Former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray Thursday said GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has jolted the party from something of a political slumber.
The Alaska governor’s star-is-born speech at the Republican National Convention gives Republicans a winning spark, Ray said.
“I hope you realize that this campaign has turned a corner,” Ray said. “The Republicans are going to do far better than we thought a week ago.”
Ray, who served as governor for 14 years, joined another former Republican governor, Terry Branstad, who served 16 years, at a local fund-raiser for State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll.
“I think a lot of people that weren’t too enthusiastic about McCain are a lot more enthusiastic now with her on the ticket, so I think Governor Palin was a good choice,” Branstad said.
Roberts is seeking his fifth term in the Legislature. About 200 people, including Democrats and independents, attended the event at the Swan Lake State Park Conservation and Education Center. Roberts is running unopposed.
Billed as “30 Years of Wisdom” — based on the combined service of Ray and Branstad — the event functioned as a retrospective on the two leaders’ years at Terrace Hill.
But both Ray and Branstad, in remarks to the audience and in interviews with the Daily Times Herald, were quick to laud the top of their party’s ticket, presidential candidate John McCain and Palin.
As McCain was just hours from his acceptance speech Thursday during the Roberts event, the former governors focused primarily on Palin’s mercurial emergence as a force in the party.
“I’m very impressed,” Branstad said of Palin. “She’s a very intelligent, gutsy woman. She’s done some exciting things.”
Branstad said Palin deserves accolades for correcting political corruption in Alaska.
“She’s even had the guts to take on the oil companies to build this pipeline for natural gas,” Branstad said. “She’s for drilling, but she also wants the state, not the oil companies, to control the pipeline.”
For his part, Ray centered on her role as a catalyst for the party.
“She brings some experience the other candidates don’t have, and she does it delightfully,” Ray said. “But she does it firmly and she accomplishes what she sets out to do. So I think she’s going to be a real plus.”
(Photo is of former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray)
1 comment:
After a mediocre (at best) acceptance speech I still don't know who she is. She wasn't properly vetted and when the dirt on her hit the press everyone wanted to blame Obama and his supporters. And talking about keeping kids out of politics...Conservatives should practice what they preach! This woman has become more popular in less than a week than Obama and McCain. What does that say about the American People?...wow...People are raving about how much they love her, her kids, even her parents who, as far as I know...have only been shown once...in the audience at the RNC...What is going on?
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