Palin warmly received at Philly bar

Philadelphia Inquirer:

An enthusiastic crowd swarmed to shake hands and pose for photos with Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin at the Irish Pub last night in Center City, a short time before the first debate of the presidential election.

"Sa-rah! Sa-rah!" the crowd cheered, although outside, a large contingent of protesters booed Palin and chanted Democrat Barack Obama's name.

Wearing a Phillies windbreaker and blue jeans, Palin spent about an hour in the bar mingling. She was expected to return to her hotel to watch the debate.

Well-wishers reached out with cell-phone cameras to try to capture a glimpse of the candidate. Others got autographs. Some wore blue USA Hockey jerseys with the initials "VP" on their shoulders.

"I thank you for being on the team, and hopefully, we can bring more people from this area on the team," Palin told the cheering audience. Her remarks lasted about a minute: "John McCain and I will never forget who we are working for - you. It's for you, so we love you guys, City of Brotherly Love!"

The McCain campaign said it had given out 450 tickets to the event, but it appeared that a far larger audience had crammed into several rooms in the multilevel bar.

...

"I told her to field-dress the damn donkey," said Joe McColgan of Philadelphia.

Victoria White, a 15-year-old youth hockey player from Devon, told Palin she played hockey – at center – and got the candidate's autograph.

"She told me to skate hard," said White, wearing a Notre Dame hockey sweatshirt.

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The enthusiasm for Palin's candidacy continues. The negativity in the media has not effected the reception she is getting from enthusiastic Republicans. She also shows she can be one of the guys in a setting where some politicians are uncomfortable.