By choosing Palin, McCain eliminated in a stroke the lack of enthusiasm he found among the Evangelical Christian base of his party. Much of this has to do with her role as a mother. The genius of McCain's choice is that he can mollify restive pro-life activists within his party without mentioning hardly anything about abortion, which could alienate the swing voters he will need to win election. Sarah Palin need not say much about abortion either: in what was undoubtedly among the most momentous decisions in her life, she sided with life. After a prenatal exam revealed that her her baby would be born with Down Syndrome, she carried him to term. Trig Paxson Van Palin was born earlier this year, and in her words, he is a “perfect” and “beautiful” baby boy.
Her decision to carry Trig to term is a powerful testament to her character and to the strength of her family, and it puts her at odds with the norm. According to Michael Gerson of the Washington Post, 90 percent of fetuses who are determined to have Down Syndrome are aborted. Gerson's beautiful article is well worth the read.
Having grown up with a neighbor who devoted her life to caring for Down children in her home, and having played with these kids, I find that statistic horrifying. Palin is right: these are perfect and beautiful people, capable of the full panoply of the human experience, and aborting them is tantamount to eugenics. I commend her and her husband for carrying Trig to term, bringing him into the world, and acknowledging his full dignity and humanity. For all the questions I have regarding Sarah Palin’s judgment and principles as a public official, her decision not to abort is very strong testament to her character as a mom. It showed clearly in her speech in St. Paul, when she looked assertively into the camera, and said:
To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.
It was a powerful moment, and one of the highlights of this campaign. She is not only the most authentically pro-life candidate on a Republican ticket that I can remember, her presence on the campaign moves forward the need for more awareness, compassion, and care for special needs kids. It’s little wonder why the Republican base is so enthusiastic. They have good reason to be. Her decision to carry her baby to term is a strong testament to her character.
Her honorable choice reflects grit, dignity, and humanity that suggests that she is a fine mother with a strong moral compass. However, there is a difference between personal virtue and public virtue – and so it is to her public persona that I now turn. The McCain campaign clearly wants us to keep our eyes trained on the personal: in the past two weeks press access to either of them has been very limited, and McCain’s campaign manager famously said that this election is “not about issues” (which in these grave times is political malpractice, condescending to voters, and a disservice to the public debate – but that’s another post for another time).
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