American Sentinel

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A great, first-hand account: PUMAs at the Palin Rally in Carson, California

“We had two different PUMAs approach us due to my shirt. [...] One was a woman who is at this point undecided and reluctant to vote for a Republican the first time in her life. She is working in an environment that is so pro-Obama that she was afraid to share her full name or have her picture taken, for fear of being fired. (This is the kind of atmosphere that Obamabots create! Wonderful!) She was actually surprised to find “real PUMAs” out in the world - as we know, being a PUMA in Los Angeles can be quite isolating.

“We set to arrive around 10:30 am, an hour before the doors opened. The event was to start at 2 pm. By the time we got there, the lines were already hitting the street.  [...] It took a while for the place to fill up, but eventually the entire stadium was packed, with people standing along the railings above the seating area to get a view. I heard on CBS news when I got home that there were 10,000 people inside, and 10,000 listening outside.

“The crowd was very diverse, with Latinos, Asians, and yes some brave African-Americans bucking the Obama trend in their McCain/Palin t-shirts. The PUMAs I sat with represented women of a variety of ages, younger, older, mixed ethnicities, and sexual orientations.

“The biggest surprise to me was that the President of Los Angeles NOW (National Organization for Women), Shelly Mandell, arrived to announce Palin! She was greeted very warmly by the crowd and everyone cheered when she said about Palin: “This is what a feminist looks like.”

“Everyone went nuts when Sarah Palin took the mike. Let me tell you something. I have been impressed with Palin’s ability to connect in her convention speech and the debate. But is it out with the public that she truly shines. Without the editing by the media, without the ridiculous pop quiz questions, she allows her personality and command of the audience to come through. And she is in command of the audience. Ever aware of what’s going on around her, she provides a give and take with the crowd that is top-notch.

“I was also pleased to hear her deliver something beyond her normal stump speech. She started off with Madeline Albright’s quote: “There’s a special place in Hell for women who don’t support other women.” The crowd booed at the mention of the Albright, but cheered wildly at the quote. (We PUMAs loved it!) Palin admitted she wasn’t sure if that quote would go over well with the crowd but gave it a shot anyway.”

Aw, go read the whole thing!

Other first hand accounts + photos:

Palin Invades California
Palin A Smash Hit At Rally
Liberal Rapture: Palin Today
Sarah Palin Visits Southern California (Photos)
Palin Rocks the House in SoCal (Photos)
Sarah Palin Rally - Pictures

Daily Kos account: Outside the Palin Rally in Carson, CA Today (Photos/Video)
Hundreds Protest Sarah Palin’s Rally in Carson!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/forceclub/tags/sarahpalin

OC Register photos; LA Times gallery

LA Times report: Sarah Palin claims Barack Obama would ‘pal around with terrorists’

OC Register reports: Palin says it’s time to ‘take off the gloves’, O.C. voters thrilled to hear Sarah Palin live

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 3:15 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.