COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin tried to make the most of their post-convention bounce Saturday with a noon rally in Colorado Springs that drew a larger crowd then organizers expected.

Calling Colorado a hard battle that Republicans must win in November, Palin introduced McCain calling him "the only man in the race who's got what it takes to lead our country." As soon as she began speaking, a group of supporters interrupted her with a cheer of "Sa-rah! Sa-rah!"

"There is only one man in this election who has ever fought for you," Palin told the crowd waving signs and American flags.

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Both candidates attacked Sen. Barack Obama, calling him inexperienced and mocking Obama's central campaign message of change.

"If you want real reform and change, send a team of mavericks," McCain told the crowd.

The visit was McCain's first appearance in Colorado since the Democrats had their convention in Denver last month.

The Arizona senator addressed topics central to many voters in Colorado, including promising to make the country more energy independent by drilling new oil wells, building nuclear power plants and developing coal and natural gas.

"We've got to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much," McCain said.

Speaking on the economy, McCain warned that Obama would raise taxes that would eliminate jobs.

"That's a lie," State Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak said before a gathering of about 80 Obama supporters outside a Colorado Springs coffee shop after the McCain rally.

Waak said 90 percent of the middle class would receive tax cuts under Obama's tax plan.

Waak turned the GOP's most-used attack against the McCain Palin ticket by mocking the Alaskan governors own lack of experience.

"I don’t think she has any credentials to be a heartbeat away from the presidency," Waak said.

But voters interviewed at rallies said their support for McCain had been cemented with his pick of Palin, who is a social conservative and reassures many who were wary about McCain on those issues.

In the short time since McCain spirited the 44-year-old first-term governor out of Alaska and onto a national stage as his running mate, Palin has become an instant celebrity. And since her speech at the Republican National Convention, watched by more than 40 million Americans, she is emerging as the main attraction for many voters at their campaign appearances.

"She's the draw for a lot of people," said Marilyn Ryman, who came to see her at the rally inside the Jet Center, an airport hangar in Colorado Springs. "The fact that she's someone new, not the old everything we've seen before."

Ryman, herself a mother of five, said McCain was not her first choice but Palin's pro-life stance "cemented it for me."

McCain has sought to portray Palin as a bulldog who will help him "shake things up" on Capitol Hill.

Washington, he said Saturday, is "going to get to know her, but I can't guarantee you they'll love her."

"We do!" came a cry from the crowd.

But after attending the rally, at least one voter said he was still on the fence.

Mike Kanar said he came to hear McCain talk about the economy.

"I wanted to see what he will do about the recession," Kanar said. "Both [candidates] have said they will do something, but I want to hear more."