
CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) - Sarah Palin took her first impromptu question from a reporter traveling with her campaign Wednesday while shaking hands at a restaurant called Karl's Inn of the Barristers in Cleveland.
A pool reporter from the national press corps asked Palin's reaction to the federal bailout of insurance giant AIG.
Palin said she is "disappointed that taxpayers are called upon to bailout another one."
"Certainly AIG, though, with the construction bonds that they're holding, and with the insurance that they are holding, very, very impactful to Americans," she said. "So you know, the shot that has been called by the feds, it's understandable but very, very disappointing that taxpayers are called upon for another one."
The reporter asked Palin if she had plans to come to the back of the campaign plane to chat with the reporters who cover her as she campaigns around the country.
"We're getting lonely back there," the reporter said.
"Are you getting lonely?," Palin answered. "Gee, yeah, come on up then!"
When Palin entered the restaurant with her husband Todd, she introduced herself to about 10 patrons as "Sarah," and told them, "Excuse me for interrupting your meal." It was Palin's first retail campaign stop since the day McCain tapped her as his running mate.
Politics is a popularity contest and if you are keeping count on the blogs, V.P. candidate Governor Sarah Palin is the belle of the ball. On a single page of an ABC news blog, Palin's name appears 24 times, McCain's twice, Biden's once and Barack obama's– not at all. It's not scientific, but it's indicative of something bizarre.
And she's a big hit offline too.
When Palin and her running-mate John McCain– he's the one running for president by the way– appear together, people cheer for her. Then when he speaks they begin to file out. Ouch! When they campaign separately, her crowds dwarf his. What's wrong with this picture?
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(CNN) – Amid a McCain campaign push for Hillary Clinton’s supporters, a group of major Democratic congresswomen said Wednesday Sarah Palin wasn’t helping the Republican ticket make major inroads among women voters.
Watch: Dem women back Obama
“By and large her supporters are backing Barack Obama,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference at Democratic National Committee heaquarters, backed up by cheers from over a dozen female lawmakers standing beside her.
“At first, the Clinton supporters were disappointed,” said Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado. “But in Denver, my district, Clinton unequivocally said she is supporting Barack Obama 100 percent, and all of the women who are supporting Hillary Clinton are supporting Barack Obama.”
Some national polls have shown McCain getting a boost among women voters since he tapped Palin as his running mate. To counteract that, Obama and Joe Biden — who have tapped the services of Hillary Clinton’s former director of women’s outreach — have launched a week-long effort dubbed “Women’s Week of Action.”
Obama and Biden will hold women’s rallies on Friday and the candidates’ wives, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, have both hit the trail this week for women-themed events.
Clinton herself will also join the effort, joining VP nominee Joe Biden in a women’s online forum on Wednesday night.
(CNN) - Reporters who got notice yesterday of an event headlined by both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton figured the prospect of an SNL skit come to life was too good to be true, a gift from the campaign gods.
But for a few hours, it was. “We are pleased to inform you that the keynote speakers at the “Stop Iran. Now!” Rally are confirmed to be Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Governor Sarah Palin and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel,” read an e-mail from a leader of a Jewish group planning the event.
But the curtain came down on the comedy sketch-turned-reality before the duo ever hit the stage: Clinton officials soon said they had not been told Palin would be on hand — and that her presence, which made the event a political one, would mean the absence of the New York senator.
"Her attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event," said Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines. "Senator Clinton will therefore not be attending."
The McCain-Palin campaign has not yet said whether Palin herself will still be attending the event, but released a statement criticizing Clinton’s withdrawal. "Governor Palin believes that the danger of a nuclear Iran is greater than party or politics,” said spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. “She hopes that all parties can rally together in opposition to this grave threat."
Palin has praised Clinton since being named John McCain’s running mate — although she has largely dropped those compliments from her stump speech after drawing a negative response from GOP audiences. Clinton herself has largely avoided mentioning or directly criticizing the Alaska governor during her appearances on behalf of Barack Obama’s presidential bid.
(Updated to include comment from Clinton spokesman)
MAUMEE, Ohio (CNN) – Joe Biden hammered John McCain on the economy at his first stop Wednesday in this battleground state, criticizing the Arizona senator for only now coming around to the idea of regulation needed to avert financial crises.
“All of a sudden it’s my goodness there’s greed on Wall Street, my goodness we need common sense regulation,” Biden said.
With polls showing Barack Obama has lost his lead in Ohio, Biden is embarking on a two-day bus tour of the state.
The Delaware senator told supporters at an outdoor rally that they have a choice between those who allow corporations and the wealthy to go "unfettered” and those who want “common sense rules” to protect transparency.
“Look, if John cares so much about this now, where was he a week ago?” Biden asked. “Where was he a month ago? Where was he 5 years ago? I’ll tell you where he was, he was bragging to the folks on Wall Street, to the executives who now he calls ‘greedy.’ He was bragging to them how we’re going to shred the regulation that fetters them, that ties them down.”
“So let’s take a look at John’s conversion here,” Biden later added, “Something happened on the road to Damascus, John fell off his horse but he got back up on the same horse.”
He went on to draw parallels with McCain’s health care plan, saying that there too McCain favors de-regulation that wouldn’t allow states to protect its residents from insurance companies.
“So John, you got back on the same horse, you continue to push a plan that’s designed to de-regulate the health insurance industry,” said Biden, asking the crowd to raise their hands if they trust insurance companies to take care of their needs.
“I got one person [who] raised their hand. I got also a bridge I got to sell you and guess what? It’s in Alaska and it goes to nowhere,” he said, echoing a line Obama has been using on the stump as well.


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