Palin raises hope for parents of children with Down syndrome

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (AP) - Polishing off his strawberry-banana yogurt, Jacob Moore races to his keyboard with a whoop, picks his way through "Pop Goes the Weasel" and gives his mom a high five. This is the average stuff of childhood, and it has not come easily to the 8-year-old with Down syndrome. For his mother, Heidi Moore, achieving average "is like climbing Mount Everest." The family has been clambering up with the help of therapists, 15 surgeries, prayer and a tight-knit community of parents whose children live with the disorder. That network is abuzz with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's arrival on the national scene as Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate. A little more than four months ago, Palin, 44, gave birth to a so