Palin connects with conservatives

Republican vice presidential nominee and conservative darling Sarah Palin spoke to a crowd of 5,000 enthused supporters at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh Saturday, the (Raleigh) News & Observer reported.

In what is most likely the last Republican political rally before Election Day, Palin entreated North Carolinian voters to keep the state red.

Although Palin has become the butt of many a late-night joke and single-handedly catapulted Tina Fey to super stardom, she remains a serious force to be reckoned with among the conservative base.

"She is more like the average person that's in Middle America and the people that I associate with," said Joan Reynolds, a volunteer at the GOP Victory office in Durham.  "She's very well founded in her faith and very well-founded in her family. She's tried to make a difference by working in the government but she's hasn't lost sight of where her real mission is and that is to be a mother and a wife and I just think she does a great job of balancing it all."

Reynolds, a mother of three, flew down from Alabama two weeks ago to volunteer in North Carolina. 

Despite the flak Palin's selection as veep has received from many as evidence of John McCain's erratic judgment, it is her populism and ability to connect with everyday people on a personal level that appears to be the key to her success.

 We'll just have to wait and see whether there are enough of such voters to put the self-professed hockey mom next in line for the presidency in t-minus 2 days.