Sarah Palin energizes Colorado Springs crowd

With time running short in the 2008 presidential campaign, Gov. Sarah Palin made a campaign swing through Colorado on Monday, cutting through the gloom of a raw and cold Colorado Springs day with an appeal to "help put the maverick in the White House."

The crowd, which did not fill the 8,500-capacity Security Service Field, warmed itself with a big cheer when the Alaska governor asked, "Are you ready to make John McCain the next president of the United States of America?"

She also assailed the Democratic presidential nominee's experience.

"Barack Obama only spent 304 days - just 304 days in the Senate before running for president," she said. "John McCain has spent his life serving our country and putting it first."

Palin had been governor of Alaska for less than 20 months when she was announced as McCain's pick for the Republican vice presidential nomination.

"Our country is having some tough economic times," she said. "We need someone tough as president, who is ready to lead on Day One." She said that as the mother of a soldier serving in Iraq, she views McCain as "exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief."

Accusing Obama of presenting a tax plan that is "just words," Palin promised tax relief "to every American and every business," mentioning tax cuts for small businesses and promising to double the child tax deduction and cut the capital gains tax, all while repeating McCain's promise of a balanced federal budget by 2012.

"Our opponent is not being candid with you about his tax plans," she said, mentioning Obama's often-repeated assertion this his plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans.

"The problem with that claim is that 40 percent pay no income tax at all," she said. "His plan is to cut them a check and call it a tax credit. Where's he going to get the money for all those checks that he'll cut? It's by raising taxes on America's families, and on our small businesses, on a lot of folks just like you."

"Our opponent's plan to redistribute wealth will ultimately punish hard work and productivity and discourages productivity," Palin said. "It will stifle the entrepreneurial spirit that has made this country unique."

The contrast between Monday's rally and Palin's last appearance in Colorado Springs could not have been more stark. When she appeared with McCain at a rally at the Colorado Springs Airport on Sept. 6, the weather was warm and sunny, the campaign was getting the traditional bounce from the Republican National Convention, which had ended less than 48 hours earlier, and Palin was generating tremendous curiosity as a new face on the national political scene. A crowd estimated by the McCain campaign at 13,000 overflowed the airport hangar where the rally was held.

On Monday, the weather gods did not cooperate. A north wind blew and clouds hung low over the stadium, with temperatures in the 40's and a light mist developing by the end of Palin's speech. Substantial chunks of the stadium's seats were empty, and the standees did not fill the infield. Questions about Palin's experience still shadow her on the campaign trail, and her ticket trails in the polls nationally and in Colorado.

But Palin did her best to rally the faithful, including allusions to her anti-abortion stance, which plays well with the social conservatives who are numerous in northern Colorado Springs. "Every child is beautiful before God," she said. "John and I have a vision of an America where every innocent life counts."

She was preceded to the podium by U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, whose Fifth Congressional District includes the Pikes Peak region, Bob Schaffer, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Wayne Allard, and Allard himself.

Although one of her backers, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, didn't attend the event at Sky Sox stadium, he interviewed her Monday by phone following the rally. The 18-minute interview will air Wednesday on Dobson's "Focus on the Family" radio show. Focus spokesman Tom Minnery would not disclose details of the interview, but said Dobson talked with Palin about the pressure of campaigning and the attacks on her since Sen. John McCain chose her in August as his running mate.

After the rally, Palin reboarded her plane to spend the rest of the day campaigning in Loveland and Grand Junction.