Timeline of Sarah Palin event at Riverfront Sports

The Times Leader is covering the McCain-Palin rally at Riverfront Sports in Scranton. The visit is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's first to the area. Her running mate, John McCain, has previously held town hall meetings in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Following is a timeline of the "Road to Victory" rally. The most recent updates are at the top.

2:24 p.m. EDT | 'Country first': "From a... prison camp to the halls of Congress, he (McCain) has always put his country first," Palin said.

Palin said that McCain's 22 years of service in the U.S. military make him the best candidate to serve as Commander-in-chief for troops currently serving in Iraq.

"We believe America is not the problem. We believe America is the solution," she said. "Thank God we have a man ready to lead us" instead of delivering "just words."

"There is only one man in this campaign who has ever really fought for you," she said of McCain.

Palin concluded her remarks at 2:29 p.m. EDT and began shaking hands with the crowd.

2:17 p.m. EDT | 'Drill, baby, drill': Speaking about energy independence and offshore drilling prompted chants of "Drill, baby, drill," from the crowd at Riverfront Sports. The chant has almost been a secondary slogan to the GOP plan for the future of fuel in the country.

"Our children are not a problem, they're a priority," Palin said, amidst points made about special needs children. Palin has a son, Trig, who has Down syndrome.

"He is only more precious because he is vulnerable," she said of Trig. "I think we can learn more from him than he'll ever learn from us."

"John and I are going to make sure that families" with children of special needs "have the support they need." She claimed she would be a "friend and advocate" of special needs children in Washington if elected to be Vice President.

2:10 p.m. EDT | 'Quit digging': Palin claimed McCain would balance the federal budget by the end of "our term."

"The federal government is in a hole. What do you do when you're in a hole? You quit digging," she said. "America can't afford a big spender in the White House."

Palin said she and McCain have track records of reform. As mayor, "I eliminated personal property tax," she said. "In Alaska, we put government back on the side of the people. In a McCain-Palin administration, we will never forget that we work for you, the people of this nation," she continued, prompting a "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah" chant.

Energy independence is crucial to the next administration, she said, adding that it is a national security issue. In speaking about clean coal technologies, she told the crowd that "you understand the domestic resources that are already here."

2:04 p.m. EDT| Anger to action: Palin reminded voters that the election is three weeks away. "Pennsylvania, are you ready to help us?" she asked. "Are you ready to make John McCain the next President of the United States?"

"Our economy is in crisis...and our retirement is being put at risk. We need a tough man" to lead the country, she said. "All across American, there's a lot of... anger at the greed and corruption of Wall Street..." McCain will turn "that anger into action," Palin claimed.

McCain's plans will bring stability to the housing markets and seek out predatory lenders, she said. She said elderly people across the nation are worried about losing their life savings, and she said only McCain has the plan to help rebuild their retirements.

1:56 p.m. EDT | 'Proud to be an American': After finishing the national anthem, Greenwood began singing the song "you might have heard of." The song reached number 7 in 1984, was played at the Republican National Convention in 1984, and it gained a bounce in popularity following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

1:52 p.m EDT | Palin on stage: Gov. Sarah Palin has taken the stage and thanked "all you hockey moms, soccer moms" and more for turning out to the event.

Country music singer Lee Greenwood, famous for the 1984 patriotic hit "God Bless the U.S.A.," has joined the governor on stage and performed the national anthem. She is also joined by her husband, Todd Palin.

1:47 p.m. EDT | Multiple sightings: Heather Sage, of Shamokin, the first person in line, said this is her third time seeing Sarah Palin and her second seeing Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican nominee John McCain.

Queen's "We Will Rock You" is playing over the sound system inside Riverfront Sports.

1:41 p.m. EDT | Early risers: The first people in line to today's rally in Scranton arrived at 6:30 a.m. Doors to the event did not open until 11 a.m.

One supporter of the GOP ticket told the Times Leader that he quit his job in St. Louis, MO, and has attended Republican events across the country.

Kay Firillo, of Blooming Grove, NY, said, "I think it's time like they did years ago for women to stand up for their rights. I think its time we stood up for our rights."

Douglas Houskeeper, of Milford, said, "We're going to hold on to it" when asked about Pennsylvania supporting the Republican ticket. "I think McCain and Palin have good ideas. I like his budget plan."

1:36 p.m. EDT | Live music: Scranton country music band Farmer's Daughter is providing live music for portions of the McCain rally. Songs have included "Life is a Highway" which was recently covered by Rascal Flatts and "Sweet Home, Pennsylvania," a cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd hit "Sweet Home, Alabama."

Palin is not expected to begin her participation in the rally until 2 p.m.

1:27 p.m. EDT | Crowd overflows original area set for rally: The area originally set up for the Road to Victory rally has been filled, and members of the crowd have been moving to an additional area of the complex.

Building owners told the Times Leader on Sunday during a rally for the Democratic Party that the capacity of one half of the complex is about 3,000 people. Tickets for the event were available throughout the area, but the campaign said as many people as possible would be admitted with or without tickets.

Many of those gathered inside Riverfront Sports are wearing red. Some seated on bleacher behind where the Alaska Governor is expected to speak are each holding letters to spell out the message "Scranton (heart) Sarah."

The majority of the crowd appears to be women, despite the GOP's loss of support from the key voter group. According to a CBS News report from October 8, 2008:

"...Shortly after John McCain's announcement that Palin would be his running mate, several polls showed a strong swing of white women toward McCain. An ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted immediately after the Republican convention showed a 20 percent swing among white women toward McCain. White women went from supporting Barack Obama 50 percent to 42 percent to supporting McCain 53 percent to 41 percent, a swing that helped McCain close a 6 percent gap in the poll in only a week.

But Obama has since regained his lead with white women in most polls.

And Obama now leads among all women voters "despite all the talk of disaffected Hillary Clinton voters."

The facts are, white women were taken by Sarah Palin at first by a considerable margin. But since all the negative publicity and facts surrounding Palin have come out (the abuse-of-power investigation in Alaska, her mean-spirited love of slaughtering wildlife, her teenage daughter's pregnancy, and her hard-right stand on most issues), women have fled back into the Obama camp...."

Source: CBS News, "Palin Did In Fact Draw White Women To The McCain Ticket--Temporarily," retrieved on October 14, 2008

1:21 p.m. EDT | 'Nothing wrong with America': Hackett told the crowd that "there is nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what's right with America," which prompted a "U.S.A." chant from those gathered before he left the stage.

A short film about Sarah Palin and Alaska is playing over the sound system inside Riverfront Sports. The film speaks about her upbringing in Alaska, her education, her record as mayor of Wasilla, AK, and her move to the governor's office, overseeing the state of Alaska.

1:13 p.m. EDT | Hackett second to speak: Following a speech by Doyle Heffley, candidate for state representative in the 122nd District, 10th Congressional District candidate Chris Hackett has begun speaking.

"Sarah Palin stands out as a breath of fresh air," Hackett said. "She's one of us. We know all about... working hard... and loving our country."

"There are things that make me angry. These things include liberal politicians in Washington who want to raise our taxes," Hackett continued.

Several years ago, Hackett said, McCain tried to call attention to the growth of Fannie May and Freddie Mac. "Unfortunately, Democratic leadership blocked that bill from going through," he said.

Hackett is touting McCain's record of never requesting earmarks for spending. If bills come across his desk if elected, "he will veto that bill," Hackett said.

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