We (Heart) Sarah

Not even the snarks at Salon can deny the enthusiasm of Sarah Palin’s fans:

“She represents me. She’s real. She represents real people,” said flight attendant Charlene Bybee, 54, of Sparks, Nev., who wore a black T-shirt with the slogans “I am Sarah Palin” and “Real Women for McCain.” Bybee is a self-described “security mom” who has two sons, ages 20 and 24, and was once the runner-up “Miss Nevada.” She said she identifies with Palin as a former PTA mom and one-time beauty queen. Bybee, who has been an active Republican volunteer in the past was tepid about McCain’s candidacy. But she’s so energized by Palin that she’s now volunteering for the campaign. “You shouldn’t have to be from a major American city to represent most Americans,” she said.

Laura Tracy, 27, an unemployed barista from Yerington, Nev., held a sign that read “Hunter Chicks 4 Palin” on one side, and “Sarah Killed My Apathy” with a drawing of a deer rifle and a target on the other. Tracy, who had supported Mitt Romney in the primary, said that she cried the day of Palin’s acceptance speech. “I think that it’s great that the American people finally have a candidate who they can relate to, with morals,” said Tracy, who said the issues she cares the most about are pro-life and the right to bear arms.

Deaun Parker, a 41-year-old single mother of five living in Carson City, who works full-time in workers comp insurance, attended the rally with her 16-year-old daughter Erica, and 12-year-old son Justin, a Boy Scout. “I think that she is a terrific role model for my daughter. She’s a role model for me,” said Parker, who supported Romney in the primary. Parker described her family as among the “working poor,” and said she doesn’t want a Democratic administration, which would bring universal health insurance, because she says she doesn’t want to pay the taxes for it.

You should click the link, just to see what the men had to say, too. The reader comments, however, are somewhat less friendly — and probably best not read over breakfast.