Going Rogue in Columbus; UPDATED and Bumped: Video Added ,Governor Palin Signs Everyone's Books

In an earlier post we reported on some problems Governor Palin had in Noblesville, Indiana due to there being a large number of people and not enough time to sign all of their books. In anticipation of encountering similar problems yesterday in Columbus, the number of wristbands was limited to 500 instead of the previously planned 1,000. A woman and her daughter, who were number 67 in line, describe their experience with Governor Palin:



When Governor Palin finished signing books for those 500 folks who had wristbands, she went rogue and ran outside to invite those gathered in the parking lot to come in so she could sign their books too. This caused a great deal of excitement and the Governor's invitation was accepted with notable enthusiasm, causing her security detail to rush her back inside with alacrity. Governor Palin was very gracious and stayed until everyone's books were signed.

C4P reader Tara was in Columbus yesterday for the book signing event. She provided us with the following first hand account of the event, including the wristband issue:

If we're going to place blame, it's on Borders. They didn't tell people until the next morning about the cut in wristbands, and in fact store management called in the local police to reveal it to the back end of the line because they were worried about backlash. I was in the first group of 100, so I didn't stick around long enough after receiving mine to see if there would be problems (as I was driving away, I saw a cop addressing a section of the line). I did ask, though, when I went back later for the actual event if there were issues and the store worker said no, but that people were "understandably upset." The entire management of the event was, I thought, lacking - speaking as someone who went to numerous Harry Potter midnight release parties, Barnes & Noble was much more organized - at least their wristbands were numbered. Borders had them color coded, so while you could be first in line to get a wristband, you could be last in line for your 100 group section later in the day (the bands were various colors - blue first, red second, etc).

Anyway, the crowd that was there for the event was still in very good cheer - even those who didn't have wristbands (in a separate line), and a lot of them I recognized from the campout the night before. I think that people understood she couldn't stay there until midnight signing books, and were more irritated at Borders for not telling them until almost 10am the next morning.

She was amazing and so much more gorgeous in person. Even though she doesn't personalize the signatures, she really makes you feel like you're the only one waiting to have a book signed when you get up to the table. She asked my name, said she loved my shirt (it's a Reagan shirt), and shook my hand and thanked me for my support - very personable, and I'd rather have that than my name in marker inside her book. Also, she started the signing early, about 5:40 instead of 6, so I really do think she's making every effort to sign as many as she can before they usher her out at 9pm. An extra 20 minutes may not sound like much, but when you've got a maximum of 45-60 seconds with her, that's a fair amount of extra people she can get through the line.

Keep up the awesome work, guys. You're my go-to Palin site. She's the real deal, and I'm almost afraid of the faith that I have in her because politicians always let us down, don't they? But there's something special about Sarah. Her aunt was there as people exited the signing area, she had bookmarks and introduced herself as Sarah's aunt, and I just had to ask for a hug and told her how amazing her neice is, that she's a real gift not just to our country, but to the world.

Tara

Governor Palin's next stop is at 11:00 AM this morning in Washington, Pennsylvania where people have been waiting since yesterday. By the way, yesterday Harper Collins announced they were increasing Going Rogue's print run from 1.5 to 2.5 million copies.

Update by Doug: Last night in Columbus, Governor Palin began signing books early and stayed late to make sure everyone who waited in line had a chance to meet her and get their books signed. Let's go to the video:



More here, including pictures and video.

Update II by Doug: C4P Reader and Commenter "defendAmerica" was in Columbus last night for the book signing. DefendAmerica was one of those who didn't have one of the initial 500 wristbands and provides this firsthand account:

At 8:30 the end of the wristbanded people had made it to Sarah. They told us she was going to need a 5 minute "personal break" and then would decide how many more could come in or if she was done. The manager said she was either gonna sign more, or she was going to come out and apologize for not being able to get to everyone and thank us for coming.

THEN, all of a sudden, she walked out through the doors surrounded by security. The people in line went crazy, yelling her name and cheering. She waved for a second and then said, "Oh, what the heck come on in". The people rushed toward her and were stopped and put back in line by the Borders staff.

She stayed until about 9:20 PM and finished the 200-300 people left in the line.

I got my book signed and then came out and met Sapwolf who was out there holding signs. We went around back and watched her get in her bus and then ran around to the front to wave and cheer as the bus drove off.

She was again, generous and gracious. I thanked her for using her voice to defend us. She asked me where I was from and how long I had been waiting. She commented on my cold hand when she shook it, and I told her she was worth it. She also commented on my t-shirt that said, "Sarah Palin Rogue 2012".

* Bumped by Doug