I vividly remember my first reaction, as I watched pro-life Sen. John McCain introduce pro-life Gov. Sarah Palin. It was along the lines of "I know her."

By that I mean listening to Gov. Palin brought back memories of my own childhood in a working class neighborhood in south Minneapolis, most particularly the kids I ran with. Her cadence bears an uncanny resemblance. She even has an accent that resembles ours.

That first impression was borne out when I read a probing and very sympathetic story about her that ran (amazingly enough) in today's Washington Post. It was obviously pegged to tonight's debate between Palin and pro-abortion Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Biden.

Ironically, I read it only a few hours after reading a great piece that ran in the September 21 edition of the National Catholic Register. Together the two writers teach us a lot about a genuinely remarkably individual.

The woman that Post reporter Sally Jenkins profiles is much like we were (and are)--that is, if you leave out the part about growing up in the incredible rugged place that was the Alaska of her youth.

We like to think of our selves as strong, independent, confident, and cool under pressure. Gov. Palin is all of this many times over.

No question that she has gone through a rough patch of water the past couple of weeks. But the woman that emerges from the 2,839-word-long profile is exactly the kind of person I expect to rally. (See www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/01/AR2008100103437.html?hpid=topnews)

I have a few friends who live in Alaska, and one of them knows the governor well. From them I knew ahead of time that she is deeply devoted to her family and that she and her husband, Todd, are a team in every good sense of the word.

I also knew that Gov. Palin is tough as nails, emotionally and physically. That really came through in the Post story.

But her ways of being strong are anathema to the Feminist Establishment which loathes her. (It begins with her pro-life views, but those are not addressed in the Post story).

Jenkins describes what she calls Palin's "dissident, out-of-category feminism," which is part of the "code" by which she navigates the challenges of being the first female governor of Alaska.

It's a code, Jenkins writes, "rooted in childhood experiences of backwoodsing and athletic striving 'until she was literally red in the face,' according to her sister Heather Bruce, 45. They included leading her tiny high school to a state basketball championship, an event Palin once described as 'life changing.' Composure was a genderless quality, earned under pressure -- as in the time a grizzly bear climbed on the family car. 'It didn't matter if you were a man or a woman if you were going out to hunt,' says her brother Chuck Jr., 46."

If you supplement the Post account with the story that ran in the Register, you come away with even more admiration for Gov. Palin. (See www.ncregister.com/site/article/15921)

The emotional core of Joel Davidson's story, the narrative that explains much about Palin, is the speech she gave last November at Alaska Right to Life's annual fund raiser. Although her audience was unaware, her remarks foreshadowed the birth of her son, Trig, who, as we know, would be prenatally diagnosed as having Down syndrome, and the subsequent unexpected pregnancy of her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol. Palin told the Anchorage audience, "Someone in less than ideal circumstances finds out they are pregnant, and they think, 'Oh, no, in an instant, my plans are ruined, my dreams are broken,'" Palin said in her remarks. "I want to help and encourage those who are in that situation."

According to Davidson, Palin went on to say, "Our girls and our young women [need] to see how precious and valuable they are and be challenged to love and respect themselves and to honor their bodies and to protect that life which we are so privileged to help carry.

"As women, we are strong enough and sacrificial enough to do this. It is the way we are created …"

It is no accident that she went on to add, "Men need to learn to extend their strength to others." In those "less than ideal situations," Palin said, "men, too, must be encouraged to selflessly become more responsible and to sacrificially own up to their responsibilities."

I strongly encourage you to watch the debate tonight.

And, if you haven't already, you have until noon Friday to order extra copies of the October issue of National Right to Life News. (See Part Two.)