Pro-Lifers Ecstatic Over Selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
as John McCain's Vice Presidential Running Mate -- Part One of Two

Editor's note. Please rush me your thoughts at daveandrusko@hotmail.com

The selection of pro-life Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a twenty on a scale of one to ten. The 44-year-old mother of five will accomplish what very few vice presidential selections have ever done: fundamentally change the dynamics of the contest for President.

From our single-issue perspective, pro-life Sen. John McCain could not have chosen a more compatible, more exciting running mate. The short-hand phrase is "ardently pro-life." That Gov. Palin is, and much, much more.

In Part Two, we're running excerpts from stories we carried after Gov. Palin gave birth to her son, Trig. The Palins have three daughters sandwiched between Trig and their oldest son, Track.

Pro-life Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be pro-life Sen. John McCain's running mate.

Having Trig is "cool," Track texted his mom. He finally had a brother. Trig just happens to have Down syndrome. A short excerpt from Part Two, which draws on a story written by reporter Lisa Demer.

Sarah Palin emailed a letter after Trig's birth to relatives and close friends. "Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome," Palin wrote.

"Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this."

Demer explains that Palin's "wrote it in the voice of and signed it as 'Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father.'"

Sometimes you learn the most by contrasts. The Palins welcomed their son, who was and is perfect in the only way that matters.

When pro-lifers in Illinois tried to pass a bill to provide legal protection for babies who are born alive during abortions, one of the things we learned was that many of these babies had Down's. Then state Senator Barack Obama did everything in his power to make sure these children would be continue to be deposited in a soiled utility room where they remain until they died. Compounding his morally tone-deaf behavior, Obama has tried to cover up his actions for the last four years.

What a guy. What an "agent of change."

Let me just briefly add why I think Palin's selection was brilliant.

• It would be almost impossible to exaggerate how happy pro-lifers are. I can guarantee you that millions will now go many extra miles to help John McCain.
• Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are genuine reformers. Sen. Obama, as we noted last week and will explain in more detail next week, has avoided every opportunity to reform corrupt leadership in Illinois.
• Speaking of contrasts, as always, where working class and middle class Americans come down will be decisive. Ask yourself which will resonate better: what we saw today when McCain introduced Palin as his vice president, or the Hollywood production that coronated Obama last night?
• The point can not be made too strongly that the Obama campaign--and its slavish supporters on cable television--have radically underestimated the anger among women over the classless treatment of Sen. Hillary Clinton. The first response from the Obama campaign was to mock and trivialize Palin's accomplishments. Unbelievably stupid.

Finally, Gov. Palin is Middle America incarnate. A self-described "hockey mom," she played point guard on her school's state championship girls basketball team, is the daughter of a dad who was a teacher and a mom who worked as a school secretary, and is the wife of a commercial fisherman. Well, as the son of a truck driver dad and a billing clerk mom, I think I am representative of a lot of Americans. I like her. I like her a lot.

Part Two -- "He Is Supposed to be Here With Us"