“If Sarah Palin comes to Perry County, I’ll be right there to help her,” Mohr Christman said.
Palin couldn’t have found a more welcoming crowd.
“I used to not want a woman president but since Sarah came along, I do. Because of her moral convictions,” said Elizabeth Branson of Grove City.
Just before the rally, Palin attended a private $1,000 per ticket reception with donors, including Republicans such as Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine, state Sen. Jon Husted and former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine.
Ohio Right to Life declined to disclose Palin’s speaking fee — reported to be in the neighborhood of $100,000 — but at the end of her 45-minute speech Palin promised to donate it back to the nonprofit.
Palin urged the crowd to action on abortion issues in Congress and the Statehouse, and trashed the media for criticizing her for putting notes on her hands.
The mother of five recalled how at 43 she found herself pregnant with a child with Down syndrome and then a short while later learned her teenage daughter was pregnant. Palin said those two experiences gave her more empathy for women with unplanned pregnancies who face difficult decisions. But she added, “There is no accident. Every child has purpose.”
The former Alaska governor was introduced to the world at Wright State University 18 months ago when Republican presidential candidate John McCain named her his running mate.
Since then Palin became a grandmother, quit the governor’s job, fought off ethics complaints, published her memoir, struck a deal for a second book, landed work as a Fox News commentator and positioned herself for a possible presidential run in 2012.
At least one person there said she wants Palin gain more political and foreign policy experience before going to the White House.
“I want to see her progress. I want to watch her grow up,” said Linda Hollopeter of Pickerington.
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