WASILLA, Alaska -- Sarah Palin's neighbors saluted their hometown girl with Alaskan Amber brew and testament to her small-town integrity as she accepted the Republican nomination for vice president Wednesday.
At Tailgaters Sports Bar and Grill on Parks Highway, Palin supporters tried on "Palin and McCain" T-shirts and ate buffalo wings as they discussed the attributes that they said made Palin, the governor of Alaska and former Wasilla mayor, the ideal candidate for vice president.
"She's a regular, hard-working individual with integrity, honesty to her credit. That doesn't make her unique, but it makes her qualified," said Martin Buser, four-time winner of the Iditarod dog sled race and longtime Wasilla resident.
"She's just honest; she has good intentions in everything she does," Buser said as he sipped on a rum and Coke in the bar, crowded for Palin's speech, which started about 6:30 p.m. Alaska time. "I know, because I've lived with her in the community the last 29 years. Here we judge people by what they do."
Buser's wife, Kathy Chopoton, said they came to watch Palin at Tailgaters to show their support in a way that would make Palin proud.
"People love her in the community because they know that she loves us," Chopoton said, grasping her glass of Alaska Amber. "This is exactly the kind of event she would show up for."
Palin's supporters, most of whom casually refer to her as Sarah, as if she were an old friend, like to recall how she visited nearly every home in Wasilla during her mayoral campaign to ask constituents what issues mattered to them.
Many credit her with bringing paved roads, a developed sewage system and a major sports complex to Wasilla while managing to raise four children and remain active in the community.
Palin's legend grew as former Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed her to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, only to have her resign after she leveled corruption allegations against the state Republican chair Randy Ruedrich, who was also on the board. Three years later, she defeated Murkowski and became the state's first female governor.
"She resigned that position and she won the respect of people around the state, because she gave up a lucrative position because of her high moral standards," said Tom Carpenter, who stopped into Tailgaters to catch the speech on his way out to go sheep hunting.
In an effort to explain her popularity, Carpenter turned behind him and nodded to the tables crowded with pitchers of beer and Palin memorabilia.
"There's no one sitting here in a suit. These are normal everyday people and that's really what this country is made up of. That's who she is and that's why people appreciate her," he said.
Down Parks Highway off Easy Street, friends of Marie and Fred Lambing gathered in the couple's home to watch the speech. They cheered Palin as she described her evolution from hockey mom and PTA member to mayor of Wasilla and then governor of Alaska.
"Know the difference between hockey moms and pit bulls? Lipstick," Palin said, provoking applause and laughter in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in the Wasilla living room.
Like most in Wasilla, the Lambings and their guests consider themselves friends of Palin and her husband, Todd. Palin grew up here, and when she ran for mayor, she went to the homes of nearly every home in the town of fewer than 8,000 people and wrote letters to others known to be active voters in the community.
Munching on cheese and crackers and salmon pate, the guests also cheered Palin as she described her support of drilling for oil and the construction of gas pipelines in northern Alaska.
"We have enough," Palin said, prompting nods of approval around the room.
"It's true," said Margaret Coleman, a retired heavy equipment operator.
"We have a lot to offer to the lower 48, but we're not sure if we want to," Wes Keller joked. "But really, it's about creating jobs and energy up here and across the country."
Palin's success in finalizing plans for a gas line in the northern slope is another benchmark her supporters say represents her ability to work across party lines.
But it's the humility with which she carries herself that makes her all the more appealing, Keller said.
"I know her just enough to know she's into this to see what positive difference she can make," he said. "She has a servant's attitude, she's not arrogant and she's not full of herself."
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