Craig Robinson: Sarah Palin Is Still the GOP’s Biggest Star

The people just flocked to her in Pella, and she handled it all with grace.
*
At The Iowa Republican, Craig Robinson reflects on the city of Pella, "The Undefeated," and Sarah Palin:

Pella was the perfect setting to unveil the new Palin documentary, The Undefeated, because, in many ways, it could be said that the community of Pella is undefeated. While many parts of the state are dealing with high unemployment, Marion County, which includes Pella, has seen its unemployment rate dropped from 7.3 percent in January to 5.7 percent in May, which is below the state average.

The community, which has 2400 more registered Republicans than Democrats, embraced the movie premier and Palin visit. The day before her visit, the movie producer and other advance staff could be heard laughing throughout the downtown with public safety officials. As always, the community of Pella put its best foot forward as the spotlight shined upon its picturesque city.

[...]

Palin was amazing in Pella [Tuesday]. As she and Todd made their way though various shops in the downtown area, onlookers would stop to say hello, ask to take a photo, or get an autograph. Palin took it all in stride. Even though she is a huge media sensation, she is somehow able to remain grounded. Nothing illustrated that more than the bug splattered Chevy Malibu that they drove to Pella.

The media couldn’t help but try and compare Palin to Michele Bachmann, who officially launched her presidential campaign on Monday. They both connect to people, and both have star power, but having seem them both in Iowa in the span of 24 hours, it’s clear that Palin will always be the original female GOP star. That’s not an insult toward Bachmann, but Palin’s star shines brighter.

I thought it was pretty remarkable that Palin, who is a national political phenomenon, came to this small Iowa town, strolled through the town square, watched a two-hour movie with 300 plus locals, and then spent several hours meeting people and shaking hands at the cook out that followed the movie premier. The people just flocked to her in Pella last night, and she handled it all with grace.

By Robinson's reckoning, Gov. Palin must have posed for a thousand photos and signed hundreds of autographs Tuesday night. He found it remarkable that she she could have left at any time, but instead "patiently worked through the crowd until she hit the door of her car." Palin supporters have become accustomed to witnessing Gov. Palin's generosity with her time. When she's not on a tight schedule, she always seems to devote much of her time to everyday Americans. It's just one of the reasons why crowds, including the one in Pella Tuesday, loves her. She's one of us.

- JP