Live Report: Todd Palin Rallies Fellow Moose-Shooters in Maine

This weekend Todd "Mr. Sarah" Palin hosted a rally at the Moosehead Trail Trading Post in Palmyra, Maine. I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I decided to stop by.

Lots of pics and some video after the jump…

The Moosehead Trail Trading Post has a fine selection of hunting rifles, for all your bitter clinging needs.

Todd's nickname isn't really "Mr. Sarah," of course. He's "The First Dude." But the significance of this shirt is the reference to Maine's second district: The McCain campaign is making a sudden push there, because Maine splits its electoral votes between its congressional districts.

Who's important now, Michigan?

These sweet skidoos were set up next to the speaker's podium. I really hoped Todd Palin would jump on one of them and take off across the fields after he gave his speech.

He did not.

Wasn't it nice of Sarah Palin to let John McCain be on her ticket?

The media elites got to stand on this fancy platform, instead of jostling for a view with us regular Six-Packs.

Having read here and elsewhere about the vicious outrage being spewed at McCain-Palin rallies, I was fully prepared for an afternoon of hate-filled rhetoric. But this crowd was talking about the Red Sox, mostly, and the nice weather. Also a baked bean supper that has been rescheduled. Perhaps that's Maine code for "Hussein Obama is a terrorist Muslim"?

I did detect some outrage in re: the loudspeaker, which kept looping the same songs as we waited for The First Dude, who was almost an hour late. We heard Kid Rock's "All Summer Long," an ode to casual sex and getting stoned, four times. It is a family values favorite!

Finally, the First Dude rolled in, all hair gel and shades…

He spoke for a few minutes. Turns out this campaign has been a real interesting experience for him and his family. Which is cool: "Life is about experiences," quoth The Dude. (Mmm, especially when your candidate lacks, say, experience.) Todd Palin seems like a perfectly nice man who would rather be home watching a game right now.

There was one protester standing in the street by the parking lot. Her sign read "Women and Polar Bears Against Sarah Palin." A man standing near me asked if that meant the protester was a polar bear. People chuckled, out of their minds with far-right fury. There are no polar bears in Maine!