Ground Game

Here in St. Paul, conservative talk show radio hosts occupy a long hallway leading into the Excel Center. Much like the conservative blogosphere, the conservative and evangelical airwaves have not always been the warmest enclave for John McCain. But in talking with some of them today, I have found a sea change in their outlook towards the soon-to-be anointed Republican nominee, and much of that has to do with Sarah Palin.

Even Rush Limbaugh seems to have come around.

"He's always been a strong pro-life candidate," said Jeff Shell, co-host of KKMS Live! with Jeff & Lee, based in Eagan, Minnesota. "But [Palin] energized the evangelical base and sucked the air out of Obama's nomination."

"It's been a huge boost," added his co-host Lee Michaels. "Defense and national security have always been strengths for him with our listeners. And the Rick Warren Saddleback Forum helped a lot. Warren is an example of how important evangelicals still are and it really increased the enthusiasm for the Republican ticket."

"Maybe one in twenty have been disappointed with the Palin pick," said Lars Larson of KXL in Portland, Oregon and his Westwood One national affiliate. "Sarah Palin has far more executive experience than Obama."

I'll have more on the influence of talk radio at the Republican National Convention later this week. But the message here is that conservative talk radio was not able to derail McCain's drive for the Republican nomination and they aren't likely to be a drag on his general election effort either.