RICHMOND, Va. - Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin mistook some of her own supporters for hecklers Monday at a rally that drew thousands.
A massive crowd of at least 20,000 spread across the parking lot of Richmond International Raceway, and scores of people on the outer periphery more than 100 metres from the stage could not hear.
"Louder! Louder!" they began chanting, and the cry spread across the crowd to Palin's left. Some pointed skyward, urging that the volume be increased.
Palin stopped her remarks briefly and looked toward the commotion.
"I hope those protesters have the courage and honour to give veterans thanks for their right to protest," she said.
Some in the crowd tried to shout toward her what was really being said, but she couldn't hear them.
Some in the crowd had stood in place for more than three hours on a sunny day without shade. Paramedics provided aid to several people who passed out in the press of people. The exact nature and number of the ailments was not immediately clear from Henrico County authorities.
Virginia has been solidly Republican for 40 years but is now an electoral battleground with both sides locked in a very close race for the state's 13 electoral votes.
