McCain-Palin hit the trail as a team
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin are changing travel schedules Saturday and heading to Mississippi to check on preparations for Hurricane Gustav, according to the campaign.
McCain and his wife Cindy will join Palin in traveling to Jackson, Miss., at the invitation of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, said McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan.
In a pre-taped interview to air on Fox News Sunday, McCain said parts of the Republican Party may have to be delayed or postponed if the hurricane wreaks havoc. "It wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster," McCain said.
Earlier, Palin eagerly began her new job as McCain's running mate and greeted key swing-state voters with some of her family in tow.
"It is so good to be here in Steeler Country!" Palin told about 5,000 supporters at a minor league ballpark here, about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. Members of the crowd, including some from nearby Ohio and West Virginia, chanted, "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!"
The 44-year-old governor echoed the largely biographical, introductory speech she gave Friday in Dayton. The self-described "hockey mom" said she sought the mayor's job in tiny Wasillla, Alaska, in order to "stop wasteful spending, cut property taxes, and put the people first."
After a stint on an Alaska ethics board, in which she pursued a case against the chairman of the state's Republican Party, Palin won election as governor in 2006. "I stood up to the old politics as usual," she said, including the "good old boys network."
McCain introduced his newly minted running mate to the crowd at Consol Energy Park, citing her record of "reform and public integrity."
The Arizona senator also called for prayers on behalf of the Gulf Coast residents potentially in the path of Hurricane Gustav.
Polls show a close race here: Democrat Barack Obama leads McCain by an average of 5 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics.com.
