After John Ziegler interviewed Governor Palin for his documentary “Media Malpractice” (which, by the way, I recommend every American watch) he had this to say: "Beyond the great interview for the film the most important part of my visit to the Palin home was learning there’s a big difference between thinking something is true and knowing for sure it is. I now know Sarah Palin is exactly who I thought she was. I also know, with moral certitude, that the media assassination of her, her character and family, was one of the greatest public injustices of our time.” Mr. Ziegler put his feelings beautifully, and this morning I woke up feeling the exact same way. For conservatives, meeting Sarah Palin confirms that everything they’ve always loved about her is undeniable; and for liberals, meeting Sarah Palin truly makes them think twice about the media’s portrayal of her, because there is something about Sarah Palin that makes time stop when she enters a room.

Two weeks ago when I heard that Sarah Palin was coming to Long Island, I never in a million years thought I would come close to seeing her. It took some intense Google stalking to find out exactly where she was going to be, because of course the media didn’t say a word about it until the last possible minute. What I learned was that Sarah was to be honored at the 30th anniversary of the foundation of a group known as Independent Group Home Living. IGHL has spent the last 30 years helping the developmentally disabled. I would recommend checking out their website, especially if your life is personally touched by the issue : http://www.ighl.org/. From spending a mere four hours with the families in this group, I have a new perspective on the word “hope” and understand now more than ever, that it is much more than an empty promise thrown around on the campaign trail.

I could call it a God sighting that there were tickets left two weeks before the event, though it was more likely due to the fact that many Long Islanders were unaware of this event until the last minute. However, when the “journalists” on Long Island finally DID start to casually mention that Sarah was coming, the event immediately sold out. The amount of people attending the event couldn’t even fit in one room. The dinner was held in THREE different rooms to accommodate the 1000 people who came out to support IGHL, and see the Governor of America’s coldest state in the flesh.

For all the time’s I made fun of Chris Matthews for announcing on national television that he had a thrill up his leg when he heard Obama speak, I’m starting to understand the concept when applied to someone who doesn’t make me throw up in my mouth. The anticipation in the room for the hour before Governor Palin entered the building was something that is hard to express in words. 99% of the room was talking about her. I heard everything from, “I still don’t get what’s so funny, you can see Russia from Alaska.” to “Is it 2012 yet?” to “Sarah is my girl!” Even before Sarah entered the building, the people inside felt a connection with her that reflects the fact that was proved beyond a doubt later in the night: Sarah Palin is the most real politician in modern American politics. As much as everyone tried to be respectful by calling her Governor Palin to her face, when speaking about her it’s always SARAH. Why? Because, and I know this is quite shocking, Sarah is a real person, not a robot. She understands the life of an average American-- because she is, and always has been an average American. No, she didn’t go to Harvard or spend her time hanging out with racist preachers. Ronald Reagan always believed that people should enter politics not because it is their ego driven dream, but because they feel obligated to answer the call to public service. Sarah Palin’s political career started when she felt that the local PTA needed her and I know it’s really hard for limousine liberals to understand that. They just better get over it, and fast, because Sarah Palin is not going away any time soon.

When Sarah (and Todd) finally entered the room, the atmosphere immediately changed and a mob of people surrounded her (them). At first I didn’t attempt to join the mob because I thought that Sarah was taking a path that would land her right in front of my table, and also because I’m five foot and had no chance of seeing over all of those people anyway. However, I soon realized Sarah was taking a different path – one that avoided the obnoxious press- who spent the entire night trying to turn the event into one that was political. ((NEWSFLASH: Sarah Palin didn’t come to Long Island to increase her chances of becoming the Presidential nominee in 2012. Sarah Palin (and the rest of the Universe) knows she has absolutely no shot of ever winning the state of New York. Sarah Palin came to Long Island to support a cause that is close to her heart. DEAL WITH ITTT.)) As soon as I figured out that she wouldn’t be coming close to my table, I grabbed my camera and the really cute 12 year old girl who was sitting next to me (Kiera) and made a run for it. The one advantage to being young, or in my case small, is that you can wiggle your way through a mob of people and somehow end up in the front. My new friend Kiera and I were literally face to face with Sarah Palin, and that thrill up Chris Matthew’s leg jumped onto mine. Sarah Palin is not only gorgeous, but she is TINY. She was not that much taller than me, and she is so skinny. She looks like you could break her in half (you couldn’t though- she’d kick your butt). Television doesn’t do Todd Palin justice, and everyone was talking about that. He is a stud, I really don’t care that he’s forty something; he could give McDreamy and McSteamy a run for their money. The Palin’s took their time making their way through the crowd, stopping to talk to almost everyone. It must have taken them a half hour to make it all the way out, because they are so real and legitimately wanted to thank everyone. Not only did I say Hi to the first dude, but I got to shake Sarah’s hand and look her in the eyes and thank HER for what she’s done. Her eyes are filled with nothing but sincerity and she seemed overwhelmed with excitement and joy. The man standing next to me was a member of IGHL who had worked with the group for many years; he was also developmentally disabled. When Sarah saw him she completely stopped walking, put her hands over his hands, and had a conversation with him. She thanked him over and over, and ended by saying “Bless your heart, there’s a special place in heaven for you.” (Hearing her say ‘bless your heart’ in person was awesome because all I could think of was her stopping in the middle of her speech to say to some protester “you know, bless your heart sir, my son’s over in Iraq fighting for your right to protest right now.”)

