"I expected that Sarah would be loving and warm....but John was a very sweet surprise."

I found this story via The Anchoress. It's from a personal blog, Beyond the Pale:

I’m all choked up

I try not to talk politics much on this blog. Mainly because so many people do it so much better than I ever could. I don’t have that particular gift. But I suppose in recent weeks, it’s become obvious which ticket I’m voting for this year. (Not to belabor the point, but national security and terrorism are somewhat personal issues for me. Email me if you want the password for that post.)

But I’m all choked up today because one of my cousins went to a McCain/Palin rally the other day with her 4-year-old Down Syndrome daughter — let’s call her “A” — in tow. These photos are posted on an open DS forum, so I’m not doing anything untoward here. Plus, I’ve received multiple emails now from relatives about the rally, so I will describe the event, interspersed with quotes from relatives.

The rally was extremely crowded, long lines, etc., so my cousin put A up on her shoulders to see the goings on. At one point, they were approached by a McCain/Palin aide who asked if they’d like to meet Sarah Palin. Uhm, yes, please, they said, and were led behind a black stage curtain to wait. Little A was basically exhausted from all the excitement and laid her head in my cousin’s lap while they waited. As the rally was breaking up, John McCain made his way to their area. My cousin said he approached, greeted them, patted A’s head, but then, with the crush of people, was quickly swept away. Cousin was hoping to get a picture with him, but there he went, so they just focused on waiting for Sarah. Moments later, though, McCain made his way back through that sea of people to my cousin, my aunt, and little A. Here’s what my cousin said about that:

I have to say that my Mom and I were both impressed with him so much. You would have to experience it. I don’t know that I can put words to it, but he was so kind, humble, gentle, and compassionate. When he spoke to us he looked right in our eyes. He thanked us with such gratitude and told us that Sarah really wanted to see us. He posed for a picture and then he was gone.

Finally, Sarah approached. More from my cousin:

I can’t give you the conversation by word, but she said, “Awwww” and kind of melted when she saw A. She asked her name and age. Then she hugged her. She actually got watery eyes (ed. 3rd and 4th pictures below, you can kind of see that). Remember, even though she is Governor, VP candidate, she is still new to the world of DS. She said she was so glad we brought A to see her. She just kept smiling and looking at A. I told her we brought a gift for Trig and gave her the t-shirt. (ed. Cousin ordered a t-shirt for Trig that said “fearfully and wonderfully made.” I thought that was sweet.) I told her that I have such admiration for her because when A was Trig’s age, I was still crying …. Oh yeah, I just remembered - A blew kisses to both John McCain and to Sarah during our little visits.

My aunt chimed in with this:

What impressed me most was John McCain. He was warm, friendly, humble, and truly interested in A. He touched her gently, and graciously thanked us for coming and bringing her, and told us that Sarah was looking forward to meeting her. I expected that Sarah would be loving and warm, and she most certainly exceeded my expectations, but John was a very sweet surprise.