Republicans who gathered in Anaheim on Saturday sought to translate their enthusiasm for the general election ticket -- specifically for vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin -- into gains in November.
In the hotel meeting rooms where the three-day state GOP convention was underway, talk bubbled about Palin. T-shirts bearing her likeness flew off the shelves -- including one with Palin's face imposed over the classic Rosie-the-Riveter pose. At least half a dozen delegates bought the $368 frame-less glasses popularized by the Alaska governor, who smiled down on them from the framed cover of Time magazine.
Late in the day, the silent auction of commemorative plaques featuring Republican notables offered loud testimony to her new place in the party: Ronald Reagan's was going for $90. John McCain's was going for $100.
And Sarah Palin's was at $200 and counting.
Shellie Whalen, a Yorba Linda mother and volunteer turned entrepreneur with her own "Palin Power" line of shirts, said that she hadn't felt a strong affinity for McCain until his selection of the Alaska governor as his running mate. In Palin, she said, she saw herself.
"She embraces her femininity, her motherhood," she said. "But she's got teeth. Just like the rest of us."
A statewide poll this week underscored the effect Palin has had on the Republican base. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, GOP satisfaction with their presidential choice has doubled since Palin joined the ticket. Unfortunately for McCain, that has not translated into gains against Democrat Barack Obama in California, which has gone to the Democratic presidential candidate in the last four presidential elections.
Still, state Republicans were rejoicing at the possibilities. Thomas G. Del Beccaro, the state party vice chairman, said new volunteers were streaming in faster than at any time since the 2003 recall election. Republicans, he said, were hopeful that a resulting increase in voters would help the party in legislative and congressional races where they might not have been as competitive otherwise.
"Two months ago it was slowly growing, and then it exploded" once Palin was named, he said. "Like throwing a match into a barn."
Former Gov. Pete Wilson, who spoke to delegates Saturday, praised Palin as "a woman of some considerable spunk."
"She's got guts," he said. "And she's also got intelligence."
