On Friday, all Alaska residents had received checks for $3,300, thanks in part to a rebate that Palin had pushed to help cover high energy costs. "They can spend it better than government can," she said, and promised "tax reform" if she and McCain win. "We're trusting people with their money."
Palin played to the crowd, talking about the annual air show held in the area, mentioning that her husband flies small planes, and saying that they named one of their girls Piper, after the plane maker.
She singled out aviator Chuck Yeager, who was in the crowd, noting that he broke the sound barrier and saying she hoped to break through the glass barrier.
"You guys get it," Palin said. "You understand the need to put the pride back into America. We can do this because we are an exceptional nation."
"She's a real firecracker," said Renee Major, a first-grade teacher in Reno. She wore a button that had a photo of Palin firing a rifle; it said: "Read my lipstick, change is coming."
Major said she had "kind of" planned to vote for McCain before he tapped Palin; afterward, she said, she became an enthusiastic booster.
Like others interviewed, she brushed aside criticism that Palin might not be well-versed on all the issues: "She is holding her own with the old boys."
Ron Brandow came from Lake Tahoe, where he was vacationing, to hear Palin.
"Who could get excited about McCain? When Palin came on, she added such energy. She added excitement," he said.
"I'm 67, and she's the first person who is running for national office who is a common person," said Brandow, who is from Houston.
Palin started her day in Alaska with a rally at the Dena'ina Civic & Convention Center in Anchorage. Although the Obama campaign has targeted Alaska, with its three electoral votes, the state is almost certain to vote Republican.
With her husband and three of their children, Willow, Piper and Trig, at her side, Palin urged Alaskans to help the victims of Hurricane Ike.
Palin drew some of the wildest applause when she stated: "In a McCain-Palin administration, we are going to drill now."
"It's not just Alaska realizing how desperately we need to be energy independent," she said, adding that Americans tell her: "Thank you, Alaska, for safe, responsible, ethical development of an American source of energy. Thank you for Alaska's foresight in this."
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dan.morain@latimes.com
erika.hayasaki@latimes.com
Morain reported from Carson City, Hayasaki from Anchorage.
