GOP's Northern Lights

Carlson, however, thinks the "news media doesn't have enough to write about" and that Palin's political opponents are tilting at windmills.

"I think Democrats are terribly desperate," she said. "They're terrified. There's nothing they can uncover. And it's not just Democrats. There are Republicans who don't like her because she beat them. And some of them are in jail now."

Various state legislators have been under state and federal investigation for several years, resulting in jail time for four lawmakers, including the Republican House speaker. More recently, Alaska's senior senator, Ted Stevens, was indicted on corruption charges involving the failure to report gifts.

Critics have said Palin's political résumé is unremarkable for a vice presidential nominee: She has been governor since December 2006, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2002, and served two terms as mayor of Wasilla and two terms on the city council.

At a joint breakfast of the Alaska and Tennessee delegations Wednesday morning, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee jabbed at the Democratic ticket. He workshopped a new bit of political stand-up, pointing out that Palin had won more votes running for mayor of Wasilla than Joe Biden had won running for president.

Huckabee told the delegates that he has been asked often whether the out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancy of Bristol Palin would hurt her mother's standing with conservatives who vote on values issues. "Let me tell you something," said Huckabee, "it endears her to values voters." The most important thing, Huckabee added, is that "we're there for each other" and that "we offer unconditional love" to family members.

After the breakfast was over, the Alaska delegation met to discuss such matters as when they would catch their bus to the convention hall -- 3:30 or 4 p.m. -- and whether they would wear their hard hats and vests on the floor Wednesday night as they had done the previous night. The hats were to promote drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and the vests illustrated caribou thriving nearby. "It was showing the compatibility of oil drilling and wildlife," said delegate Mead Treadwell, CEO of a technology venture-capital firm. While Palin and 70 percent of Alaskans favor drilling in ANWR, McCain does not. "That's fine," Treadwell said. Palin will help.

One delegate at the post-breakfast meeting sounded a warning about left-of-center bloggers. He told his fellow delegates to expect an increase in unfriendly online communicators on Palin's big night. "They're going to be much more aggressive than the mainstream media," the delegate said. "So they're going to try to throw you off your game."

Nick Stepovich wasn't worried much about that. He had his buttons on, was talking about going water-skiing, and generally enjoying the unfamiliar spotlight that had come to his state of nearly 700,000. "So, all of a sudden, put your buttons on, comb your hair differently; it's a big deal," said Stepovich, who owns a restaurant in Fairbanks.

The Alaskans have had a little fun here, despite the controversy that has swirled around their governor. The other day they joined Tennessee delegates at the Ramada bar to watch the UCLA-Tennessee college football game. The Bruins won. And some were considering checking out the Joke Joint Comedy Club, right off the Ramada lobby.

"I was talking to a guy named Ken down there," Stepovich recounted. "He said, 'You bring me 20 people, 10 bucks a head. You bring me 30 people, 8 bucks a head.' "

Stepovich was thinking that might not be a bad idea. The delegation, and its governor, could use some laughs.

But by the end of the night, the Alaskans were whooping it up over their pit-bull hockey-mom, the one who said the difference between those two is "lipstick."