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The Daily Dish - 2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

Going Rogue: The Fact Checks Continue

By The Daily Dish
Dec 3 2009, 6:44 AM ET

Here's what Palin writes in "Going Rogue" about the Alaska governor's debate in 2006 on the subject of abortion:

It wasn't the last time I'd find that there's no better training ground for politics than motherhood. At one point during the general election, motherhood became the focus of a unique line of questioning. In my responses to a series of debate questions on abortion, I remained consistent and sincere, explaining how personal and sensitive the issue is and that good people can disagree. But the debate moderator decided to personalize his hypotheticals with a series of "What if..." questions.

He asked: "If a woman were, say, raped..." "...I would choose life." "If your daughter were pregnant..." "Again, I would choose life." "If your teenage daughter got pregnant..." "I'd counsel a young parent to choose life...consider adoption," I answered. I calmly repeated my answer to all of his "what-ifs,", then looked pointedly to my right and my left, to one opponent, then the other. Then I returned to the moderator and said, "I'm confident you'll be asking the other candidates these same questions, right?"

Of course, he didn't."

Well like many other claims Palin makes, this one is checkable against the objective reality. Did the debate occur as she says? Was she subjected to a "unique line of questioning"? Did the moderator ask only Palin personal questions about abortion and her own kids? There's enough technical wiggle room here to leave it out of the direct odd lies series. But you may disagree:



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