Alaska governor balances newborn's needs, official duties Posted
5/10/2008 3:28 PM
By Steve Quinn, Associated Press Writer
JUNEAU, Alaska — The results of Gov. Sarah Palin's prenatal testing were in, but the doctor's tone was ominous: "You need to come to the office so we can talk about it."
Palin, known for a resolve that quickly launched her from suburban hockey mom to a player on the national political stage, said "No, go ahead and tell me over the phone."
The physician replied "Down syndrome," stunning the Republican governor who had just completed what many political analysts called a startling first year in office.
She had arrived at the Capitol on an ethics reform platform after defeating the incumbent Republican in the primary and a former two-term Democratic governor in the general election. Her growing reputation as a maverick for bucking her party's establishment and Alaska's powerful oil industry quickly gained her a national reputation.
Now she said she is trying to balance caring for her special needs child and running the nation's largest state.
The doctor's announcement in December, when Palin was four months pregnant, presented her with a possible life- and career-changing development.
"I've never had problems with my other pregnancies, so I was shocked," said Palin, a mother of four other children.
"It took a while to open up the book that the doctor gave me about children with Down syndrome, and a while to log on to the Web site and start reading facts about the situation."
The 44-year-old governor waited a few days before telling her husband Todd, who was out of town, so she could understand what was ahead for them.
Once her husband got the news, he told her: "We shouldn't be asking 'Why us?' We should be saying 'Well, why not us?'"
There was never any doubt the Palins would have the child, and on April 18 she gave birth to Trig Paxon Van Palin.
"We've both been very vocal about being pro life," Palin said. "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential."
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During her first year in office, Palin distanced herself from the old guard, powerful Republicans in the state GOP, even calling on tightlipped, veteran U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens to explain to Alaskans why he was being investigated by federal authorities.
She asked Alaska's congressional delegation to be more selective in seeking earmarks after Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" became a national symbol of piggish pork-barrel spending.
She stood up to the powerful oil industry, and with bipartisan support in the statehouse she won a tax increase on oil companies' profits.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-10-4082128881_x.htm
