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St Paul: Sarah Palin flaunted her small-town roots and lashed out at Democrat Barack Obama during her public debut at the Republican convention on Wednesday, ridiculing her critics as out-of-touch elitists who do not understand everyday life in America.
John McCain's choice for vice president electrified supporters with a brutal assault on Obama and members of the news media who have questioned her qualifications.
"If you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone," the Alaska governor told the crowd, which chanted "Sarah, Sarah" and held signs reading "Palin Power" and "Hockey Moms 4 Palin."
McCain joined Palin and her family on stage at the end of her 36-minute speech as Republican delegates to the convention roared in excitement. "Don't you think we've made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?" he asked.
Palin levelled a series of sharp jabs at Obama, reminding the Republican crowd of his comments at a San Francisco fundraiser in April about bitter small-town residents.
"We don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening," Palin said.
"We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco," she said.
Palin told the convention her service as mayor and town council member in Wasilla, Alaska, had given her a realistic perspective.
"When I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too," she said. She contrasted that with Obama's background as a community organiser in Chicago and first-term senator from Illinois.
Palin questioned Obama's sincerity and mocked his penchant for big speeches and a "cloud of rhetoric," making fun of his claim to have "fought for you."
"There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you," she said of McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
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