Sarah Palin has been referred to as a ‘Republican Cyborg’- almost too perfect.

She is as real as a woman gets, yet she impresses with a sense of accomplishment and balance few people can imagine.

She is smart, powerful, friendly and feminine. She has a smile and a sense of humor. She could charm the hood off an Eskimo. Palin hunts, shoots, fishes, cooks, helps the kids with homework, and runs the largest state.

It is almost exhausting to even talk about her. What she is not is elitist, Ivy League educated, a lawyer, a community organizer, or self absorbed.

I have been concerned that her biggest liability is her strong pro life stand, but perhaps this is less of a liability than it used to be. Why?

Minorities have big families and sometimes resent abortion as a form of discrimination. Jesse Jackson has criticized the location of abortion clinics in black neighborhoods.

With contraception widely used and accepted, abortion is less of an issue. This may explain Palin’s appeal to the 25 to 40 year old women. They would probably prefer a pro choice stand but it is less of a litmus test issue than it is to the older ‘feminists’.

Catholic voters who were Democratic loyalists, especially amoung the northeast union members could tilt some significant electoral votes toward Palin. Her life style probably resonates with them. Some of them are uncomfortable with Obama, possibly for racial reasons, but more because of his elitism and his otherness. They have someone to run from and someone to run to.

Perhaps this is the result of a demographic shift of three decades of pro life women having more children than the pro choice women. Perhaps NOW’s policies have eliminated their support base.

Has abortion become less of an election issue?

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