(LEFT: Sen. McCain shaking hands en route to his plane. Photo courtesy of Blake Ganyard.)
In the old days, when everyone used to travel by train, this would have been known as a "whistle-stop campaign speech." Only two days after the Republican National Convention ended, around 13 thousand people in Colorado Springs gave Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin a warm welcome at the "Road to Victory" rally. The Republican presidential and vice-presidential candidates departed very little from the speeches they gave at the convention, and produced fellow survivors of the Hanoi Hilton to share stories of teamwork and sacrifice on McCain's part while he was a POW.
UPDATE: The audience was told that thousands of flags being distributed at the rally were rescued from the dumpster immediately after the Democratic National Convention in Denver. FOX News affiliate KXRM has the story. Flags that were unused or returned will spend an honorable retirement decorating veterans' graves at Fort Logan National Cemetery. When the Little Green Footballs blog ran this story, hundreds of readers rushed in with their comments.
UPDATE2: A picture I wish I had taken, from the seats behind the stage at the Jet Center in Colorado Springs, which appeared in Free Republic.
These flags were intercepted as they were about to be thrown away, and distributed to the people attending the McCain-Palin rally. The Democrats reflexively went on the defensive without fully understanding why conservatives are making such a big deal out of this development.
UPDATE3: The Colorado Springs Gazette summarized John McCain's and Sarah Palin's speeches, but forgot to add the fact that selecting her as a running mate has done wonders for attendance at rallies and other public events and contributions to the campaign. We shall know in a few days about her effect on poll numbers.
