(Dayton, Ohio) Asked about her refusal to turn over e-mails to an Alaska investigator, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin looked up, smiled – and then stepped wordlessly into her waiting car.

Four days after leaving Alaska for her first solo campaign trip, Palin’s hallmark is a disciplined adherence to a sparse public schedule. Appearances are few, interviews with the news media fewer still, and unscripted moments nonexistent.

She is frequently feisty in front of an audience, including Monday evening when she drew cheers as she laid into “far-East Coast politicians” who don’t understand the need for control of coyotes or other predators. Or when her introduction of husband Todd as “first dude” evoked a few wolf whistles at a fundraiser.

But by the campaign’s design, the self-described pitbull with lipstick, a history-making vice presidential candidate who has helped reshape the race for the White House, doesn’t freelance.

“The American people are going to get to know Gov. Palin very well by the end of the campaign,” says Steve Schmidt, the top strategist for presidential candidate John McCain. He said she has appeared in public nearly every day since her introduction as ticketmate more than two weeks ago, had a lengthy interview with ABC and been “delivering the reform and change message apart from John McCain and with John McCain.”

In the coming days, he said, there will be more interviews, and Palin will join McCain for their first town hall-style appearance.

Yet some Republicans concede privately that Palin lacks familiarity with the numerous complex issues that she must deal with as the campaign progresses and question her readiness for high public office.

A gaffe could prove devastating to her and the ticket, they add. At the same time, she also must prepare for a nationally televised debate in October with her Democratic counterpart, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

Several senior campaign officials accompanied Palin to Alaska recently for what amounted to a crash course in running for vice president, and the tutorial continues as she travels around the country.

“The campaign is not being run for the benefit of the press,” says Rich Galen, a Republican strategist with extensive political experience. “The campaign is being run for the benefit of the campaign, and when everything is going well, then there is no need to change from what has been working.”

Whatever concerns about Palin’s readiness, the enthusiasm she has brought to McCain’s candidacy is evident.

Polls nationally and in several key states show a swing toward McCain since she was added to the ticket, as conservatives warm to a politician they have long viewed warily. She is also the first woman running mate on a Republican ticket in history, making her a draw for female voters. The organizers of a fundraiser in Ohio where she spoke on Monday said the event raised nearly $1 million.

Yet surprisingly, even some of those who come to hear her speak temper their enthusiasm.

“She might not have the experience but a lot of people don’t have experience when they take a job,” said Candy Cartaya, a Cuban-American and retired accountant.

Loyal Merrick, a 32-year-old Denverite with his toddler daughter perched on his shoulders, said he has long admired McCain. “I think she’s the style to his substance,” he says. “She has about as much experience as (Barack) Obama does, so if you want to compare our No. 2 to their No. 1 I’m fine with that.”

The governor faces an investigation back home into abuse-of-power allegations in connection with the firing of a state official, and her husband has been subpoenaed to testify in the probe.

Her views on numerous issues remain unknown. Her interview with ABC drew notice when she speculated about a possible war with Russia, and when she seemed to agree with Democratic presidential nominee Obama that U.S. troops should be permitted to cross into Pakistan to track terrorists.

Yet ironically, McCain himself was responsible for one of the ticket’s most obvious public stumbles in recent days as he tried to take advantage of Palin’s presence on his ticket.

Last week, he erroneously claimed she had never sought federal earmarks as governor, an assertion neither he nor his campaign disavowed. Asked about the issue on Monday, he said Obama had sought more earmarks than Palin. “The important thing is she’s vetoed a half a billion dollars in earmark projects – far, far in excess of her predecessor and she’s given money back to the taxpayers and she’s cut their taxes, so I’m happy with her record,” he said.

It’s the type of questioning that the campaign has severely limited for Palin.

Since departing Alaska on Saturday for her first solo campaign trip, Palin has spoken before two rallies and appeared at a fundraiser.

After a speech in Carson City, Nev., on Saturday, she flew to Denver and made no public appearances on Sunday. She spoke in Colorado on Monday morning, then held her first solo fundraiser later in the day in Ohio. One scheduled interview was postponed due to storm-related damage. She has refused to answer shouted questions about issues ranging from the economy to the home-state investigation.

Aides keep reporters well away from her when she is campaigning, and also protect her privacy aboard her chartered campaign plane by pulling a curtain across the center aisle to separate the Palins and her top aides from the rest of the passengers.

Even Palin’s carefully scripted moments can produce puzzlements.

“Too often, the government gets in the way when innovators take on cancer or Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s,” she told an audience in Golden, Colo. One aide suggested later that was a reference to federal earmarks that lawmakers sometimes insert into legislation, but the campaign provided no documentation for the claim.

Then, too, Palin seems to relish repeating claims that make selective use of undisputed facts. She told one audience she said “thanks, but no thanks” to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere” that was intended to link a small Alaska village to its airport on a nearby island.

In reality, she welcomed federal funding for the project until it became a national symbol of wasteful spending.