Like die-hard U2 fans camping out overnight for coveted concert tickets the moment they go on sale, some of Sara Palin’s Michigan die-hards showed up last night — with chairs and sleeping bags — at the Barnes and Noble just outside Grand Rapids prepared to pull an all-nighter.

They were there — more than 1,500 by 7 a.m. — to make sure they’d get a signed copy of Palin’s memoir Going Rogue (only $14.50 on Amazon) as well as a few precious seconds with the GOP’s hottest new author, according to a funny early-morning account from the Detroit Free Press.

Two bits from the story caught my eye. First, the presence of an Obama voter in line who told the reporter he showed up at 3:30 a.m. Huh?! From the story:

Perhaps scoring the biggest points in the line, though, was Brandon Greer, a 31-year-old teacher from Kentwood.  He voted for Barack Obama for president and doesn’t really like Palin very much. But his girlfriend Kelli Waller, a nurse from Waterford, is a die-hard Republican and loves Palin. He got in line at 3:30 a.m. to save a spot for her. “She’s very Republican and I love her in spite of that fact,” he said.

And second, here’s Palin’s very personal AND political explanation for why she chose Michigan as the first stop on her nation-wide book tour. While it’s re-printed in the Free Press story, the explanation actually (naturally?)  comes from Palin’s Facebook page:

I’m starting in Michigan, and you’ll understand why when you read the book. Last year, I made a promise to the good people of Michigan that I would be back, and now I’m keeping that promise. Michigan is near and dear to my family’s heart! Our eldest son, Track, lived with a great host family there during his hockey days.