Hundreds of Sarah Palin fans are gathered in and around a Sioux City bookstore this morning, waiting for Palin to arrive at midday to begin autographing copies of her book, “Going Rogue.”
Jamie Tooker of Orange City and his son arrived at five o’clock Sunday morning. Tooker says he’s a “huge” Sarah Palin fan because she has qualities he respects: “genuine, truthful, honest, good integrity.”
A woman from Sioux City who identified herself as Annette says Palin is “real” and would be a “wonderful” president.
“I like Sarah and I’ve liked her since day one,” she says. “But I also have special needs kids.” One of her adopted children suffered lead poisoning and has permanent learning disabilities; her other child has multiple disorders.
Pam Woodward of Shelby, Iowa, brought her 17-year-old daughter Cayde.
“We started reading the book and I just wanted to have the experience, if (Palin) does run for president, that Cayde got to meet her, so that’s why we’re here,” Woodward says.
Cayde Woodward was texting her friends and got online at six o’clock to begin posting updates on her Facebook page as she waited in line. Her mother hopes Palin runs in 2012.
“So far what I’m reading, it just makes a lot of common sense in her book, and a lot of the things that I’m reading, you know, contradicted what we heard in the campaign about her,” Woodward says. “So I’m just interested to finish the book and hear what she has to say.”
Dennis Comb of Holstein says the main reason he voted for John McCain in 2008 was because Palin was on the ticket.
“I think she’s a breath of fresh air,” Comb says. “…I don’t care much for the Washington crowd.”
Comb drove about 50 miles and settled in for a more than five-hour-long wait to get Palin’s autograph on her book, which he has read.
“She put everything in it — about everything,” Comb says, offering his review of the book. “That’s good. About time the truth gets told.”
Palin is scheduled to arrive at the Barnes and Noble store in the Southern Hills Mall in Sioux City at noon. Bill Haase, manager of the Southern Hills Mall, says it’s been quite an undertaking.
“We’ve spent many, many hours with our security and the police department and, of course, Barnes and Noble staff has been wonderful, so it’s been quite a logistics nightmare, actually, to get it all organized,” Haase says. “We really didn’t know what to expect with the cold weather and possible snow, but we prepared for the big, huge crowds.”
Haase had several friends ask if he would get Palin’s autograph for them, but Haase says he’s just too busy to stand in line, especially since it’s the holiday shopping season and the mall is busy with shoppers who are looking for Christmas gifts rather than an autograph from the former Alaska governor.