More than 1,300 people waited in line Tuesday morning at the Tempe Costco for the chance to meet former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin while she signed copies of her new book.
People arrived at Costco as early as Monday morning to wait in a line that eventually wrapped itself around the store and zigzagged within its aisles.
Audrey Butko, 55, of northeast Phoenix, said her interaction with Palin was very intimate.
“She shook my hand, she asked my name, I told her I’d work my butt off for her if she ran for president and I also said to give Trig (Palin’s youngest son who was born with Down syndrome) a hug because she’s very blessed to have him in her life, and she was very appreciative that I said that,” she said. “I’m glad that I waited six-and-a-half hours in line.”
It was important to meet the former governor of Alaska in real life to get a sense of whether Palin deserves her political support, Butko said.
“When you get to experience someone live, it’s different than just seeing a face on TV,” she said. “Now after seeing her and talking with her, that just confirmed that she is who I imagined her to be, and I can feel confident now to back her and support her just from one little handshake and a little couple sentences that we shared.”
Costco general manager Mary Magel said the event was good publicity for the store after Palin’s publishers chose it as the location to promote her book, “Going Rogue.”
“We’ve been on every news station,” she said. “We’re getting a lot of positive feedback about the way we’ve handled the crowds, so hopefully we’ll continue to have loyal members and get some new ones.”
Jessica Taylor, a high school senior who plans to attend ASU next year as a math major, said she heard about Palin’s visit to Tempe when her government teacher mentioned it in class.
“Of course I had to get out of school today to come see it,” Taylor said. “She’s only going to be here once for a couple of hours, and I really look up to her.”
Taylor said she was excited about the possibility of meeting Palin.
“She’s just a really strong woman, and hopefully she will run for president some day,” she said. “I just want to congratulate her on everything she’s accomplished.”
Greg Pendergrast, 57, of the East Valley, said when he met Palin she was as nice as a person can be when meeting and greeting a thousand people in just a few hours.
“This doesn’t mean that I’m going to vote for her, [or] I’m going to tattoo her initials on my back or anything like that, I just think she’s a fairly important figure in American politics now,” he said. “No matter how much people try to talk bad about her, it doesn’t matter. What she has to say, a lot of people are listening.”
Reach the reporter at salvador.rodriguez@asu.edu.
