. He'll campaign in the blue-collar cities of Greeley and Commerce City before heading to Colorado Springs and Pueblo on Wednesday.

Palin told a crowd in Loveland that McCain would be here "soon."

Palin drew loud cheers in Loveland, but even some of her biggest fans said they were getting concerned about the state of the race.

"I'm worried because of the media and the polls," said Arthur Schipper, 88, who called himself a retired "pencil pusher" from Greeley.

Monday was the first time that Schipper and his wife, Frances, 82, had ever seen a vice presidential candidate in person.

"I think she's good," Arthur Schipper said. "I'm very confident she can take over if she needs to."

Asked why she liked Palin, Frances Schipper said: "She's pretty, for one thing. . . ."

The McCain campaign has been criticized for airing negative ads. Retired Gen. Colin Powell cited the negative tenor as one of the reasons he endorsed Obama on Sunday.

Palin took the issue on, telling crowds Obama has not been candid about his tax plan. In Grand Junction, she called him "Barack the wealth spender" - a take on "Joe the Plumber," the Ohio man who questioned Obama about his tax policies and soon found himself a main topic in the final presidential debate.

"It is not mean-spirited, it is not negative campaigning when someone is called out on their record, on their plans and on their associations," Palin said.

After the Grand Junction event, unaffiliated voter Janice Hogue said she doesn't always vote Republican, but will this year.

"This year I think the Republicans are the best ones to support," she said.

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343 Staff writer M.E. Sprengelmeyer contributed.

Speaking of Colorado

* 9 a.m. Palin tells a cheering crowd inside Security Service Field in Colorado Springs that it's great to be in the shadow of Pikes Peak. She is joined on stage by husband Todd Palin and their daughters Piper, 7, and Willow, 14, and country star Hank Williams Jr.

"(Colorado) is a state that reminds me a lot of Alaska," she says as she launches into her speech.

Before flying to Loveland, Palin tapes an interview with Focus on the Family founder and chairman James Dobson, the Christian conservative who was swayed to support Sen. John McCain by the addition of Palin to the ticket. The interview will air Wednesday.

* 1:15 p.m. Palin walks on stage at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland to the theme from the movie Rocky.

She says it's fitting to be in the home of the Colorado Eagles minor league hockey team because their fans "know a little something about close contests."

The team won two games in overtime shootouts over the weekend, she says, adding that the race for president also will be tight.

* 6:50 p.m. Mesa State College in Grand Junction is "the home of the Mavericks," Palin says from a stage on the infield of Suplizio Field.

"Let me ask you to root now for another team of mavericks - John McCain," she says, "and I hope that you will join us on Nov. 4."

Snapshots from a day on the campaign trail

* Among the signs spotted in the crowd during the three events:

"Pro life, Pro Palin"

"Soccer Dads for Palin"

"Real girls wear lipstick"

* One not-so-complimentary:

A man standing at the entrance to Security Service Field in Colorado Springs had two signs. An "Obama" sign and one with a dig on Palin: "I personally know 23 people more qualified."

* 'The first dude' speaks

Gov. Palin's husband, Todd, whom she calls "the first dude" of Alaska, took the microphone just once during the three stops.

"I just want to remind all you sportsmen and women to bring your fishing buddies and hunting buddies to vote," he told a crowd at the West Exhibition Center in Loveland.

* On the plane

Palin's 7-year-old daughter, Piper, giggled with campaign staff and said hello to reporters on the campaign plane as it sat on the tarmac in Colorado Springs. Then, followed by older sister Willow, who carried baby brother Trig, Piper handed out stickers that read: "Vote for Piper's Mom!"

* What about 'roll smoke?'

Country singer Hank Williams Jr. was on stage with Palin at all three appearances. He sang the national anthem, followed by a new fan favorite: McCain-Palin Tradition. The song is a version of his hit Family Tradition, which included famous lines such as "Why do you drink?" and "Why do you roll smoke?"

The new lyrics bash Democrats and the media and include "Sarah, why do you hunt?" and "John, why do you fish?"

* Outta here

About 20 minutes into Palin's speech, at least one protester was escorted out of the arena by someone in a dark suit. People sitting around the woman said she was wearing an Obama T-shirt and disrupting the speech, though a campaign spokesman said Monday night he still didn't know what happened or who walked the woman or women out.

As they left the arena, Palin paused and looked up for just a second.

"Maybe it makes more sense for security to keep her in here so she can learn a little bit from all of you," she said.

* That, too

As Palin spoke about domestic drilling as a means of energy independence, the crowd in Loveland sounded the familiar "Drill baby, drill." Palin suggested another option.

"You're right, 'Drill baby, drill,' " Palin said, "and mine baby, mine."

Comments

  • October 21, 2008

    10:28 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    mamabearOf4 writes:

    Personally.. I'm independent.. But in this case.. It will be republican all the way..