Palin: "Polls are for Strippers and Cross Country Skiers"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Indianola, Iowa - For the hearty Tea Party activists who braved torrential rains here on Saturday, Sarah Palin rewarded them with a hard hitting speech full of political red meat.
"The challenge is not to replace Obama but with who," said Palin. The crowd of around two thousand people responded by chanting "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!"
Iowa of course is the home of the lead-off presidential caucuses and the former Alaska Governor took some not-so-veiled shots at the Republican establishment, forcing some to wonder whether she's trying to contrast herself from her would-be rivals." It's not enough to just change up the uniform, if we don't change the team and the game plan, we won't save our country."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee also seemed to go after the man who picked her as his running-mate, instead siding with her Tea Party supporters, "They've called us un-American, terrorists, suicide bombers, hobbits...didn't understand that one."
That was a reference to a floor speech by Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, who during the heated debt-ceiling debate admonished some for their unrealistic expectations and quoted a Wall Street Journal editorial which called some conservatives "hobbits."
The rally itself was put on by a group called "The Tea Party of America," and was dampened by strong rain and controversy in the days leading up to the event which had conflicting stories about either Sarah Palin or Tea Party darling Christine O'Donnell dropping out, or both.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In the end Sarah was the lone headliner, but the inclement weather and the uncertainty surrounding the event led to a smaller than expected crowd, with about two thousand in attendance. Organizers griped to FOX News about how they had originally planned to hold the event inside a hockey arena, where weather would not have been an issue, but were later told by Palin's people that outside would be better because of the huge crowd they were expecting.
Palin also addressed the negative polling that has dogged her recently. The most recent FOX News polls show 74 percent of voters think Palin should not run, 71 percent of GOP voters think the same, and most surprisingly 66 percent of self-described Tea Party members agree.
"Polls? Nah... they're for strippers and cross country skiers," quipped Palin.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The former Alaska Gov also had some choice words for President Obama. "Candidate Obama didn't have a record when he was running for office, but President Obama sure does... That hopey-changey stuff didn't create one job in August."
Palin now takes her 'One Nation Bus Tour' to New Hampshire, home of the lead-off presidential primary election, which will only stoke the Palin 2012 expectations flame even higher.