Sarah Palin praises familes of special needs children in Baldwin County

 

Sarah Palin addresses an Exceptional Foundation fundraiser at the Marriott Grand Hotel on Tuesday night.

POINT CLEAR, Alabama -- Facing the challenges of raising a special needs child takes a particular kind of courage, a lesson that Sarah Palin learned firsthand, the former Alaska governor told an Eastern Shore audience Tuesday.
Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, mentioned politics, such as the need for energy and financial independence and smaller government, when she addressed a fundraiser for the Exceptional Foundation of Baldwin County.
Much of her speech, however, centered on raising her youngest son, Trig, who has Down syndrome.
The Exceptional Foundation was established to help special needs children and adults in southwest Alabama. Many in the audience Tuesday night in the ballroom of the Marriott Grand Hotel have family members with conditions such as Trig’s.
Palin said she had just been elected as the first woman governor of Alaska, and the state’s youngest chief executive, when she learned she was pregnant with her fifth child. About 12 weeks later, she was told the child had Down syndrome.
"I prayed. ‘God you always said you would not give us something we could not handle. I think you might have overestimated us,’" Palin said.
She said, however, that once Trig was born, his spirit and courage were examples to the rest of the family.
"Trig is nothing but a blessing," she said. "I wish I had known that so that I would not have been so frightened for those first seven months."
Palin said work by groups, such as the Exceptional Foundation, that assist special needs children and adults are a blessing to people such as herself, who need help when faced with a difficult challenge.
Responding to previously submitted questions after the speech, Palin also praised military efforts to find and kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on Sunday.
"How proud are we of that young Navy SEAL team that went in there to defeat a leader of Muslim extremists who sought to destroy our nation and sought to harm and kill innocent Americans," she said.
Palin also said President Barack Obama made the right choice in sending in the team to attack bin Laden’s compound.
"I think the president made the right call and knew that we needed to get in there and strike hard," she said. Palin also praised former President George W. Bush’s efforts during his terms to fight terrorism and find bin Laden.
She was more critical of Obama’s handling of the economy and the growth of the national debt to $14.5 trillion.
"It’s immoral and unethical, and I wish it was illegal," she said. "It’s going to be stealing from our kids and grandkids."
Palin praised efforts to help Alabama communities hit by tornadoes last week.
"In those parts that were touched tragically by these storms and tornadoes, we want these folks to know that they are not alone in this time," she said. "Americans come together in moments like this to help support and rebuild, and a good part of America shines through in times like this."