Sunday, November 2, 2008

Byron York on Palin

Last week in Shippensburg, Pa., I ran into National Review's Byron York, who has a nice feature today about the enthusiasm Sarah Palin generates among rank-and-file Republicans.

I covered two McCain events (in Wilkes-Barre and York, Pa.) before he picked Palin, and I've covered three events (Lebanon, Ohio, Hershey, Pa., and Shippensburg) since he picked Palin, and the difference is night and day in terms of the grassroots energy. "People have been coming out of the woodwork ever since Sarah Palin's name was announced. ... She's a person that has brought the Republican Party together in a huge way," as Don Prince, GOP chairman in Warren County, Ohio, told me.

1 comment:

  1. IMO it's not just the level of McMentum but also the timing - in observing elections past there is always one campaign that shows this level of enthusiasm and can be enough to overcome even the highest of obstacles. I see that in the McCain + Palin rallies. And it seems, at the same time, Obama is losing his mojo. His speech (right now) in Ohio has a big crowd to be certain ... but when Obama encouraged the crowd to head down the street and wait in line to vote after the rally ... and then asked how many people would be doing there ... there was just a slight grumbling. His stump speech now has to include jokes about socialism (something most Americans don't find anything funny about) and grandeous promises that he will not only permanently change this country but the world ... when most Americans would be content with getting the economy moving again & winning the wars. In contrast, the Republican rallies at this point in Ohio + PA leave the impression that the ones turned away from the McCain + Palin rallies will then eagerly head directly to vote and those who remain are pumped up enough to tread broken glass to get to the polls. It's still a longshot to be sure but a good bet, I believe, that McCain cobbles together an electoral college victory and stuns the big media pundits on Tuesday.

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