GraniteGrok

Good crowd, given that this is rural NH in the middle of the week on a work day.  Secret Service estimated that crowd about a 1/2 hour before start at about 3-4,000; people kept streaming in during the event.  I figure a good solid 4,000 plus by event end.

Anyways, time to clean up this post....LOTS of pictures and I did a couple of quickie interviews with Republicans of note that I could grab before the event started.  Most of that stuff will be after the jump.

Doug also came along in due time and created video of the event - I'm quite sure that you'll want to see more than just the snippets that you see on TV when he is done processing it a bit later.

Also wanted to point out that sometimes, you just don't know who is going to show up where!  The 'Grok was quite happy, and pleased, to run into Mark Steyn of National Review (and lots of other places) and frequent contributor to the NR's "The Corner" blog.  Readers may remember that Mark was on Meet The New Press as well a while ago talking about his book "America Alone" (can't tell that Mark is one of our favorite conservative pundits!).

                 Doug and Mark Steyn                                           Mark Styen Alone

Oh, that button that Mark is wearing?  The Pink One?  No, not quite a Code Pink infiltrator:

And yes, that is a big thumbs up from Mark.  Anyways, back to the event....

Update:  For a report on Palin's visit to Dover earlier in the, go over to Pat's Now!Hampshire for the scoop!

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My take on the event:

I am going to try to do this in reverse chronological order.  Please note that I do have a few quotes directly from Sarah - much is my way of condensing what she said - mostly because I just could NOT keep up - Man, she talks fast.  Even though there was a teleprompter there, she spoke fast, spoke well, and showed that she not only knew what she was talking about, but believed in what she was saying.

And that is an important peice of information....it is easy to tell when someone is just saying something "canned".  And yes, there have been times that you know what she has said has been just that - prewritten pablum.  Not today!  Her words were hers, and you could tell that no amount of memorization was going to intrude into that.  Those of you who have spoken often in front of crowds and gatherings know what I mean - there is a difference between someone who has just learned something and someone who is speaking from long term knowledge and beliefs.  

Today, she was that latter type of speaker. She spok to, and sometimes, with the crowd.  She has that capability to reach out and converse with people - we saw glimpses of it during her acceptance speech when Senator McCain

Bloviating Gasbag?  Not her,  folks, not her.  The Great Communicator?  Nope, not there yet - not in the league of Ronald Reagan or, dare I say it, a Bill Clinton.  But give her time - she may well have the potential to be such in the future.

She has that rare quality - she IS a person of the people, without airs and without the "holy-er than thou" condescending manner of speech that many "important" people use.  She connects, and the ordinary people love hearing that!

The 'Grok covered a LOT of Presidential Primary events during the 3 year run up to this November election.  We covered both Democrat and Republican, real Left and real Right.  My take is that she does have a talent that only a few have - and those that do not really have it were pushed aside by the Voters in NH.

Note (again:) When the press gaggle came off the bus, they all assumed their natural positions at the tables in the press area.  Well, it turned out that I am now  sitting next to a couple of MSMers (main stream reporters)....man, the snide remarks they keep making.  At almost all of the policy statements, they start to poke fun at her.

Yes folks, I resisted the major temptation to become a raging middle aged white dude that is angry.  No, not at the other side...no, wait! Forgive me - most of the MSM IS in the tank for the other side....never mind....

And yes, these two young bozos demonstrated quite aptly that the MSM has abandoned their first calling on REPORTING the news...

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She is now finishing up.  I will fix up the post (typos, grammer, add pictures and audio) later on today!!!!

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Well, there was no Pres Avail (where the traveling and local press form a "gaggle" to ask questions of the Candidate and Flacks.  However, Sarah DID take quite a bit of time (given how late she was to this event and still had more to do later on today).

And yes, you do see two big burly men watching over her.  

I'm glad that they are there (imagine taking a job where your primary job is to deliberately jump in front of bullets for someone who is not your family!) - this is a good use of our tax dollars.

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"There is only one person in this race that has ever really fought for you" - the crowd is clapping and shouting "John McCain".   I believe that statement to be literally true - only John McCain has served in the US Military. 

My Note:  less and less, our elected leaders are not those that have served.  While there are those that have with which I disagree with politically, I can respect the sacrifice that they made; I do believe that in most cases (not all), it does make a difference in how they view this country when things really matter.  I wish that percentage was a lot higher.

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This comes down to what you believe in - John McCan and I believe in the forward march of freedom and not the expansion of big government. 

She then went on to talk about the ordinary folks: the people who make the food and create the goods that we have.

Heh!  I liked this one - a shot across the Obama bow who always seems to think that America doesn't measure up to his standards:

"America is not the problem, it is the solution!"

"We should not have to apologize for being Americans! "

[Crowd loves it and roars its approval]

The MSMers next to me just racheted up the snark level - man, they do not like her!.

Or, the conservative ideas that the crowd is just loving!

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"Our opponents keep pointing fingers int he past - that is where the blame is".  She and John are looking for the future - that is where the solutions are.  

Obama's strategy of trying to tie them to Bush - it is wearing thin.  McCain is his own man and has always fought the entrenched interests.

John is not afraid to use the word "Victory" - wouldn't it be nice to hear our opponent ONCE say the word "win"?

As one of the mothers with a child overseas, John is the man she wants as Commander in Chief

[Crowd starts to chant "USA" ]