Yakima Valley residents relish in Palin's visit

RICHLAND, Wash. -- The line stretched from the Hastings bookstore where Sarah Palin was signing, past the Sterling Savings Bank and around the block past McDonald's before ending about 3,000 people later in front of Two Bits and a Bite Bar and Grill.

The people at the front had stayed overnight. They sat in folding chairs and wrapped themselves in sleeping bags. They made friends with all of the other like-minded folks who came to bask in the former Alaska governor's glow.

"I couldn't sleep at all," said 18-year-old Diego Trejo of Yakima, who arrived at 11:30 p.m. Saturday for the noon Sunday book signing. "I was wide awake."

Such is the drawing power of Palin, a relatively unknown governor until Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., made her his running mate for last year's presidential election. Palin, who resigned as governor in July, was in the Tri-Cities to see family for Thanksgiving and stopped in Richland as part of the promotional tour for her autobiography, "Going Rogue: An American Life," which is a runaway best-seller.

The crowd chanted "We love Sarah!" when Palin arrived at 11:30 a.m., earlier than scheduled, and roared again as she shook hands through her car window while leaving at 3 p.m., about an hour later than planned. Not all of them got their books signed, but nobody seemed too upset about it. Palin diffused some potential disappointment when she first arrived by stepping out of her car near the back of the line and shaking hands.

That move fit perfectly with the image those waiting in line already had of Palin.

"She's a real person," said 60-year-old Ellensburg retiree Kathy Miner. "I have seen nothing fake about her. She's down-to-earth, ordinary. And I can totally relate to her."

That's the quality, cited more than any other, that inspired the people at Hastings bookstore to give up their Saturday night and Sunday morning waiting in a parking lot.

"She's just so approachable and likable," said Anita Golladay of Yakima, an officer in the Washington Federation of Republican Women and wife of Yakima County Republican Party Chairman Max Golladay.

"She feels like one of us, like she's not a politician," said Laurel Young, secretary of the county Republican Party.

"She comes across as a real, everyday person," said Rita Hanses, vice chairwoman of the county party.

Everyone interviewed for this story repeated some version of that. Two men who went to Columbia High School (now Richland High School) with Palin's mother, Sally Heath, said she's a chip off the old block, "same as her mother." The 18-year-old from Yakima, Trejo, said he feels like he can believe her and that she shares his values. Megan Johnson, a 31-year-old woman who came all the way from Auburn to see Palin, called her "an everyday person, just like me."

They said they felt they knew Palin, and because of that, they're devoted to her like they'd never been for a politician or any other public figure before. Nobody could say exactly how many people showed up Sunday at the bookstore, but an unofficial estimate from a police officer on the scene put the number around 3,000.

"I'm 63, and I've never been a groupie," said Young, who arrived in Richland with Hanses about 4:30 a.m. "I've never done this. That's how much this means to me."

"It's in the 30s, and we're out there sitting in one spot for hours," Hanses added.

Afterward, two signed books securely in his arms, Trejo called it an amazing experience.

"I got to shake her hand," he said, beaming and adding that he got to speak with Palin's mother and spent "40 seconds, maybe a minute" talking with her aunt.

Julie Hyatt, 54, of Yakima was similarly awestruck after getting her book signed.

"It was just very fulfilling to do this," said Hyatt. "That's why I decided to come at 3 this morning. If I didn't at least try it, I knew I'd regret it."

* Pat Muir can be reached at 509-577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.