The Bright Side
Win or lose, the Palin pick has to help the perception of the popularity of the pro-life movement. Within the Republican party it certainly reinforces that in order to motivate the base (and by implication the party itself since the base is generally the excitable part), it's necessary if not sufficient to be pro-life. In the best case scenerio, maybe some in the Democratic party will take another look at the issue should they lose this election. Some might be tempted (by an angel) to whisper that it might be a good trade, that of abortion for, say, universal health care.
For all the liberal efforts to peel away evangelical voters with Jim Wallis & company, so far it seems it hasn't been enough to swing the election decidedly in Obama's favor.
Another interesting thing about the Palin pick is that the media having "been exposed" in Noonan's phrase, and I think the exposure is occuring for those less politically aware. I know a soccer mom who is a fan of Oprah and the Today show and in the past tended to accept the views of those folks somewhat uncritically, but I think now realizes that those whom she perceived as apolitical and on the side of the angels - those with whom she could so identify - now perceives things differently. Per usual, Peggy Noonan gets it.
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