I was fortunate enough to live in a city that was on the list of stops for Governor Palin’s book tour.  Of all the cities and areas in upstate NY, I didn’t expect it to be mine!  However as an organizer for 2012 Draft Sarah Committee, I was happy that I could potentially get my book signed and meet the governor.  I ended up walking out with a signed copy of ‘Going Rogue,’ a signed t-shirt (that my awesome girlfriend made for me) and an awesome experience under my belt!

There were people from all walks of life.  Some were your average blue-collar working class Americans.  Some looked like they came from a little bit of money.  Some had been there waiting since the previous evening.  They were white, black, Asian, Latino, eastern Indian.  All ages.

Despite MSNBC’s Chris Matthew’s claim that Palin’s supports were only rich, white and elderly, I saw a true cross section of America. Considering that I live in a liberal city in a liberal state, I was really happy to see well over a thousand people lined up by the time the store opened.  I arrived a few minutes before 7:30, and the line went halfway across the plaza. (Quite a large plaza I might add)  The number of people nearly doubled by the time the doors opened an hour and a half later at 9:00.  The biggest surprise for me was the large group of people who were under twenty-five years old.  It was so exciting to see.  Another wonderful thing to see – there were only a handful of protestors, all of which looked like they were transplanted from 1968.

There were other organizers and political peeps there as well.  It was great to stand and just talk with people casually who were like-minded. Some of them were fans of her policies.  Some of them were women who had never seen a fellow woman in public office who shared their views.  Most people were there because they believe that they may have found their champion.

The last two Republican presidents (Bush, and W. Bush) did some things that were really great, and made some pretty big mistakes. Since the day that Ronald Reagan left office, conservatives have been searching for a true champion.  There is now a generation of young Americans that have grown up without a truly inspiring leader on the right side of the aisle.

There are other leaders in the GOP that are decent speakers with some conservative cred.  Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is now a member of the talk show crew, and his time as a Baptist minister certainly helps with the public speaking.  A lot of people are unhappy with how often Huckabee would try to get along with the democrats a-la John McCain.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (Who I must disclose I am a huge fan of) is a very sharp speaker and looked tailor-made to be a president.  He has excellent economic credentials, ran the 2002 Olympics and was a successful governor, elected in a very liberal state. However some people still have questions about the health care plan he tried to enact during his time in office.  He will no doubt have to answer those questions if he decides to run again.

Sarah Palin is a triple-threat.  She can rally a crowd while appearing personable.  She has conservative credentials, and she can tout a successful string of jobs.  She was elected to City Council, then Mayor, then was the Chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and then finally Governor.  While she did resign her term as governor prematurely, she did so only because the frivolous lawsuits kept her from doing her job.  It was not often reported in the main-steam media that during her term as governor she enjoyed approval ratings in the high eighties.

She comes off like your neighbor.  She is hitting two cities a day, signing over a thousand books per stop.   When she entered the store and waved to the crowd outside, you would have sworn that Michael Jackson was in to sign copies of the Thriller album in 1984.  The cheers were deafening.

She is a personable and genuine person, who is on what many people believe to be the ‘right’ side of the issues. (ba dum bum) For the first time in forty years, more people in the country are pro-life than pro-choice.  The tea party movement has not only shown disgust with the current administration, but with mistakes made from the Bush years as well.  They despise the rapid growth in government that has taken place since the year 2001.  Palin is a small-government reformer who could if elected to the presidency, reduce the size of bureaucracy and government the way Ronald Reagan did in the eighties.

That’s something we could all use.  Imagine a world with government half the size it is now.  Imagine a government not so politically correct that we have a ‘civil court’ trial for the 9/11 mastermind planners so that we can curry favor with the rest of the world.  Imagine a bureaucracy not so clogged with useless pencil-pushing jobs that soak up taxpayer money.  Imagine a government not hell-bent on pushing economic crippling bills like Cap-and-Trade and Health Care reform.  I imagine it every day.

Run Sarah Run.