Sarah Palin wows the crowd at Founders Day in Auburn
  • celebration.

    Thousands of cheering onlookers lined the downtown parade route to catch a glimpse of the Alaska governor, who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in the fall.

    Riding in the back of a red convertible Cadillac -- from 1959, the year of Alaska's statehood -- Palin didn't disappoint her fans, many of whom carried signs urging her to run for president in 2012.

    She posed for a picture, she smiled, she waved and she flashed thumbs-up signs -- all to building applause as her car glided down Genesee and South streets to Memorial City Hall. In her speech at City Hall shortly after the parade, Palin fever spiked hot again.

    Just before she spoke, many in the crowd started chanting, "Run, Sarah, run."

    After she was given a print of a picture depicting Auburn's William H. Seward brokering the purchase of Alaska in 1867, Palin looked back in her 10-minute speech at the 2008 presidential campaign .

    Palin had the crowd rolling when she took a good-natured swipe at actress Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live" skit. Palin had defended her lack of foreign relations experience by noting that Alaska is close to Russia. Fey, playing Palin, poked fun at Palin with the line, "I can see Russia from my home."

    Referring to the Seward print, Palin said to the crowd, "They're looking at a globe and they're pointing to Alaska in this painting, and I'll betcha anything what Seward was pointing out was: 'Lookie there, you can see Russia from Alaska.'¤"

    The crowd roared.

Gov. Sarah Palin Leads Auburn’s Founders Day Parade