The Trail

MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY

GOP Ticket Appears in Michigan, And Palin Takes a Few Questions

"John? John?" Sarah Palin called to John McCain. "Can I add somethin'?"

Turns out what the Alaska governor wanted to add to McCain's answer during a town hall meeting Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Mich., was that the man at the top of the Republican ticket is "a bit too humble."

The whole evening was a lot like that.

McCain and Palin made their first joint appearance in a town hall setting, but it was more like a pep rally.

Before a loud Republican crowd in the gym of Grand Rapids Community College, McCain and Palin fielded questions from a former Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter who now backs McCain; another woman who asked for advice on recruiting Hispanic supporters for the ticket; and a Vietnam veteran who told McCain, "May the grace of God be with you always, sir."

Hardball, it was not.

It was the first time the folksy Palin has taken questions from voters since she was named to the ticket, and many of them seemed designed to allow her to answer critics.

A woman wanted to give her the chance to address those who say Palin can't be a mother and vice president. "Well, let's prove 'em wrong," Palin said to cheers.

She talked about her role if the ticket is elected: "Let me tell you, I know a little bit about energy. That's gonna be my baby when I get to Washington, D.C."

She was less sure-footed when asked about her "perceived lack of foreign policy experience."

Palin said she expected criticism because she is a "Washington outsider" and ended by asserting, "I'll be ready" come Inauguration Day.