Preaching a message of dedication and commitment to the American people, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin became the first political figure from this year’s presidential race to visit the University at yesterday’s political rally.

Standing beside her husband Todd, Gov. Palin began by telling the crowd of roughly 5,500 attendees filling Anderson Arena that it is imperative to examine the associations and records of Sen. Barack Obama as the days before the election dwindle down.

According to Palin, Obama’s ties with Former Palestinian Liberation Organization Spokesman Rashid Khalidi should be released to the American public due to Khalidi’s public criticism of Israel.

The Alaskan governor called for the Los Angeles Times to release a videotape of the Democrat attending a 2003 party for the Palestinian-American professor, where she said Obama and other guests made critical comments about Israel. By not releasing the tape, Palin said the newspaper is favoring Obama over McCain.

‘If there is a Pulitzer Prize for excellence in cowtowing, the LA Times would win it,’ Palin said. ‘The public has a right to know what a candidate really stands for.’

Palin also referenced the now infamous ‘Joe the Plumber’ incident in relation to Obama’s stance on taxes and the economy, eventually bringing the Holland, Ohio, resident to the stage to stand by her side.

‘Sen. Obama has an ideological commitment to higher taxes, and Joe was the only one to get him to state in clear language what his intentions are,’ Palin said. ‘Obama is for bigger governments and higher taxes.’

Noting that Obama has voted 94 times for higher taxes, Palin promised the enthusiastic crowd that with her and Sen. John McCain in office, a real tax cut would be implemented in order to ensure the American people would see more of their own earnings.

For Graduate Student Nathaniel Armstrong, Palin’s views on keeping citizen’s money in thier own pockets rather than giving it to government officials is a key point in his decision to vote republican.

‘I disagree with Obama’s views on spreading the wealth,’ Armstrong said. ‘We should be able to keep what we earn and we deserve to keep as much of our money as we can.’

Palin went on to reference the taxation changes she made personally in her homestate of Alaska, ensuring the crowd in attendance that she would be able to handle tax reforms in Washington as well.

As governor, Palin said she eliminated half a billion dollars in wasteful spending and returned that money to the people of Alaska in order to create new jobs and keep businesses in the state.

‘We will use the same common sense approach to reform Washington,’ Palin said. ‘And we will never forget who hired us because we’ll remember we’re there to serve you.’

Palin also promised to serve the American people by listening to thier concerns over the foreboding energy crisis by taking advantage of alternative sources, such as solar wind and thermal energy.

However, she did note that drilling for oil would be a main concern of the candidate’s plans if elected to the White House.

‘For the sake of security and prosperity, energy needs to be produced by American workers,’ Palin said.

And as heard in many of her other rally speeches, Palin also focused on providing equality for families with special needs children.

‘Our vision for America is where every innocent life counts,’ Palin said.

Palin said she would work to put family first whenever possible by providing more assistance and funding for schools with special needs children.

For Toledo Christian High School senior Bradshaw Zeh, Palin’s plans to benefit the families of America encouraged him to attend the rally even though he is not of voting age.

‘If she’s elected, I want to know what she’s going to be doing for me,’ Zeh said. ‘I’m a family guy myself, and she speaks with such emotion, that it’s hard not to want to believe everything she says.’

Promising to fight for the needs of the average American citizen, Palin implored the cheering crowd to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket when voting for change in the country.

‘It’s going to come down to the wire and what we believe in, and in this race, there is only one man who has ever really fought for you,’ Palin said. ‘[John McCain] has the courage to fight for you.’