Aides said Palin and her family would fly home to Juneau tonight after an outdoor event with McCain in St. Louis. They are to fly back early this week for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul., Minn., where she is scheduled to speak Wednesday.
Democrats questioned whether Palin was prepared to take over if McCain -- who is 72 and in the past has had the most serious form of skin cancer -- were suddenly unable to govern. "The truth is no one knows whether Sarah Palin could be a competent president, which shows how highly political and potentially reckless this choice is," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York.
Palin's political challenge was on clear view Saturday afternoon when McCain and Palin made their second public appearance. The campaign staged a raucous rally before about 7,500 people who filled the stands and infield of a baseball field in Washington, a suburb of Pittsburgh. When McCain's bus drove down the third base line and deposited the candidates into blinding sunlight at home plate, the pumped-up crowd erupted in cheers befitting a rock star. "Sarah! Sarah!" some shouted.
But Palin's speech -- the same one she gave Friday -- was less well received. Because of either ballpark loudspeakers or just nerves, her voice cracked and at times rose to an uncomfortably high pitch. Midway through her talk, some families could be seen leaving the park.
And Palin's vow to "honor the effort" of Hillary Rodham Clinton -- a direct appeal to women and other disaffected Democrats in this blue-collar area -- appeared to backfire. The New York senator's name drew booing from the stands and infield so loud that it drowned Palin out.
As on Friday, neither Palin nor McCain even mentioned their Democratic opponents, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.
For his part, the Democratic presidential nominee would not be drawn into a discussion Saturday about Palin's qualifications for higher office.
"I think that Gov. Palin is a compelling person," Obama said, talking briefly with reporters after a rally in Dublin, Ohio. "She's got a great story. She seems to have a wonderful, engaging personality. And the fact that she got elected governor of Alaska I think shows she's got real political skills."
