Live from Minneapolis -- the Palin and Bachmann show

A full two hours before the much-hyped rally starring Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin began, a few supporters and opponents of the polarizing pair of politicians began facing off outside the convention hall. St. Paul resident John Conners stood across the street with a sign that read, "Palin and Bachmann: idiots, fools and liars." "You know how to spell, i'm surprised," said one skeptical woman, eyeing the sign. Jim Johnson, of Eagan, held a sign reading: "Fox News equals American Pravda" "I'm just another citizen expressing my opinion," he said. A large wooden trojan horse, being pulled by a blue pickup truck, stopped in front of the convention hall, draped in a sign that read, "Obamacare, the trojan horse of socialism." It attracted a few eers from growing crowd. Sharon Young, from kansas city, was selling campaign buttons on the sidewalk and said business "should be really good. There's quite the crowd here." One of the buttons had pictures of Palin and Bachmann with the legend, "Dream Team." "That's selling the best," Young said. Among the signs outside the convention center, the biggest presence belonged to Republican gubernatorial candidates Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert; their campaign aides stood at the doors with signs and buttons. They had a similar presence at the state Capitol last month during a rally to opposed health care reform, an event headlined by Bachmann.