When you hear Sarah Palin talk, you feel like there is no one else in the room, and that you are sitting down to chat with someone you have known your whole life. She talks directly to you and as Sean Hannity joked later on in the evening, amazingly she does it WITHOUT a teleprompter. How refreshing. I wish that Sarah had been able to talk more about politics, but as I said before, that’s not what the evening was about. Always a class act, she focused solely on the issue of the evening, and her speech was moving to say the least. It’s amazing to hear someone publically thank God, and acknowledge the importance of faith. Sarah spoke about her son Trigg, who she refers to as a gift from God himself.

Although Sarah’s tight schedule prevented her from staying for longer than her speech, her impact on the members of IGHL was evident. Her speech was followed by Sean Hannity’s surprise appearance. I tried to stalk them both in the parking lot, but they both ran out to do the interview that was on Sean Hannity’s show last night. Which, by the way, was an amazing interview that only further proves everything I'm saying.

Now, just for a minute, let’s go back to the press. They are disgusting. I seriously rethought my journalism minor last night because they really made me so angry. First of all, they all had this look on their faces like ‘Oh my god someone kill me I can’t believe I have to cover Sarah Palin.’ None of them were trying to hide their hatred. In fact, one particular moron who I later witnessed running in the parking lot trying to find Sarah’s car, was actually wearing a red white and blue donkey pin. Hey, remember when the media at least PRETENDED they weren’t biased? Well, not anymore. I also personally experienced what it’s like to be grilled by the liberal press. Some woman saw me shake hands with Sarah and came up to me and asked me if I got a good picture. I said I thought I did, and then she asked me if she could ask a few questions. Kiera joined me and the woman must have asked me at least FIVE times why I liked Sarah Palin. Good thing I was able to give five different answers. It was just amusing to me really. It was something like this:

“Why do you like Sarah Palin?”
“She’s a true conservative. She believes in small government, she’s pro-life, she doesn’t care what the media thinks about her.”
“Why is Sarah Palin appealing?”
“For all of those reasons, and because she’s a real person. She’s passionate as you can tell from this event tonight.”
“Right but WHY do people like her?”

I wanted to smack this woman in the head. She was no Katie Couric, but still. She looked like she wanted to spit in my face. Then my favorite was that she asked if I was of voting age and when I said yes I thought she was going to kill me. She didn’t, she just left.

The all time low I witnessed was when this same woman walked up to a young developmentally disabled girl and started grilling HER. She kept asking this girl why she liked Sarah Palin, even though it was obvious she couldn’t provide an eloquent answer. The girl kept responding “She’s fabulous!” I was about to go over and knock the camera out of cameraman’s hands when the girl’s mother came over and basically ended the interview. It’s pathetic how they attempt to turn an amazing event that is completely NOT about politics, into a chance for them to play “gotcha!” with Sarah Palin and her supporters. I can’t stand it, and I just want Conservatives to be aware of this crap. I want them to fight because there’s no rule that says Liberals own the media and colleges. So honestly, when you see this BS on the news, write to them, call them, harass them, tell them you’ll stop watching- and then do it. I barely know what goes on on other stations since my TV is forever on Fox News, but I know that it’s not good.

Like John Ziegler said, there’s such a big difference between thinking something is true and knowing it is. I’m really thankful for everything that happened last night because I was able to make two important confirmations. First, the disgusting bias of the media is an undeniable fact on ALL levels (not just national). And second, Sarah Palin is not just everything I thought she was- she’s much more.

I know that so many people, mostly democrats, have this perception of Sarah Palin that is unflattering, untrue and unfounded. Some Republicans believe it’s something she can’t overcome. I know that’s not true. I know it more than I’ve ever known anything in my entire life. Sarah Palin is not Tina Fey, nor is she the character that Tina Fey portrayed to this country. Sarah Palin is a force to be reckoned with. Last night was the first time since November I’ve had any sense of ‘hope’ or ‘change.’ And yes, those are inspiring feelings, especially when you are helplessly watching the very foundation of your country being dismantled every day by the policies of the most liberal President ever. I’m scared that the age of big government will come back, and I’m scared that my generation will have to clean up this mess. But Sarah Palin makes me want to fight back, because there’s so much to fight for. Sarah Palin has once again inspired me. She has convinced me not to give up, because I know with all my heart that she never will.