'What Is Normal and What Is Perfect?'

During her first year in office, Palin distanced herself from the old guard, powerful members of the state GOP. She asked Alaska's congressional delegation to be more selective in seeking earmarks after the state's "Bridge to Nowhere" became a national symbol of piggish pork-barrel spending.

She stood up to the oil interests that hold great power in Alaska, and with bipartisan support in the statehouse, she won a tax increase on oil companies' profits. She also found time to pose for the fashion magazine Vogue while she was pregnant, and she has been mentioned among potential vice presidential running mates for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Three days after giving birth, Palin returned to work in her Anchorage office, accompanied by Trig and her husband.

This was not a mother's typical visit to the office to show off the new baby; instead, she was serving notice that a child of special needs will not hinder her professional commitments.

"It's a sign of the times to be able to do this," she said. "I can think of so many male candidates who watched families grow while they were in office. There is no reason to believe a woman can't do it with a growing family. My baby will not be at all or in any sense neglected."

Neither, Palin said, will the state, as she prepares to lead deliberations on a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline. That is the economic future of the state, a means of getting North Slope natural gas to consumers throughout North America.

"I will not shirk my duties," she said.

Other politicians have pressed forward with their careers despite jarring personal news.

Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) continued with his Democratic presidential campaign despite the return of wife Elizabeth's breast cancer, though he eventually dropped out.

Another elected official who has a child with Down syndrome said that although Palin will likely have detractors, that shouldn't change ambitions for the mother or child.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has just celebrated the first birthday of her son, Cole, her first child. She is busy campaigning for a third term, and Cole often travels with her between Washington and the Pacific Northwest.

"Cole opened my eyes to the pain and trouble a lot of families endure," McMorris Rodgers said. "He's allowed me to see people and circumstance more deeply, and the generosity of people. It's in human nature to focus on the negative, on what the person can't do. In our mind, we are focused on what he can do, what he will be able to do and do very well."

It's not unlike how Palin sees her child.

"I'm looking at him right now, and I see perfection," Palin said. "Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?"