Palin says “Georgia, the Country is Watching”

“Thank you Georgia, thank you Savannah,“ said a smiling Sarah Palin Monday morning as she greeted an enthusiastic crowd at the Civic Center.

Palin, the former republican vice presidential candidate, made a series of campaign stops throughout Georgia on behalf of republican senator Saxby Chambliss. It was her first campaign appearance since she and John McCain lost on November 4.

But the chants from the crown were those for a winner, not someone on a losing ticket. Chambliss recently called Palin a rock star for the republican party. His staff told News 3 that more than 2,000 people had RSVP’d for the free event.

Palin got right down to business, saying Chambliss must return to the Senate. “I hope that you understand the eyes of America are on you,“ she told the crowd. “The eyes of America are on Georgia today and tomorrow.“

Palin says checks and balances are needed in Congress and that Chambliss’s one vote is important. “So we need you to send Saxby back to the United States Senate to work for all of us,“ she said.

“Saxby has stayed true to his principals, he has stayed true to the values he has lived out,those values now more than ever are needed in America,“ Palin said. “ And faced with a steep democratic majority in Congress, Saxby isn’t going to be an easy yes vote or an automatic no vote. He’s going to vote his conscience, he’s going to do what’s right for Georgia and what’s right for the United States.“

Palin told the crowd that Chambliss has build a “record of real achievement and service to his state and his country.“

Chambliss’s staff says he and Palin met for the first (and possibly only time) a few months ago at the Republican National Convention. Most in the crowd were not concerned with how well Palin may actually know Chambliss or his specific record, but rather, that she was campaigning for him.

“It’s about the message, that’s the important thing,“ Preston Feiler told me. “ It’s not so much about meeting the person face to face, it’s about getting out the message. And I agree we need to have checks and balances throughout our system.“

“I came to see Sarah Palin visit Savannah and to see what she had to say and to support Saxby (chambliss) and to help him come back to the Senate,“ Denise Fater.

“Saxby? I think she knows him, she gave the impression that she did,“ Mildred Mongin told me. When I asked if it was important to her that Palin actually did know Chambliss and something about his record, Mongin said “not necessarily, because they’re standing for the same things we (here) all stand for, American ideals.“

Chambliss spoke briefly to the Savannah crowd before Palin was introduced. “ Georgians have an opportunity to decide what direction our country’s going to go in,“ he told the crowd.

And while many say they will vote for Chambliss, there was little doubt who most came out to see, “Sarah, Palin,“ one lady told me.

“Sarah Palin,“ said another.

A group of schoolchildren came to see Palin and got her autograph. “She is so inspiring and amazing,“ one girl told me about Palin. “You can relate to her so well. I love her.“