By Dave Andrusko

Editor's note. Part Two is very much worth reading. Please send your comments on either or both parts to daveandrusko@gmail.com.

The Monday after the annual National Right to Life Convention ends is a time of physically demanding labor and trying to decompress. The same interns who were dressed to the nines for the convention are in blue jeans, unpacking box after box of printed materials, audiovisual equipment, and DVDs.

It is a credit both to these young people and to the staff of National Right to Life that almost all of us are in the office. That is no small achievement. The weeks leading up to the convention and the three days of the gathering of grassroots pro-life champions in Charlotte are tremendously demanding. By the time the closing Saturday night banquet approaches, you are close to exhaustion.

And then just what we needed--the final speech, delivered by the undisputed congressional pro-life champion, Cong. Chris Smith. If we needed a jolt of energy (and we did!), Chris provided it many times over.

More than once I've tried to figure out what makes Chris such a powerful pro-life presence. There are, of course, the obvious attributes.

Cong. Smith knows the life issues inside and out. He is at the intersection of where strategy is devised to derail, or at least deflect, the Obama Abortion Agenda. He works closely with NRLC, which means that the best people are putting their heads together at this critical time.

But that's only part of the explanation. I've been in Washington, DC since 1981. I've met my fair share of very, very influential people. None of them is as down-home, as lacking in pretension, as Chris Smith is. You can easy imagine Chris and his wife, Marie, stopping by your house for coffee.

You listen to him rail against the human rights violation that is abortion and it's like imagining what you would say if you were stunningly eloquent, passionate, and driven by the need to save the unborn, both at home and abroad.

We'll be posting part of Chris's remarks later this week, and include them in the next issue of National Right to Life News. (If you are not a subscriber, call us at 202-626-8828, and we'll make sure you get on quickly.)

Read those remarks but also save them. You will be reminded why you are in this saintly cause and be greatly encouraged by the knowledge that people like Chris Smith are leading our cause in Congress.

Part Two -- Forgetting That Every Life Does Make a Difference