As family introductions go, this one was pure sizzle.

Sarah Palin, an instant political sensation as the first woman named to a Republican presidential ticket, brought her five children into the living rooms of America in a most remarkable way.

The governor of Alaska showered attention on her youngest – 5-month-old Trig – who has Down syndrome. Days later, she confirmed that her daughter, Bristol, 17, was pregnant.

Palin also provoked an instant discussion of how children are thrust onto the political stage and whether their lives become fair game as media or campaign fodder.

"It is the one remaining area that is sensitive in politics," said Sacramento Republican consultant Kevin Spillane. "Historically, children have not been fair game."

Yet the sudden spotlight on Palin's children isn't the first time children have played key parts in a political story line.

Barack Obama's daughters – 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha – have been featured on the cover of People magazine and in a televised interview on "Access Hollywood." The girls chattered about their $1 weekly allowances, going out for ice cream, how their dad talks too much and and how "cool" it would be to move to the White House.

Putting his daughters on the "Access" show gave Obama pause. He later declared: "We wouldn't do it again, and we won't be doing it again."

But at his own convention last month, the Obama girls appeared on stage conversing with their father via satellite before more than 20 million television viewers.

"Any time that a candidate introduces personal information about members of his family, especially kids, the first question voters are going ask is how is this relevant?" said Democratic strategist Darry Sragow.

Presidential candidates Al Gore and John Edwards both introduced themselves to voters by revealing life-changing personal stories of sons who were injured and killed in auto accidents.

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, presented his father in Denver by recounting the horrific accident that killed the senator's first wife and infant daughter.

And UCLA political science professor Lynn Vavreck said Palin's children were an essential part of her introduction – even as their circumstances stirred added attention.

"Because she is such an unknown, she had to tell her story," said Vavreck, who studies candidates' behavior. "She chose to tell it herself, and that meant introducing her children."

Conservatives were quick to embrace the family story of a baby with special needs and of a teenage pregnancy as a celebration of choosing life over abortion.

"They should be commended for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family circumstances, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances," James Dobson of Focus on the Family said in a statement.

But some political consultants said the Republican Party bordered on using Palin's children as political props. They noted that McCain's campaign flew in Bristol Palin's young boyfriend so that he could stand by the pregnant girl's side on national television.

"Why was Sarah Palin so into this unexpected, unearned ego trip that she didn't care that it would expose her beloved daughter to nationwide ridicule?" wrote California Democratic consultant Garry South. "Wouldn't the better part of valor for a loving, caring mother be to say thanks, but no thanks?"

Though candidates are famous for seeking all-American portraits with their kids, using the children to advance political issues or arguments is a more delicate matter.

In 1994, during her unsuccessful run for California governor, Democrat Kathleen Brown drew criticism – and cringes – when she blurted out in a debate that her daughter had been a victim of date rape.

Trying to rebut Gov. Pete Wilson's charges that she was soft on crime, she told the governor: "You cannot imagine what it is like … for your daughter to come home … and (to) comfort her because she has been raped."

Call Peter Hecht, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5539.