Sarah Palin Rouses Crowd of Thousands in Wichita

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Sarah Palin delivered what The Wichita Eagle reported as "a rousing speech" Sunday night at a fund-raiser for the Bethel Life School Association of Wichita. Speaking to a crowd of a several thousand, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate praised Wichita as a city of "hard working and patriotic liberty-loving Americans":

"People here are not afraid to stand up and speak out for what they believe in," Palin said.

She said the country needs people like that to correct problems such as the economy and "Obamacare" health reform.

"The powers that be in Washington, they've got it all wrong. They want to tax and spend our way out of our problems," she said.

Palin drew one of her longest ovations by saying, "We should not be working for our government. Our government should be working for us,"

"Washington has broken faith with the citizens they're supposed to be serving and many of us want to take it back," Palin said.

She ripped the new health reform laws. "The more you find out about Obamacare," she said, "the more you're going to pressure your officials to do something about it."

"Obamacare must be repealed and replaced," she said to loud applause.

Palin urged the audience to register to vote, then elect leaders "who understand the constitution and reflect our values."

America, she said, needs to return to the exceptional country it used to be, and can do that through faith in God, strong families and values of the heartland.

The Eagle's article was accompanied by a photo gallery here.

- JP