by Mark Silva
ST. PAUL - Sarah Palin started beating a drum about Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention here, and she was beating it again today.
"We don't have a 'present' button as governor,'' Palin said after an appearance before fellow Republican governors in Minneapolis. "We are expected to lead, we are expected to take action and not just vote 'present.''
This, of course, is an allusion to the many "present'' votes that Obama had cast in the Illinois Senate, a common practice there, before his election to the U.S. Senate. (And perhaps Palin was working on her own foreign policy credentials today, addressing the Republican Governors Association at the Museum of Russian Art.)
"There's a big difference, of course, between the executive and legislative branches and our experience,'' Palin said, reiterating a theme likely to be repeated often.
The vice presidential nominee met with the governors the morning after her acceptance speech - a speech that drew a television audience of 37 million, nearly as big as the audience that Obama had drawn with his acceptance speech in Denver.
Democrats have criticized Palin for her pointed remarks about Obama, deriding his experience as a community organizer for isntance. But in a fundraising letter issued today, Palin maintained that "the Obama-Biden Democrats have been vicious in their attacks directed toward me, my family and John McCain. The misinformation and flat-out lies must be corrected."
She has "a big job cut out in front of me running for vice president,'' Palin said. "I intend to give this campaign all that I have to give, and I look forward to these 60-plus days on the trail. My family looks forward to this, we're up for it, we're excited about it."
She did not, however, field any questions from reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Photo of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin after a Republican Governors Association luncheon at The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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