Register Executive Editor Tom Hoopes is blogging live from today’s March for Life in Washington, D.C.
As pro-life marchers fill the Mall, clean-up continues for that other event here this week — the inauguration of Barack Obama.
It made me wonder: What do today’s marchers think of Tuesday’s crowd?
I was surprised at the good will I found.
I spoke with Gary Sarnoff of Arlington, Va. He was wearing Sarah Palin buttons and passing out flyers promoting “teamsarah.org.” What did he think of the inauguration?
“It was a wonderful turnout, I think,” Sarnoff said. “It was good that people came out to support the new president.”
As I walked away from Gary, the loudspeaker was announcing, “Let’s pray for our enemies. Pray for those who don’t understand what this is about … Today is a day of prayer, a day of witness.”
I next spoke with Marie Denlea from Stroudsburg, Pa. She said she’s going to pray for Obama.
Said Denlea, “My plan is to write a letter to Michelle, because I am sure when she found out she was pregnant she told Barack, ‘We’re having a baby!’ Not, ‘There’s an embryo in my womb.’”
Last, I spoke with Rachel Funk of Michigan State University.
I was drawn to talk with her because she had a lip ring and a nose ring. Rachel has been on the road since yesterday traveling, and she described the hassles she had to go through in order to get here to participate in the March.
She said of the inauguration, “I got to watch part of it on T.V. Obama was inspiring. I like a lot of what he has to say about service. We can pray that he will take the next step, and become pro-life.”
— Tom Hoopes