What small-town America thinks of Sarah Palin

Charles Kempf, 65, a retired maintainence worker, and Judy Kempf, 61, a retired office manager, are both lifelong Democrats from Mesquite, Nev. They said Palin's "eloquent, intelligent and down-to-earth" way of speaking reminded them of Bill Clinton. Former Hillary Clinton supporters, they strongly dislike Obama and said they were resigned to not voting at all this year. But now they might vote Republican for the first time: "[Palin] kinda relates to us commonfolk ... she's got a family, she's got problems," as opposed to Obama, who "just talks above and is nothing but a script reader." They don't like Palin's strong pro-life stance, Charles Kempf said, but "you're not going to agree with everything, so you've got to overlook a few things."

Norla S., 62, a hospital administrator from Mankato, Minn, also a Hillary Clinton supporter in the primaries, is currently undecided. "I was so upset that Hillary worked so hard to get there, and then Palin comes in and whoop to the top," she said. She pondered this for a moment. "But if not [Palin], it's just the old-boys network again." Palin's small-town credentials appeal to Norla, although she has questions about Palin's experience. "But what the heck? A lot of people didn't have experience before they got in, and she's got a lot of good common sense."

But other voters, though taken by Palin's personality, appear less comfortable with her social politics, even in conservative regions such as northwestern Iowa. In the town of Le Mars -- the "ice cream capital of the world" whose population of roughly 9,000 was 97 percent white as of the 2000 census -- Cathy, 56, a swing voter who had backed Hillary Clinton, admitted that Sarah Palin excites her. Between sips of soup at the Bellissimo Coffee Works, Cathy spoke of how, as a small-town mom, she identifies with Palin. But Palin's hard-line social views are a turnoff. "I really don't care about the gay marriage issue," she said. "I've known gay people all my life."

Many younger voters expressed similar feelings about being put off by Palin. At Mount Rushmore, Republican voter Neal G., 23, currently an engineering and economics student at Ohio State University in Columbus, said he is "100 percent for gay marriage." Taken together with Palin's seeming "uninformed on a lot of issues," he said that he is now reluctant to vote for his party's ticket.

Some see the selection of Palin as a cynical move by McCain to court segments of the electorate in which his support was sagging. They think it will backfire.

"I respected him before, but Sen. McCain will do anything to get elected," said Maureen K., 68, a university administrator from Pittsburgh. "And now with Palin, it's like 'American Idol' replayed." Her husband, Ralph, 68, a computer programmer, and a Republican, reluctantly agreed. "As much as I hate it," he said, "I gotta vote for the Democrats." Carl B., 35, a naval officer also from Pittsburgh, said that "people find it insulting that they would pick Palin to pick up female votes." He said he will stick with his convictions and vote in November for libertarian candidate Bob Barr.

Palin's view of the world beyond Alaska has not gone unnoticed. Even some of those eager to see a woman in power are unimpressed. "When she was talking about foreign policy experience and said, 'I can see Russia from my backyard' -- Ding! Ding! -- that was enough for me," explained Pam Mueller, 64, of Grand Rapids, Mich., a former Hillary Clinton supporter. Mueller said she will stick with her party and vote for Obama. Gray Mayo, 70, from Northglenn, Colo., put it bluntly: "She should stay a sports mom. She's no Hillary."

With the meltdown on Wall Street and the economy weighing more than ever on the minds of Americans, how Palin fits into that picture remains murky. Jim Fitzsimmons, a swing voter from Denver, is struggling to pay the bills for his young family of five solely on his income in a retail job. But he's skeptical as to how much a president can change the economy. He said he's found Obama's campaign to be long on "grandiose talk of saving the world" and short on "the x, y, z of what he's going to do." He and his wife, Therese, said they believe that McCain and Palin stand for reform, and they're leaning toward voting for them. "McCain is part of that old boys network," said Therese, "but Palin is the counterbalance."

The economy deeply concerns Terri Christensen, 38, of Iowa, who owns a machine shop with her husband but also helps out at her parents' restaurant, the B&L cafe, in Rock Rapids, where Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John Edwards stumped during the primary races in January. "Our small machine shop has been tortured by the economy, but it's not important enough for the government to bail us out," said Christensen. Although she is leaning toward the Republican ticket, the pick of Palin surprised her, as such an unknown. "I just want someone who can actually get something done," said Christensen.

Joe Medley, 70, a retired teamster truck driver, identifies with Palin's husband Todd's working-class credentials as a union man and avid dog sledder. Medley has never voted Republican, but said he strongly dislikes Obama and has been excited enough by Palin to consider crossing party lines. With the economy sinking, he might have to come out of retirement, but he doesn't believe either party can do much to bail out America right now. "The Democrats have always done more for the working man," Medley said, "but I think we're so far in debt, it doesn't matter which person you put in there."

That mood may point to the ultimate test for the Palin pick in the six weeks ahead: Can the excitement she's generated help carry McCain through to victory, despite an economy tanking under a Republican administration? Although unfriendly stories about Palin's past continue to bubble up in the media, none seem to be sticking much with voters. If anything, they've endeared her more to some, who see her as a small-town mom getting beat up by a bloodthirsty press corps. If she can run the media gantlet relatively unscathed -- and if Obama and the Democrats fail to persuade voters they can turn the economy around -- Sarah Palin may make history not only as America's first female vice president, but as an unlikely and unusually influential candidate.