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WEST CHESTER TWP. — GOP supporters used words like "fiery," "wound up" and "breath of fresh air" to describe the visit by Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Friday, Oct. 17, to Butler County.

And that was the hours before the Alaska governor took the rock concert-like stage at The Square @ Union Centre.

Arriving to the song "Eye of the Tiger," chants of "Sa-rah, Sa-rah" and introduced by U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, Palin energized a crowd of approximately 10,000, some of whom showed up before sunrise to witness firsthand a portion of an unprecedented election season.

Michele Pelfrey said Palin "reminds me of myself" enough that the 46-year-old from New Carlisle in Clark County registered to vote for the first time in more than two decades "because I identify with her"

Diane Mason of Dayton, who attended with Pelfrey, also said she identifies with the vice presidential hopeful.

"She's got me wound up," Mason said. "I'm as wound up as I could get."

The level of enthusiasm remained high throughout Palin's 28-minute speech, which covered the topics heard throughout the past two months along the campaign trail, including the economy, job loss, alternative energy policies, the war in Iraq and helping children with disabilities.

Palin also took shots across the aisle early in her speech, associating her and Sen. John McCain's opponent Barack Obama with complaints about voter registration fraud allegations involving the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now or ACORN.

"You won't let the Buckeye state be turned into the ACORN state," Palin said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2112 or dgreber@coxohio.com.