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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=344445818-04122009><A
href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091204/pl_politico/30174">http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091204/pl_politico/30174</A></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<H1><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=344445818-04122009>Sarah </SPAN>Palin,
anti-abortion star</FONT></H1>
<DIV class=byline><FONT face=Arial><CITE class=vcard>Ben Smith <SPAN
class="fn org">Ben Smith</SPAN> </CITE><ABBR class=timedate
title=2009-12-04T01:53:00-0800>Fri Dec 4, 4:53 am ET</ABBR>
</FONT></DIV><!-- end .byline -->
<DIV class="mod ad darla_ad" id=darla-ad__LREC><FONT
face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class="mod ad darla_ad"><FONT face=Arial>In the months since she returned
to the public spotlight, <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_0>Sarah
Palin</SPAN>’s continually evolving political identity has undergone a subtle
change as her public persona centers increasingly on her disabled son, <SPAN
class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_1>Trig</SPAN>. </FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Palin began her political career as a reformer breaking up
Alaska’s corrupt boys club and shifted seamlessly into last fall’s campaign
trail culture warrior. But her decision to carry to term her <SPAN
class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_2>Down syndrome</SPAN> child established a
special relationship with anti-abortion activists, and now Palin has transformed
herself from a politician who was anti-abortion into the leading figure of the
anti-abortion movement. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Since she resigned the Alaska governorship. many of her
public appearances have been on the anti-abortion circuit — her first speech
outside of <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_3>Alaska</SPAN> this year was
at the Vanderburgh County Right to Life fundraising dinner in Evansville, Ind.,
and in November she headlined a Milwaukee fundraiser for Wisconsin Right to
Live. She has fought <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_4>President Barack
Obama</SPAN>’s <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_5>health care
reform</SPAN> in large part on anti-abortion grounds: It would, she’s claimed,
expand coverage for abortion and steer the elderly toward euthanasia.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>But the most striking evidence of her son’s impact has been
Palin’s book tour promoting her memoir, “Going Rogue.” As she descends from her
tour bus or private jet to meet her fans, 19-month-old Trig has been a
conspicuous presence — and generated a huge response. “There’s a lot of people
who come through the line to see Trig instead of to see her,” says Jason Recher,
a campaign aide who remained close to Palin and is now accompanying her on her
book tour. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>And those people, says <SPAN class=yshortcuts
id=lw_1259953076_6>Greg Mueller</SPAN>, a veteran anti-abortion political
operative and former spokesman for <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_7>Pat
Buchanan</SPAN>, are getting a powerful message. “She’s going out there as a
pro-life woman to say that there’s great joy in special-needs kids — and that we
shouldn’t be aborting them.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Though the anti-abortion movement remains strong and deeply
rooted on the right, the recent conservative resurgence has been driven by
anti-government sentiment — not by the abortion battle. Palin’s own ability to
infuriate and delight often has more to do with her notions of patriotism and
her views of the White House than with her place in the abortion wars. But Trig
is part of what makes Palin so singular among conservative
leaders. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>“You just can’t escape it — she really is cut from a
completely different cloth than most men, but also women, in politics,” said
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which supports
anti-abortion candidates. “She had the audacity in the eyes of the abortion
rights world to actually have this child and then has the audacity to bring him
along with her and feature him as a centrally valued person in their family.”
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Palin’s increased focus on abortion rights, an aide said,
was driven by the passionate response to Trig during the final days of John
McCain's presidential campaign.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>“It was something we were all surprised by — the reaction to
Trig and the reaction to the special-needs portfolio that McCain had given her
during the campaign,” said Recher.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Palin, like most politicians, has sought to capitalize on
her family’s story without subjecting her children to unpleasant scrutiny, but
with decidedly mixed results. Her daughter Bristol’s unmarried pregnancy took
center stage at the 2008 Republican National Convention, and Bristol's breakup
with <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_8>Levi Johnston</SPAN>, the baby’s
father, continues to generate headlines. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>But if Palin had any ambivalence about exposing her older
children to the spotlight, there’s none for Trig. He enjoys the crowds, said
Recher, and at every stop, there are admirers who have come specifically to meet
him. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>“It’s always a special moment when he meets somebody else
who has Down's,” said Recher. “I get emotional, the security people get
emotional, the parents get emotional.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>The first day of Palin’s tour, in Grand Rapids, Mich., she
stepped off her bus with Trig in her left arm and carried him during quick
remarks before handing him off so she could sign books. Three hours later, she
returned to the bus — but not before pausing to wave the hand of the nonplussed
baby to the crowd. In Asheville, N.C., she stopped at the door of her small
plane to hand Trig to her host — the Rev. <SPAN class=yshortcuts
id=lw_1259953076_9>Franklin Graham</SPAN>, son of Billy Graham. (Recher, the
aide, held the baby for the press conference.) She was still carrying him to
meet the throngs in Richland, Wash., on Sunday, where a “We Love Trig” sign was
spotted in the crowd. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>For Palin, Trig has proved both a powerful political
rallying point and a kind of shield. In “Going Rogue,” and in interviews, she
has lashed out at critics, such as Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan, who have
raised questions about whether she is actually the mother of the child.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Palin’s allies have taken the argument a step further,
suggesting that antipathy to her is based on the belief that she should have had
an abortion rather than bearing her son. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>“Mother and son have become objects of the left’s
unrelenting scorn” and of hatred reflecting “a broader societal bias against
disability,” </FONT><A
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/politico/pl_politico/storytext/30174/34306294/SIG=11m5hm3t8;_ylt=AtsUGVUiuzpJbaB7mGqwdpvCw5R4;_ylu=X3oDMTFhcmEyZzJmBHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bl9zdG9yeV9wcmludF9jb250ZW50BHNsawN3cm90ZQ--/*http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25044.html"><SPAN
class=yshortcuts id=lw_1259953076_10><FONT face=Arial
color=#4485be>wrote</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT face=Arial> <SPAN class=yshortcuts
id=lw_1259953076_11>Christian conservatives Gary Bauer</SPAN> and Dan Allot.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Those people are, in fact, rather hard to find, with Bauer
and Allot relying on obscure bloggers for evidence of vitriol. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>For Dannenfelser, Palin is an unequaled spokeswoman not only
because she’s perceived to be under assault but because her story can bring in
women who are on the fence. In her book, Palin writes that twice she considered
abortion, if only “for a split second.” </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial>“It was a fleeting thought, a sudden understanding of why
many women feel pressured to make the ‘problem’ go away,” Palin wrote. “I knew,
though, what goes through a woman’s mind when she finds herself in a difficult
situation. At that moment, I was thankful for right-to-life groups that affirm
the value of the child.” </FONT>
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