Roben had protested at designated location with her homemade sign "Sarah Palin does not speak for this woman" on display. After doing the protest she had taken off in the car with another campaign worker looking for the other Obama volunteers when she found herself driving next to Palin's van in the Walmart parking lot. Roben said she looked over and Palin's car was about three feet away. According to Robin, Palin is a very small woman whose head barely stuck out above the car's steering wheel. Yes, incredibly, Palin herself was driving the van and her three girls were huddled in the back seat. Roben said the girls looked homesick and fearful.
I asked Roben if Bristol, whose is supposed to be 6 months pregnant, was also in the back seat. Roben says she was there. Roben said the girls were wearing dark "church" dresses and looked frightened of the strange new landscape of Weirdsville. I remarked that it is probably not good to haul a 6 month pregnant girl around the country in the back of a van, not to speak of a special needs infant, even though the infant was ridng in the Straight Talk Express.
Roben said Palin looked out of her element, like she had bitten off more than she could chew. I remarked that Palin seemed to have the idea that she could be a full time Mom and run for Vice President at the same time, something we both agreed was totally unrealistic if she wanted to do either well. At any rate, Palin was able to buy the diapers and make it to her speaking engagement.
Once Roben found the other campaign workers they told her they had encountered some Pain supporters who were very hateful. One had said "Why don't you burn that sign and burn yourself while you're at it." Based on this and some other reports I have read lately I would say: "If hate were gasoline Palin could ride for free."
I am talking with my office mate who has worked in intelligence and he says the SS will not prevent a candidate from driving, although the SS will be near by.
In fact, my office mate just told me he saw John Edwards driving his car through Georgetown when he was a candidate, and the SS was nearby. That disproves your assumption that the SS would not allow a candidate to drive his or her own vehicle.
But the bigger point is that there absolutely no way there were just a few SS hiding in the vicinity. There would have been many escort vehicles with a combination of local, state, and federal police/law enforcement/protection. She would not have been out on her own and/or not surrounded by security - whether she was driving or not.
I see where Levi didn't register in time to vote.
Dear Becki,I tried to log on to the site but couldn't.So here's some additional remarks you might post in my behalf about Palin and the car.
It's possible the woman I saw could have been a decoy,because they do that sometimes, but there were motorcycle cops in front and back of the car and flanking it,as it was midway through the procession.The car had more security flanking it than did the Straight Talk bus,which led the procession.At Wal-mart the buses and cars were arranged in a line in front of the store, with deputies at the front of the line and back.The idea seemed to be to have good security but be as unobtrusive with it as possible.
Apparently she got on the bus unbeknownst to the other protestors,sometime after it stopped, and picked up the baby,because she had him with her in the store. The local paper ran a picture of her in Wal-Mart,carrying him over her shoulder and smiling.Her hair was down by then (again, seemingly trying to look unobtrusive)but the small pearl earrings, style of glasses,and suit coat were the same,so it was probably her I saw..When she climbed off the bus after a few moments in the store, the baby was not with her.She probably had a police escort back to the car,maybe the same deputy sheriff whom I saw was talking to her.
The newspaper report quoted a Wal-Mart customer as saying, 'She's a good Christian woman and the fact that she stopped for the baby's diapers proves that she puts family first."PLEASE.
I admit I was surprised myself that while the whole caravan had deputies, motorcycle cops clearing the path, occasional motorcycle cops flanking it,and sheriff's cars front and back, the total amount of security was not enormous or excessive.There probably would have been more if she had been scheduled to speak, but she was only driving through.
I hope that helps.. thanks for writing it anyway. Best,Roben.