This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 31, 2008- Just arrived at the Missouri delegation hotel, which is in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul and actually about 45 minutes away from the convention center.
Gov. Sarah Palin's chief of staff was on our flight from St. Louis this morning! We were all standing in line waiting for our bags after the landing, and someone said, "Hey, this guy's from Alaska, you must be thrilled."
He acknowledged that he was happy with the choice, and then someone asked if he'd ever "rubbed elbows" with Sarah Palin. He kind of smiled, shrugged, and said, "I'm her chief of staff."
Immediately the mood of the group changed; the five or six of us all started asking him questions and telling him how thrilled we were about the pick. He said they were all shocked, too, and that after they got the call earlier this week he obviously hadn't gotten much sleep because of all the excitement. He told of Palin's celebrity in Alaska, how she could hardly go anywhere without people fawning over her, and that was even before her being chosen as the Republican VP nominee. I told him how impressed I'd been with her acceptance speech in Dayton, and he said she'd had about 2 1/2 hours to prepare.
In all, a fun conversation with an insider who offered a great perspective on the VP pick. It was great to hear someone so down to earth speak so affectionately about his boss. On the plane I also met some nice delegates and attendees from Maryland, Kansas, Texas and Illinois. Most were excited about the Palin choice and the week ahead, but people also are worried about the Hurricane Gustav situation.
The Missouri delegation's got a credentialing meeting this afternoon and then we're all off to Civic Fest in Minneapolis, an event that celebrates civic life and the presidency--supposedly there is a to-scale model of the White House!