Sarah Palin lived up to her "Barracuda" nickname Monday morning in Clearwater (video here), saying America can't afford Barack Obama's "left-wing" agenda and suggesting the Democrat is lying about his ties to a domestic terrorist.

"There is a pattern here of a left-wing agenda that's packaged and prettied up to look like Mainstream policies,'' Palin told thousands of cheering supporters in downtown Clearwater. "Higher taxes and bigger government and activist courts and retreat in war -- that's not the right track for our country. That's another dead end."

The Alaska governor joked about her "probably-less-than-successful" interview recently with Katie Couric. "What I should have told them was I was just trying to keep Tina Fey in business,'' Palin quipped. "Job security for SNL characters."

iShe also offered a shout out to the Tampa Bay Rays: "Some of the experts this year were kind of tough on the Rays. I've been there,'' she said. "Florida knows a little something about turning an underdog into a victor, and that's what we can do."

She told the crowd that Obama is a defeatist on the Iraq war, suggested he did not support the troops in Afghanistan and said that no matter what he says he will raise people's taxes. She hammered Obama for his association with 1960s radical William Ayers, who in 1995 hosted a reception for Obama at his home.

"Barack Obama said Ayers was just someone in the neighborhood. But that’s less than truthful,'' Palin said. "His own top adviser said they were, quote, 'certainly friendly.' In fact, Obama held one of the first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers’ living room. And they’ve worked together on various projects in Chicago."

After the 22-minute-speech, Shania Twain's She's Not Just Another Pretty Face cranked up.

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