Sarah Palin Speaks In Raleigh, N.C. #3

The atmosphere was a circus meets pro-wrestling mania, with a pinch a teeny bopping kids clamoring for autographs of whomever looked famous. There were many peddlers of soap box slogans vandalized on bumper stickers and t-shirts about abortion rights and socialism, which each bearer tried vigorously to get on some form of media, poking and prodding with their eyes until you focused and snap a photograph or mic'd them up. It was filled with laughs and the room definitely had a charge of passionate energy and raw emotions, capped and ready to explode. Republicans are passionate about their beliefs, mixing religion with politics, many time prayers, amens and references to God were uttered.

Palin's speech is repetitive and eeks out just enough enthusiasm to make a snail want to jump rope. Her words are full of negativity and slander and focuses on issues about 20 percent of the time while the remainder is spent on confusing issues that are thrown to the echo's down unwanted alleys. The speech is old and the negative campaigning wears thin, but the documentation of this electoral process is historically significant to both side of the political spectrum and should be conveyed with honest photographs, words and intentions. In other words her speech is well written and executed, full of enthusiasm, humor and points, but lacking, soul and freshness. The speech should have been put out to pasture a week ago and new territory sought.

-West

Not sure which rally johnwestphoto attended, but I bet I can tell you who he is voting for :)  My kids and I were at the rally and it was awesome!  Her speech was not repetitive at all, it was spot on and reflected exactly what many "non-elitist" average citizens who pay attention to politics know to be true.  It's not negative to tell people the truth. There were no t-shirts about socialism or even abortion that I saw and we waited nearly 2 hours in line to get in so I saw them all.  It was a lot of fun and my kids went away encouraged that they are not in as much of a minority as they have been led to believe.  There were many thousands of people inside, we just barely made it in before they couldn't let any more, and there were at least twice as many people behind us in line as there were before us.  I was so encouraged to see liberal Raleigh produce such a great turn out for her.  I think there were at least as many people there as had turned out for Obama this past Wednesday.  Way to go Raleigh!

I attended the rally with my teenage son and a handicapped young woman in a wheelchair.  I was extremely proud to be there as an American, a Republican, and a Catholic woman who believes that all life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death!! I saw anti-abortion signs.....I brought one!  45 MILLION people have been murdered by abortion, perhaps one or more of those people could have discovered the cure for cancer, stopped the terrorists from crashing airplanes and killing more innocent lives or prevented the war!

As for the content of her message, yes, it was what we have all heard before....HER MESSAGE DOESN'T CHANGE WITH THE WIND LIKE OBAMA'S!!  John McCain and Sarah Palin are consistent with what they will do when they are elected.  A message we can all trust. 

I thought she was dynamic with a sincere desire to make a change for the better for all of that believe in HARD WORK.  My husband and I have worked hard, including paying our way through college so that we could make a good life for our family. We are generous with those who have less.  I don't need Obama telling me that I have to support a bunch of lazy bums that don't want to work hard to have a decent life. If I wanted to live in a SOCIALIST country, I could move. 

Hello, I was as the rally and it was totally fantastic. I waited in line for 2.5 hours but didn't get in the building (which held 10,000 people). But that was OK, there was a speaker out side so we could hear her. They (the policeman) that I talked to said that the bldg held 10,000 and that they thought there were as many people outside as they were inside.

Way to go Raleigh!!! I am so proud of the turnout.... It was fun (even though) I didn't get in to be with people that are supporting our USA! Everyone was energized and happy to be in such a long line. I have never waited in line this long for anything, but again, it was OK, because I was glad to be there to see and support Sarah Palin!

God bless America and God bless this election.

m

I am not a Republican.

I was one of the photographers at the event.

The actual events that transpired at the rally do not match the comments made by johnwestphoto. The comments serve no purpose other than to attack and provoke a reaction.

If you want to experience a rally, then go. It is something to experience. Choose your party based on what function you want government to serve. Then, vote.

Must agree with most of the comments on this page.  I was NOT there.  My wife and I watched it live by a feed provided by the local media.  I had not heard a complete speech since by her since the convention.  Because of the overwhelming negative media coverage regarding Palin, her skills, her intellect, her training, her experience, etc, I admit I had not set my expectations real high.  I was hoping for an adequate performance that would not embarass or hurt the ticket.  BOY, WAS I SURPRISED!!!  It was one of the most reasoned, substantive, straight talking minus hype/sloganering speeches I had heard in a long time by a politician of any stripe.  After it was over, I was astounded as my expectations had been preconditioned by the media.  This was like Regan.  She made it clear to disagree with issues and attack ideas is not a negative attack; then she delineated the differences in substance and solution.   She went line by line offered reasons on issue after issue.  You may disagree on the issues, but she made it clear where she stood.   During the last eight years of Bush, the dems made it a continuous declaration that "to disagree with the President was patriotic."  But, you would think that Obama thinks that to disagree on the campaign trail is cheating.  To question is to play unfair.  To demand clarification is nonsense.  To ask for explanation of associations is hateful and racists.  During the 2006 off cycle elections, the battle cry of the dems was that all the Republicans were corrupt because of their "association" with lobbyists.  Now, associations don't mean anything.

