A Day Well Spent

My daughter and I played hooky today. Actually, I prefer to think of it as investing a day in our future.

Yesterday, I got an email from the Kansas GOP, announcing a "Road to Victory Rally" with John McCain and Sarah Palin in nearby Lee's Summit, Missouri. No tickets, first come, first served, at a fairly small auditorium. The rally was to begin at 10:30, doors opened at 8:30. Having just heard about a rally in Detroit with astronomical turnout, I knew that we'd have to be there considerably earlier than 8:30 to make it in the door.

My daughter was enthusiastic, even after I told her she'd have to get up at 5 a.m. She could cover the rally for her school newspaper, for which she serves as Features Editor. That clinched the deal - not only would I be feeding my daughter's burgeoning love of politics and idealistic desire to keep our country strong, I would be facilitating quite a scoop for the West High School Epic! Camera, notepad and press credentials in hand, we set out, still rubbing the sleep out of our eyes.

We arrived before dawn, and had perhaps one hundred people in front of us in line. Within minutes, there were hundreds more behind us. It was a cold, rainy, blustery morning, and we shivered in spite of our excitement as we chatted with the other brave conservative souls around us in line. It's always a delight to take my daughter anywhere - she is intelligent, well-spoken, friendly and attractive, all characteristics which make her a target for her elders, who take it upon themselves to make sure this excellent young lady is properly educated. Numerous people struck up conversations with her, and she impressed them all with the depth and breadth of her knowledge of the state of politics in our nation today.

We were finally allowed into the building shortly after the promised 8:30 time, filtering in slowly, each of us passing through the required security procedures. We made our way up to the stage, staking our claim to a small bit of floor behind about five rows of people. It was a standing room only crowd that took nearly the full two hours until the rally began to fill the auditorium. The more people that came in, the more cramped and hot the space became. The chatter centered on Sarah Palin, obviously the big draw for the crowd.

A few minutes before the rally was to begin, an elderly man standing a few feet to my left fainted. The hours of standing and lack of breathing room were simply too much for him and he dropped to the floor. All of us around him struggled to make ourselves heard above the general roar of the crowd, calling for help. Paramedics made their way through the crowd in a few moments, and began checking his vital signs. They told him they should take him to the hospital to make sure he was ok, to which he stubbornly responded, "I'm not going anywhere! I haven't seen Sarah yet!" Within minutes, he was on his feet and being escorted to a chair nearer the stage, to the delight of all around him.

Finally the rally began. There were the requisite down ticket speakers, a Hillary supporter for McCain who was warmly welcomed by the crowd, and an emcee who coached us in the finer arts of coordinated shouting. The excitement was palpable when the last speaker finally left the stage and we knew the main attraction was about to begin.

At last, more than five hours after our arrival, there they were! The man and woman that we all believe will be our next President and Vice President! The sore feet and aching knees were forgotten as we gave voice to our endorsement of Senator McCain's selection of running mate. Several minutes of chaos followed, then, at last, the object of our collective adoration stepped up to the podium and began to speak.



The speech was not particularly new or different, but it didn't matter. We were equally as charmed and delighted with the words she spoke as we had been when first we heard them uttered as we sat glued to our televisions during the RNC. Her expressions were more relaxed, her mannerisms more natural, her presence utterly captivated the thousands who had gathered to show their devotion to this amazing woman.

I felt a bit sorry for Senator McCain in the face of the crowd's obvious preference for his chosen second in command. He has to know that his recent uptick in the polls is more because of her than because of his excellent character and obvious patriotism. But he seemed to be as captivated as the rest of us by this exceptional woman.

To our credit, we roared "John McCain! John McCain!" almost as loudly and supportively as we had bellowed "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!" minutes before. And, to his, he spoke strongly, and came across much better in person than he ever has on television. We all knew that the man standing before us would give his very life to protect the nation he loved, and that knowledge was enough to quiet the doubts we all still feel about his reliability in supporting those issues that are nearest and dearest to our hearts.

All in all, it was a day well spent.