Oh, it’s times like these that make me miss Nebraska. This should help cheer up the masses after that butt whippin’ put on us by those Missouri Tigers yesterday.

Our best friends called us from the rally and said there’s not enough room for everyone and the energy is electrifying! This is from Omaha — the liberal part of that wonderful state.

I’m heading off to an African Children’s Choir concert tonight, but here is the link to watch it live if you have good timing.

The more criticism heaped on Sarah Palin, the more her Nebraska fans said Sunday they would rally around the Republican vice presidential candidate with the folksy demeanor.

Palin, several Republicans said, has been unfairly maligned by Democratic critics and “gotcha” journalists who don’t like the Alaska governor because she’s a political outsider with down-home roots.

“She’s one of us. She has a family and she has a job,” said Carolyn Gigstad, a Republican from Syracuse, Neb., who was a working mother until a couple of years ago.

“I think she has a lot more on the ball than a lot of people give her credit for,” Gigstad said.

She was among those who waited in line Sunday afternoon for several hours to get a good seat to listen to Palin speak at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, 18th Street and Capitol Avenue.Many had to hire babysitters and cancel family dinners to make time for Palin’s last-minute visit to Nebraska.

None complained.

“Eight hours’ notice is plenty when we’re so excited to have her,” said Rod Edwards, 42, a Republican activist from Omaha who was one of about 150 volunteers who gathered Sunday morning to make Palin signs.

The McCain-Palin campaign did not let Republicans know until Saturday afternoon that Palin planned to stop in Omaha.

It was her first visit to Nebraska and underscored the competitiveness of the presidential race here, where Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is making a bid for one of the state’s five electoral votes.

Matt Miltenberger, executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party, said he did not know how many people to expect.

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson and about a dozen other prominent Nebraska Democrats held a press conference Sunday to welcome Palin to Omaha — albeit with one request.

“We hope she came to talk about the issues,” Nelson said while standing outside the City-County Building downtown.

Palin’s remarks this weekend alleging that Obama has associated with a former member of the Weather Underground, a domestic terrorist group in the 1960s and 1970s, does nothing to clarify McCain’s positions, he said.

“We’ve gone from the silly season of ‘lipstick on pigs’ to the swift-boat season,” Nelson said, referring to the personal attacks on Sen. John Kerry’s war record during his presidential run in 2004.

“That is a thinly veiled strategy to try and change the subject,” Nelson said. “We want to talk about issues such as health care and not guilt by association.”

Since Palin’s surprise selection as McCain’s running mate, conservatives in the Republican Party have rallied around her as one of their own.

Rebecca Albano, 23, said McCain clinched her support with Palin’s nomination, saying she is drawn to Palin, in part, because she feels she can relate to the mother of five.

“She’s a woman, she has kids, she has a career,” said Albano. “She just seems like someone you could have a conversation with.”

Palin’s pick also gave the GOP ticket credibility with Kelly and Jim Haack of Omaha. Jim Haack said that with Palin’s anti-abortion views, he feels more comfortable that McCain would nominate conservative judges.

“I feel more excited about the country I’m handing to my children with McCain and Palin than with Obama and Biden,” said Kelly Haack, who has two boys, ages 11 and 14.

World-Herald staff writer Kevin Cole contributed to this report.

UPDATE Here is a link to a play by play for the Sarah’Cuda event in Omaha. I haven’t actually read it all, but I do know you need to start at the bottom to read in chronologically.

Different topic — If you’ve never seen the African Children’s Choir, you’re missing out. It was phenomenal. It was sweet that they came through a small town in Wyoming.