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Jens Manuel Krogstad, at the Des Moines Register:
“Thousands who waited through hours of steady rain cheered wildly and blew air horns when Sarah Palin took the stage shortly after 1 p.m. [Saturday]. The familiar chant, ‘Run, Sarah, run!’ rose from the crowd. ‘Iowa you are good people,’ Palin said. ‘We’re here because America is at a tipping point. America faces a crisis, and it’s not a crisis like perhaps a Midwest summer storm that moves in and hits hard, but then moves on.’ She warned the crisis will rage until Americans restore all that is ‘good and free and right’ about the country. A steady downpour that started around 10 a.m. did not dampen the passions burning at Saturday’s Tea Party rally at the Indianola balloon grounds.”John McCormick, at Bloomberg:
“The outdoor event at the Indianola Balloon Grounds south of Des Moines was sponsored by a Tea Party group and drew about 2,000 people, who waited in steady rain for Palin.”Scott Conroy, at RealClearPolitics:
“Sarah Palin still isn't a candidate, but in an aggressive bid to lay down her marker in the 2012 Republican presidential race, she delivered a speech here Saturday that was as confrontational toward the Republican establishment as it was aimed at President Obama. Despite her high-profile endorsement of Rick Perry during his 2010 gubernatorial primary fight, Palin used thinly veiled language to leave little doubt that she sees the Texas governor and national front-runner for the Republican nomination as part of the problem... Event organizers had prepared for a larger crowd, which was likely limited a bit by the unforgiving weather, but somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 people appeared to be on hand for the outdoor event, likely the largest that the nation’s first voting state has seen so far this year.”O. Kay Henderson, at Radio Iowa:
“Palin ridiculed the country’s political elite and praised what she called the “sleeping America” that awakened and became the Tea Party movement.”Molly Ball, at Politico:
“In what could be seen subtly contrasting herself against the announced candidates in the Republican field — especially Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann, who are both mounting their campaigns on appeals to the same kinds of voters with whom Palin resonates most — she slung an attack at the Republican candidates who ‘raise mammoth amounts of cash.’ ‘We need to ask them, too: What, if anything, do their donors expect in return for their investments?’ She noted gleefully, ‘I don’t play that game, either, of hiring expert political advisers just so they’ll say something good about me on TV.’ The former Alaska governor presented a very candidate-like five-point economic plan based on expanding domestic energy production and eliminating corporate taxes altogether, along with corporate welfare. She said it wasn’t enough merely to reject Obama — ‘The real challenge is who and what will replace him.’ The air filled with ‘Run, Sarah, run!’ chants.”Jennifer Jacobs, at the Des Moines Register:
“Without declaring a bid for the White House, a feisty Sarah Palin today disparaged the GOP presidential candidates and made the case for her own plan to change America, saying its starts with knocking down crony capitalism.”Peter Hamby, at CNN's Political Ticker:
“Palin urged tea party activists to fight against President Obama and the ‘special interests’ in Washington until ‘the permanent political class’ is thrown out of power. And for the first time, Palin outlined the makings of a five-point recovery plan for the nation’s flagging economy, albeit in very broad strokes... In her speech, she seemed as fed up with her own party as she is with Democrats. She chided GOP candidates for delivering conservatives rhetoric on the campaign trail but failing to live up to those promises in Washington. Palin also mocked Republicans who have spoken ill of the tea party movement, namely those who label tea partiers ‘hobbits.’ That was a jab plainly directed at the man who plucked Palin from obscurity and placed her on the 2008 presidential ticket: Arizona Sen. John McCain, who criticized ‘tea party hobbits’ in a Senate floor speech during the debt ceiling debate.”Dan Balz, at The Washington Post:
“She... urged a robust program to ramp up domestic energy production and said tackling the deficit will require setting priorities and cutting more spending. She also advocated reforming federal entitlement programs and repealing Obama’s health-care law.”Alex Pappas, at The Daily Caller :
“Sarah Palin said it is important whom Republicans choose to run against President Obama, but didn’t directly address whether she’ll join the 2012 presidential race during her much-anticipated speech before a tea party crowd in Iowa on Saturday... She was interrupted during her speech to chants of ‘Run, Sarah, Run.’ Palin has suggested she will make a decision about getting into the GOP presidential race by the end of September. The address itself resembled something you would hear from a presidential candidate.”Ronald Brownstein, at National Journal:
“Palin used her remarks to reprise classic themes of conservative populism by identifying herself with hard-working Americans and lamenting the influence of what she called a ‘permanent political class’ fattening itself at their expense.”Jeff Zeleny, at the NY Times' The Caucus:
“Sarah Palin did not say whether she would seek the Republican presidential nomination, but she made clear during a speech here on Saturday that she has no intentions of simply falling into line behind one of the party’s leading candidates... Her appearance at a Tea Party of America rally drew about 2,000 people on a rainy afternoon. A persistent downpour turned the grounds of the National Balloon Classic Field about 20 miles south of Des Moines into a soggy and muddy mess, but that did not deter the crowd from sitting outdoors for several hours to await her arrival. In her speech, Ms. Palin assailed the Washington establishment, directing most of her criticism at President Obama, but saving plenty for Republicans. The themes carried familiar strains from her time as governor of Alaska, when she was known for an independent streak that aggravated both parties.”Kathie Obradovich, at the Des Moines Register:
“She pleaded with voters to vet candidates’ record. ‘You must know their ability to successfully reform and actually fix problems that they’re going to claim that they inherited,’ she said.”Erik Wasson, at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
“To end crony capitalism, Palin proposed eliminating the corporate tax altogether and to make up for lost revenue by closing loopholes and ending bailouts. This goes far beyond the most ambitious tax reform proposals the GOP in Washington is talking about. The GOP would lower the corporate tax to 20 percent to 25 percent in most proposals, down from 35 percent today. The other jobs plans Palin backs are repealing Obama's health reform, rolling back regulations, returing power to the states and ending the national debt.”Daniel Foster, at NRO's The Corner:
“Sarah Palin did not announce a presidential run at her... speech to an Tea Party of America crowd in Indianola, Iowa [Saturday] afternoon. But she gave what could have been a stump speech.”Kate O'Hare, at the LA Times' Top of the Ticket:
“In the end, Palin did not announce a campaign -- even though the ‘Run, Sarah, run’ chants broke out during the speech as well -- nor did she endorse anyone else who's running. She attacked the current administration while also throwing warnings to her fellow Republicans about being wobbly on the principles she outlined. Then Palin descended into the crowd, spending a long time taking photos and signing whatever people thrust at her -- iPhones, hats, books (hers, of course) and bumper stickers. Now Palin's off to New Hampshire to speak to another tea party rally in Manchester on Monday, Labor Day, and perhaps, or not, announce a candidacy... Only Palin knows for sure, and so far, she's not telling.”Exit Quote - G. K. Chesterton:
“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”- JP
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