The Marchers State Their Case: Alito v. 'Roe'

Inside, Rob Wasinger, chief of staff to Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), joined in the anticipation of triumph. "Finally," he said, accepting a plaque for his boss, "we're beginning to turn the tide."

Across town, the leadership of the National Right to Life Committee was trying to cool the exuberance. At a sparsely attended news conference, Executive Director David O'Steen pleaded for caution. "There are five votes on the Court in addition to Sandra Day O'Connor who have indicated their support for Roe ," he reminded.

But this was not a day for sober reflection. On the Mall at Seventh Street, tens of thousands of antiabortion activists were listening to the Rev. James Nesbit, whose invocation was so passionate that his voice cracked and warbled as he delivered the jeremiad.

"It has been told by the prophets in the land that there is a president coming out of Texas, a Burning Bush," Nesbit prayed. "He will deal with abortion in the land. We ask you to give him an executive order and mantle him and give him a mandate with the fear of the Lord."

The pastor took even the relocation of this year's march closer to the Capitol as an act of God, "a prophetic sign that this march has been moved seven blocks closer," saying: "We are closer to the end than ever before!"

Signs of the movement's rising confidence were everywhere: Gone, for the most part, were the grotesque photos of aborted fetuses. In their place were slick slogans, such as "Justice for All -- Born and Preborn," and a lineup of some of the country's most powerful people.

President Bush, calling in from Kansas, didn't mention Alito or Roe . He spoke generically of "a noble cause" and the need to protect "all who are weak and vulnerable, especially unborn children." But when Bush allowed that "we're making good progress," everybody knew that he was, ultimately, talking about Roe 's end.

Danielle Constant, a college student carrying a "Defend Life" poster, said Roe would fall within a decade. "Once we get Alito on the bench," she said, "five to 10 years, God willing."