Thousands greet Palin as she arrives for book-signing

RICHLAND, Wash. -- Thousands of fans, including some who began lining up 26 hours early, greeted Sarah Palin as she arrived for a book-signing event today.

"We love you Sarah," shouted many in the crowd as she arrived at Hastings bookstore in Richland at about 11:30 a.m.

Anita Golladay, wife of Yakima County Republican party chairman Max Golladay, was among those who spent a cold night waiting in line.

"I just knew I didn't want to be on the tail end of the line," she said.

Yakima Republican party vice chair Rita Hanses arrived at 4:30 a.m. and wrapped herself in a blanket to keep warm in the early morning temperatures in the 30s.

"She's like an icon. She's our icon," Hanses said. "She doesn't come across like a politician. She' comes across as real person."

Lines for the former Alaska governor and former vice presidential candidate started at 10 a.m. Saturday — 26 hours before Palin's scheduled to appear at noon today — just to make sure they'd get her to personally sign her tome, "Going Rogue," selling here for $17.39, plus tax.

By 9:30 Saturday night, some 250 of the faithful were camped outside the store, sitting in lawn chairs, covering themselves with blankets and sleeping bags, warming up with portable propane heaters.

"She stands for what we stand for, which is greatly lacking in Seattle," said Debi Danielson, 54, of Yakima. "Only in Seattle can you come up with a government that has the idea that they know how to do everything."  

Danielson was here with her husband, Dale Danielson, 55, a craftsman who works for the Bureau of Reclamation.

Also accompanying them was Debi Danielson's mom, Vi Grauman, 80.

"This is the biggest book-signing event ever at the Hastings store here, said Justin Cardenas, the manager, and probably the biggest one ever in this town.

A coffee shop associated with the store was kept open all night to serve those outside. The Haisting's rest room was opened to the waiting customers as well.

Signs at Hastings declared there was a two-book limit for Palin autograph seekers, and that the GOP vice presidential nominee would not write personal messages. Palin said she would sign as many books as she could between noon and 2 p.m.

Just to make sure she'd get one of the prized signatures, Nancy Daniel, 54, of Benton City, arrived at 10 a.m., parked her lawn chair and claimed the No. 1 spot.

"She's standing up for conservative values, for ending corruption," Daniel said of Palin.

She was on page 121 of the 413-page book. While critics have mostly panned "Going Rogue," Daniel is a fan. "It's a great book. She sounds like a regular American," she said.

Most of the crowd was older and there were few people waiting in line who looked to be in their 20s or under. But there was one group of young women. One of them was Kassie Elfering, 19, of Pasco. She's a sophomore at Columbia Basin College, majoring in pharmacy.

"I like her morals," Elfering said about Palin. "What she says, she believes in. She proves it in real life."

"Going Rogue" was released November 17. Its publisher, HarperCollins, said it sold 700,000 copies in its first week of sale. The publisher said it has 2.5 million copies in print. "She's a modern American mom," Elfering said."You can just relate to her."

-- Compiled from reports from the Yakima Herald-Republic and The Seattle Times