The attack that johnwestphoto leveled either means that he didn't pay attention or he has read the same playbook that all the democratic hacks use.  Simply attack, attack, attack.  Do not let one single line or action or remark or statement or movement by the enemy pass without attacking it.  That is part of the strategy actually taught and used by many political strategists.  The idea is to win by creating such havoc and such discord and such upheaval and such negative discontent among the masses that they will vote for change without much concern for the  deeper ideas that belong to substance, philosophy, economics, and history.  The propaganda techniques are well documented and have been suggested by worldwide political parties for over a century.  However, a free people are doomed to oppression when they fall prey to such politics.   It is the same politics that is practiced in most of the oppressive thug Marxist nations of the world.

  I'm not saying that johnwestphoto is necessarily employing this strategy by design.  It is quite, even most likely, possible that he has no awareness of any such written political strategies existing and being employed in our modern politics.  Johnwestphoto probably was simply shouting cheers for his side and booing the "other" like we did in high school and college ball games.

  But, these tactics are the methods by which we are on the verge of electing the singly most inexperienced person to the White House in history. (24 months in the US senate vs a life of service as an American patriot).  I'm not really a McCain fan, but the contrast is rather stark and interesting.  Obama thinks the original American consitution is broken and yet he going to be sworn in to uphold and protect it.  (We have that on video.)  All of his early mentors are Marxists, socialists, Islamists, (He says so in his book, Dreams of my Fathers) but we are to believe that he is ready to lead this country with its distinct history of different heroes and foundational philosophies/principles.  While he was struggling to come to grips with his identity as a black man, doing drugs, women, and dappling in extremist theories, John McCain was distinguishing himself in action.

  His grandmother has said that he was born in Kenya and Hawaii has sealed his birth records on file which would easily stop that discussion regarding the constitutionality of his candidacy.  The consitution says you only have to be 35 and a native born American.  It does not say you have to graduate from an Ivy league school.  It doesn't say you have to like America, but I think it is fair to have to prove those two simple facts without it being an attack.  He campaigned back in Kenya, after he was elected a US Senator, for one his cousins who was going to approve the use of Sharia law to some degree in that country.  When his cousin lost, there was mass uprisings and hundreds were killed, primarily Christians.  Churches were burned.  But, no one seems to care.   No one cares.  They just want change because they (half the country) hate W.

 I really like Obama as a person.  I would enjoy setting down and debating issues and talking about our life journey to undestand ourselves, life, politics, religion, etc.  Any man who can write two books about his life before he is forty and before he has made a mark on history that is distinctively his own obviously has deep ideas, has struggled with his life journey, and has passion.  I can identify with that. 

  We will get what we deserve.  That I believe.

                              Don't forget to vote!  Vote for individual liberty.  And, thanks johnwestphoto for your post that sent me on this verbal rampage.  Let's have coffee.  We live in the same area.

Pardon my manners in the statements above.  Great photos, johnwest.  I love them.  And, I know there are grammatical errors, but you know how so much of this type of writing is done on the fly.  I would check  it if it was being presented to, say, some editor.  But, this is like having a coversation.  So, a little mercy.  I can take all the philosophical heat and political debate.  Love that.  Just don't point out my grammatical errors.  Remember when Barack asked that reporter not to talk about his ears.   He was sensitive about his ears.  I assume it was a joke.  Well, here's mine.

                        Thanks again.  And, I'm glad I discovered this site.

I was actually trying to "Google"  Sara Palin in Raleigh, NC to see how many were in attendance and all this anti Sarah Palin stuff comes up.  But, I know there's no organized conspiracy to shape thought in this country by those who control electronic content........IS THERE????  .....Tell me its not true. ....... I'm waiting.  I don't want to believe it.

I was at the rally, too, and was amazed and encouraged by the size of the crowd.  A woman near us said that a guard had told her that 40,000 people had to be turned away - I'm trying to verify that, but it seems that they aren't publicizing the actual size of the crowd.  It also seems that everyday we're hearing that 10 bazillion people are attending every Barack Obama rally...something doesn't seem right.

Interesting responses from those at the rally and those who watched the live feed. Nothing like getting eyewitness reports instead of the stuff fed by the fading media.