Sarah Palin Mingles With A Pro-Choice Crowd

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been documented in this space and elsewhere as being as ardently pro-life as they come. She's also extremely conservative on other issues: bringing God into government, the right to bear arms and hunt, cutting government spending and so on. So answer this for me: why would she have allowed a picture of herself smiling widely while in the midst of a large group of pro-choice women to be placed on an extremely pro-choice website, The Alliance for Reproductive Justice based in Anchorage.

Here's the picture:

[Photo]

The caption beneath the picture says, "2007 Women's Summit participants with Governor Palin." Now in fairness, do politicians ever allow their pictures to be taken with groups with whom they vehemently disagree politically? I'm sure it happens from time to time. But rarely on wedge issues such as abortion. Can you imagine, for example, James Dobson smiling widely while meeting with a group from the Human Rights Campaign?

The picture raises questions such as whether Gov. Palin has ever flip-flopped on this issue and what she must have said while meeting with this group. E-mails and phone calls to the group and to Palin's press secretary at the McCain campaign, Maria Comella and her communications director from the governor's office, Bill McAllister, have not yet been returned. Will update as they are.

By Bonnie Erbe