GOP delegates meet with Palin

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Outside the Minneapolis Hilton on Thursday, security personnel turned away anyone without the right credentials. Reporters stopped at the door went instead around back.

They were hoping to get a glimpse of someone that just a week ago they could have photographed as she made an impromptu run to Wasilla’s Wal-Mart — Sarah Palin.

Palin, John McCain’s pick as a running mate in his bid for the presidency, was at the Minneapolis Hilton to meet with some familiar faces — convention delegates from her home state of Alaska.

According to Steve Colligan, Republican Party vice chair and a Wasilla resident, the meeting was a decidedly closed affair for just Palin, her husband, the delegates and their alternates — no reporters or guests. The visit was a stopover between other appointments, Palin had precious little time to chat with the delegation.

“We just felt like she was happy to see us and she was happy to be with people from her home town,” Colligan said, summing up Palin’s remarks.

And the delegates were happy for the chance to see her. Delegate Tammy McGraw, of Wasilla, said the governor — a friend for 18 or 19 years — was excited to see her and the two shared a hug.

McGraw excitedly recounted just outside the hotel’s door how she and the governor briefly chatted about Palin’s nomination.

“She said, ‘It’s good, it’s been good.’ I said, ‘That’s good,’” McGraw said.

She used to run into Palin all of the time at the grocery store, McGraw said. To see her on the national stage is startling.

“I don’t expect to see her back in Wasilla,” McGraw said, noting that she thinks Palin will likely return to the state as she campaigns or, if she wins, now and again when national business allows, but she won’t likely be running into McGraw at the grocery store anytime soon.

But, she said, Palin is up to the challenges a national campaign will bring.

“Sarah will always be Sarah. I think she’s a good person. She will be a genuine person through and through,” McGraw said.

Colligan, too, noted that it’s strange to see someone he’s known and worked with catapulted beyond Wasilla, into the national spotlight and possibly the second-highest office in the nation.

“I think the word is ‘surreal,’” he said.

Palin, he said, though not a delegate or an alternate, had been set to accompany the delegates to the convention before her selection as McCain’s running mate was announced on Aug. 29. The delegation had arranged guest passes for her.

“She was going to come down here and we were going to work on Alaskan issues,” he said.

But, he said, he’s not disappointed, in fact, quite the opposite, considering the magnitude of the office for which she’s been nominated.

“If she becomes vice president, she is the president of the Senate. That will be a big deal for Alaska, for Alaskan issues,” Colligan said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.

Editor’s note: Below find the original comment thread to this story. Additional comments may be added below.

Poo Poo U wrote on Sep 8, 2008 1:27 PM:

" Wasilla Resident writer - party pooper! We're flying high and lovin' it! "

geoff klein wrote on Sep 7, 2008 12:45 PM:

" someone really needs to explain to Mr Colligan what the president of the senate does. The only power that individual has is to break ties. If palin does become vp, i would hope that she would be vp for all the people, not just those in alaska…but i understand the feeling of alaskans when it comes to having one of their own so close to the president, as it seems patronage is part and parcel of the political landscape in gods country "

Wasilla Resident wrote on Sep 7, 2008 11:12 AM:

" If one never left, Wasilla or more specifically the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce luncheon one would believe that Sarah Palin is the new messiah – in lipstick. The blind patriotism that is pervasive and forced at the chamber gatherings makes anyone that does not believe in it, afraid not to join in. Go to Big Lake, or Palmer, or Willow and take a deep breath of freedom of thought. However, if you value your business and reputation keep your views to yourself in Wasilla. They are drunk on Palin Kool-aid and not thinking clearly. "