As I watched Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention, I was delighted to see her family on the stage, especially her son Trig, whom has Down syndrome. Even as the cameras panned the audience as she spoke, I often saw images of Palin’s youngest daughter stroking the hair of her little brother Trig in the most caring manner. That alone was heart-wrenching enough. But as Palin began to speak about Trig’s condition, she promised that she would be an advocate for all parents with children with special needs. She stated that they would “have a friend and advocate in the White House.” This puzzled me because I did not expect her to use her son’s condition as a gateway to pull in votes from that demographic. While reading the New York Times article, “Parents of Special-Needs Children Divided over Palin’s Promise to Help”, I was intrigued that many Alaskans were surprised by her statement because the disabled had not been a focus of Palin’s in her tenure there. It would be wonderful for Palin to be an advocate for those who are often overlooked; however, I feel that it was not enough to make that promise without any faint mention of a plan of action as to how she would help. According to the article, some citizens fear that her advocacy would focus more on her Pro-Life position by Palin preventing the abortion of Down syndrome fetuses. Many parents with children with Down syndrome stressed the importance of having a choice. I am interested to see if Palin, if elected, really takes a stance and helps the special-needs families, or if she just throws out promises for the mere sake of votes.