Allen, District Make Presence Felt at Rally

By Anita Kumar
The Washington Post
September 4, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 3 — A slew of senators, governors and military veterans fired up a crowd of GOP activists from across the country, including members of the District’s tiny delegation to the Republican National Convention, at an indoor rally Wednesday afternoon.

“Ladies and gentlemen, patriots all, are you all ready to win?” shouted former Virginia governor and U.S. senator George Allen to an enthusiastic crowd.

“Yes!” hundreds of activists screamed back.

The prominent speakers, standing in front of a blue banner that proclaimed “Country First,” received the biggest applause and standing ovations when detailing the heroism of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and defending Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, his running mate, against what they called media attacks.

Allen, who has been advising McCain’s campaign for several months on economic and energy issues, has been speaking as a surrogate for his former colleague at speeches and media interviews this week. He said he first met Palin in Washington in 2004, before she was governor but was “already a force in the Alaska Republican Party.”

On Wednesday, Allen spoke about McCain’s support for oil drilling, lower taxes and ridding the Capitol of “wasteful pork-barrel spending.”

“Anybody who pays taxes, works for a living, cares about their families . . . they ought to be for John McCain,” he said.

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