NOVATOWNHALL

Sarah Palin left Alaska and has hit the campaign trail for real for the next 50 or so days. She will be doing some individual events and next week is scheduled for townhall-style appearances with John McCain. I think now that the initial ABC hazing is completed Sarah Palin is going to be terrific in the campaign. She has the potential to hit home run after home run in these upcoming personal appearances.

But let’s not kid ourselves, fellow conservatives: It’s September 14. The McCain-Palin ticket now officially has all the hallmarks of “peaking too early.” The world is on fire about Sarah Palin and just as the Democrat ticket has been left discombobulated, the tiny time window of this phenomenon is equally a liability for us. We got the bounce, but we don’t know where the wave is really headed.

Anyway, first stop: Carson City.

From the coverage of Sarah Palin in Carson City, Nevada.

Many wore buttons just purchased from vendors outside the pavilion – a pink “You Go Girl” was a favorite – and some sported shirts paying homage to the most memorable line in her convention speech, “McCain-Palin ‘08” with the “O” as a pair of red lips.

Asked why they liked her, voters said little about issues but rather focused on Palin’s personal qualities and compelling life story.

“PTA, Soccer Mom, that kind of stuff,” explained Luann Tiner.

“She’s the only candidate of all four who can actually shoot an assault rifle,” chimed in her husband, Ken.

The couple, from Sparks, Nevada, just outside Reno, brought their two daughters, ages 12 and 9, to the rally and said that Palin had inspired them to work for the campaign.

This is the nightmare scenario for the Democrats, that Sarah Palin can actually connect with regular voters. You can’t buy that connection. In today’s political environment a host of issues - economics, immigration, culture, and the general sense that our elected representatives don’t really represent us - magnify the chasm between the “officials” and the people. Obama posed as one who closed that gap, but ultimately “we are the ones we have been waiting for” has been exposed as the shallow promise it really is. So up until Palin, cynicism still held sway.

Now, the GOP has the magic bullet. More from Carson City:

“We could see the telepompter right here on the computer and she ad-libbed and that made it even better,” she added, pointing to the scrolling computer screen next to the press riser.

They said it was their first time to attend a political event and that they had also just given a financial contribution to the campaign

“That’s how excited she’s made us feel,” exclaimed Shay Johnson.

Like I said, you cannot buy that. If the McCain campaign is smart enough to let Sarah Palin out to talk to the people, she could accomplish what almost no other political figure can do right now: assure the voters that one of them is poised to help lead the country.