What a difference a day made in the fortunes of the Obama-for-President campaign in Alaska.
On Thursday, polls were saying Illinois Sen. Barack Obama had a fighting chance to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Lyndon Johnson prevailed in 1964.
On Friday, all bets were off, as presumptive Republican candidate John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
"Well that's over," said professor Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics and a frequent media analyst on network TV. "Alaska's now going Republican."
Don't be so sure, said Obama for Alaska communications director Jeff Giertz -- whose cell phone hadn't stopped ringing all morning at the campaign's downtown Anchorage headquarters.
"People vote for president, they don't vote for vice president, and we're going to keep moving forward here in Alaska," Giertz said. "We're committed to the state."
Still Giertz, 24, and other staffers at the headquarters sounded almost wistful, recalling the jubilation of the previous evening. Or even the good old days last spring.
In early February, Obama rolled to a three-to-one victory over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Alaska's Democratic caucuses. On the GOP side, McCain finished close to last, trailing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and even chronic back-of-the-packer Ron Paul.
From McCain's perspective, it didn't much matter. His success in the majority of other states that Super Tuesday virtually wrapped up his nomination. But Democrats paid attention, noting McCain's lack of popularity among Republicans in a state where he'd bucked the party line by opposing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
In the months that followed, McCain forces never bothered to open an office in Alaska. But the national Obama campaign sent professional staffers and opened five offices statewide. Since then, "thousands" of Alaskans have phoned in and offered their services as volunteers, Giertz said.
Thursday night, a lot of them flocked to designated theaters around the state to cheer and stamp their feet as Obama delivered his acceptance speech in Denver. In Anchorage, about 500 partisans filled the Discovery Theater at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts to hear the address.
"The place was packed," Giertz said. "People were clapping -- it was like an extension of the crowd at Denver. It was fantastic."
Early Friday morning, however, the Obama spokesman found himself answering nonstop questions about the state's "game-changer," Sarah Palin.
"She may be the governor of Alaska, but she's just not ready to be commander in chief," he said. "She's one heartbeat away from being president. And I just don't think Alaskans -- or Americans -- will feel that she's ready for the job."
Find George Bryson online at adn.com/contact/gbryson or call 257-4318. Daily News reporter Richard Mauer contributed to this story.
By GEORGE BRYSON
gbryson@adn.com