Pathetic. Old. Fart.
To shore up his right flank in the primary election, McCain has drawn on the support of popular party conservatives, including new Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and Palin, who is appearing alongside him at two rallies this weekend.
Palin's star power proved a clear draw among the crowd in Tucson, some of whom said they had turned out for a glimpse of the former Alaska governor propelled to celebrity by the 2008 presidential campaign.
"I just wanted to come and see Sarah Palin," said Mary Sparks, as she stood among supporters at the rally, some in cowboy hats.
"I just think she's great, I read her book and I'd like to see her as president of the United States."
Kaylie Chriss, a registered Republican, said she remained undecided about who to vote for in the primary election but felt Palin's appearance would boost McCain.
"It definitely helps him," she said. "It gets him a lot more support from people who may not have heard of him."
Holy f-ing crap! People who might not have heard of him? He's running for what I believe is his eleventy-fifth six year term in the Senate, and Sarah Palin has to come to town to help in case people in Arizona haven't heard of him!
What's even more pathetic is that it's been true for a long time:
WaPo:
McCain was almost upstaged at the rally here by Palin, who drew rapturous applause from the crowd with her bubbly declaration -- twice -- that she and McCain were "going to Washington, D.C., to shake things up!''
McCain recited a speech he had given earlier in the day about the need to reform Wall Street. A slow but steady trickle of supporters began to file out after Palin's speech introducing McCain.
Radio Iowa blog:
The Top Gun soundtrack began playing just about the time McCain's plane arrived. Shortly after 11 o'clock (an hur late), McCain and Palin took the stage as the Garth Brooks song "Standing Outside the Fire" played and the crowd cheered.
"We want Sarah," the crowd began chanting as Palin said, "Thank you," to begin the rally.
"Thank you so much Iowa, it is so good to be in Grand Rapids," Palin said. OOOPS. She's in Cedar Rapids.
I look up, about five minutes into McCain's address and see a steady stream of people walking out of the rally. They just came to see Palin apparently.
NYT:
After Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, his running-mate, riveted the overflow crowd at an airplane hanger here for 16 minutes, it was McCain's turn, and people in his audience began murmuring and drifting away midway through a 14-minute speech that was flat and cheerless. When McCain made his first appearance without Palin, on Monday morning in Jacksonville, he faced an arena that was one-quarter full.
Detroit Free Press:
Many came to see Palin.
"Here's to Sarah Palin and the old guy," said Gerald Hunsburger of Holland, who decided to forgo his usual sunny day hobby of boating on Lake Michigan. "She's energizing."
McCain diminished himself when he morphed from "War Hero" to "Captain 'Get Off My Lawn.'" All seven of them. (Or however many it was.)
What could possibly be worse than that?
Finding out they're all Sarah Palin's lawns now.
John McCain's going out as Patient Zero in the Palin Virus epidemic. But no one deserves it more.