Palin piques the interest of area delegates

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Dave Johnson

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Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

A virtual unknown a few weeks ago, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, will give the biggest speech of her life today.

Mahoning Valley Republicans at the national convention in St. Paul say they are eagerly awaiting Palin’s speech.

“I’m curious to see what she has to say,” said Mark Munroe of Boardman, a delegate and Mahoning County Republican vice chairman. “This will be my first opportunity to see her live.”

Ohio Republicans have great seats in front of the stage at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, Munroe said. He’s second row center.

U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, surprised many when he announced Friday that Palin was going to be his vice presidential running mate.

Since then, the national media has scrutinized the Alaskan governor.

That includes articles about her 17-year-old daughter being pregnant out of wedlock and an old driving under the influence conviction against her husband.

Also, an Alaska legislative panel is investigating whether she fired the state’s public safety commissioner when he refused to get rid of a state trooper who divorced her sister.

“Once you run for this office, your life is fair game,” said Craig Bonar of Cortland, a delegate and Trumbull County Republican chairman. “Every family’s been in situations like this. I’m sure more information will come out.”

But Bonar said it doesn’t detract from his support of the ticket.

Munroe said the articles about Palin have “been a little bit of a distraction. But we’re interested in how she handles herself as a leader.”

Munroe said he hopes her speech today will “give us a good measure of the person she is.”

Ronald Knight of Howland, an alternate delegate, expects Palin to deliver a great speech.

“I was very impressed with the remarks she made last Friday,” he said. “She talks about fighting wasteful government spending. That’s music to my ears. This speech is her introduction to the nation. She’s very popular with the delegates here. She’s been well-received.”

Columbiana County Republican Chairman David Johnson of Salem, a convention delegate, says he’s eager to hear Palin.

Palin has “risen from obscurity” to be the vice presidential nominee, he said.

“She’s distinguished herself as a maverick in her own state as a staunch conservative,” Johnson said. “I’m anxious to hear her speak.”

Palin’s family issues are “inconsequential” as to how she’ll be as vice president, he said.

“The liberal media is trying to make this out to be a big deal,” Johnson said. “This campaign is about issues such as energy, reigning in government spending and taking the country in the right direction.”

The convention returned to normalcy for the most part Tuesday, the locals at the event said.

It was subdued Monday, the first day of the event, because Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast, they said.

The Ohio delegation will spend a portion of today putting together care packages for those impacted by the hurricane.

On Tuesday, the Ohio delegation heard from Karl Rove, who ran President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns.

Sean Hannity of FOX News is to speak to them today.

skolnick@vindy.com