To the roar of the crowd and a waving sea of hand-held American flags, Sarah Palin made her entrance on stage at the Bakersfield Business Conference Oct. 11.

The former Alaska governor and potential 2012 presidential candidate took position behind the lectern inside the main speaking tent, thanking the crowd and expressing her excitement for speaking in Bakersfield.

“I’m glad to be here in California’s country capital, where we have the Bakersfield sound, and we have the likes of Merle Haggard,” said Palin.

Palin began to tell the audience of a recent interview she had with Ronald Reagan’s son, Michael Reagan.

During this meeting, a quote was stated by the former president in October of 1987 concerning the economic state of the country at the time, came into the conversation.

Stating the quote by Reagan, “For once, there was a great confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism, now there is eerie, ghostly silence and economic stagnation, unemployment, inflation and despair,” Palin related the statement to the current sociopolitical state of the country.

Asking the crowd, “Are we better off than we were before Barack Obama?” and with a congregated “No,” from the crowd, Palin began to criticize the current administration.

“By every measurable standard, though unfortunately, we are worse off now than we were two years ago,” said Palin.

“Unemployment has risen 57 percent, and that means five million more Americans are out of work today.”

The former Alaska governor went on to critique President Obama on his reform programs, the unemployment rate and his tax policies.

After stating another quote by Reagan, Palin went on to talk about the average American citizen, as well as how the Tea Party movement has the well being of the what she called “the little guy” in mind.

“The little guy has been forgotten for too long,” she said. “Now the little guy is fighting back against the big powers that be, and the little guy doesn’t ask for much, certainly not from his government.

“All he has ever wanted was a good job in his own home town and a fiscally and psychically secure union – an honest government that is on our side and doesn’t ride our back,” said Palin.

Concerns for the current California water situation and the Delta smelt fish were also addressed by Palin.

“Here in California we see rich farmland left fallow because some faceless bureaucrat in D.C. decides that a two-inch fish is more important than the thousands of Californians who have worked this land for generations,” said Palin.

Concentrating throughout her speech on the recent actions of Congress, Palin expressed her discontent for the current presidential administration and how she feels “the government is no longer on your side.”

“The little guy sees the small mom and pop business closing down because they can’t compete when government over-regulates them and tilts the playing field in favor of the big guys who could afford lobbyist to write rules for everybody else,” said Palin.

“Look just recently at McDonald’s. They get an exemption from Obama-care, right? But what about the moms and pops? What about the rest of us?”

Detailing on how conservative Americans, including the Tea Party Movement, have taken to activism and marches, the former governor spoke on how the Republican Party should be taken back to its roots and rebuke the current reform of government and health care.

“This year we have resisted the temptation too, to run as a third party. We are working within the GOP, which is good, healthy for the GOP to take it back to its roots, that’s where we got to go,” said Palin.

Noting a divide in the current Republican Party, between the Tea Party and liberal conservatives, whom she referred to as the “cocktail party,” Palin stressed that they would not go the way of the liberal Republicans.

“Now already there are some of those in that cocktail party wing who are looking at the Tea Party, and they are hoping that it will just go away after Nov. 2, so that the GOP can kind of swing back to the status quo unfortunately.”

Palin expressed confidence that her party will win the majority in Congress this year and hope that they would win the presidential election in 2012.

“We will win this by sticking to the time-tested truths that built America into the safest, most generous, most prosperous, healthiest nation on earth – time tested truths, the truth that the government that governs least governs the best and the truth that the constitution provides the path toward a more perfect union,” said Palin toward the conclusion of her speech.

As she exited the stage to cheers, Palin said, “Thank you for being part of the solution. God bless you Bakersfield. God bless America.”