O'FALLON, Missouri (AFP) — Sarah Palin got comfortable in her new role as a vice presidential candidate Monday as she made the Republican case to stay in power.
She was careful, however, not to press too hard against her Democratic rivals after running mate John McCain promised to set aside partisan politics out of respect for those threatened by Hurricane Gustav.
"Moments like this pull our political debate back to fundamentals," the Alaska governor told a rally in O'Fallon, Missouri, Sunday.
"This serves as a reminder that there are consequences when government fails to make very good on its most basic obligations."
Palin, who visited Mississippi's emergency response center earlier Sunday with McCain, expressed confidence in the hurricane preparedness and in the country's ability to "stand ready to help in the work of the relief and efforts to rebuild."
But it is not only in times of emergency that the failures of government impact people's daily lives, Palin said, adding that "every day, the decisions of government can make life better for people or worse."
That is why it is critical to vote for a president in the November 4 election who is capable of reforming a broken Washington, just as she managed to tackle waste and corruption as governor of Alaska, she said.
"One of the goals of reform is to keep the government focused on the things that matter most," Palin said told the crowd of 17,000.
"We want a government that is competent and is dependable and is free of corruption and self-dealing."
But raising taxes and overfunding programs is not the way to make government work, Palin said.
"We don't want bigger government. We want government that does a few big things and it does them right."
Nearly two million people in Louisiana fled to safety ahead of the storm which which hit the coast Monday almost three years to the day after Hurricane Katrina smashed New Orleans.
The Bush administration was angrily criticized for its botched response after Katrina smashed poorly constructed levees and tens of thousands were left stranded for days without food or proper sanitation in floodwaters which swallowed 80 percent of the low-lying city.
McCain sought to show he could rise to the challenge by suspending most of the first day of the Republican convention due to nominate him later this week as the party's presidential candidate.
"The challenges are grave and we have to, as you know, put our country first," McCain told the rally.
"We will put aside our political hats and put on our American hats and we will do everything American needs to do and America must do because that's the nature of our nation to help any of us."
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who was among the top contenders for the vice-presidential pick after running a strong campaign in the party's primary, was also on hand to argue the Republican cause.
He praised McCain's surprise choice of Palin, a 44-year-old self-described "hockey mom" and former small-town mayor who won Alaska's highest office after challenging corruption in her own party.
"Two mavericks have come together on a team to take on the tough challenges America faces," Romney said.
"Washington's broken and these two are going to fix it."
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister who drew support from the party's social conservatives during the primary, was also on hand as a sign of party unity.
"Under President McCain we will always see effective and powerful response," Huckabee said after praising the courage and commitment of the ordinary citizens in the face of disasters like Gustav.
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