Paul asks: Would we be asking these questions if Palin were a man?
Short answer: Of course not because no man with this record would ever have been selected as a VP.
You may be able to have it all, but that doesn’t mean you can have it all at once. Palin is now operating in some universe beyond “all at once” by wanting to be VP (and knowing how much work she’s going to have to do to get up to speed with everyone else) and the stellar mother of a child with special needs, a pregnant teen, and a son on his way to a war zone.
But more than that, she’s campaigning on her “Parent” credentials in a way that I’ve never seen in another candidate. Every candidate has kids and every candidate trots them out at strategic moments at the ends of speeches, slaps flannel-and-jeans family photos on a bunch of campaign lit, etc.
But what Palin has done is just unconscionable. That poor baby is being shoved in front of the camera at every possible opportunity. The poor daughter had her mother serve up what is possibly her greatest moment of humiliation to the press on a fricking silver platter to save her own political butt. All the while Palin keeps claiming victimization by the nasty, nasty media. She claims that her children should be left alone while repeatedly milking them for votes, claims that the daughter should be off-limits while flying the boyfriend out for photo ops. And one thing I have really respected about McCain is that despite how much hay he tries to make over his own service record, he absolutely refuses to mention his sons’ service in any way. I didn’t even know his sons were in the military until I saw it in an interview a few months ago. He and Cindy have made this choice in part out of a justifiable fear of what could happen to their kids if they were ever captured. Palin shows no such concerns.
If one of your primary campaign credentials is “good mother”, then your parenting is absolutely up for discussion. And I am not a fan of the parenting Palin has demonstrated thus far. It does not say good things to me about her character or about her judgment.
Wow. I feel important. I was a lead in to a rant. :)
ReplyDeleteWhenever her parenting is brought up (which is too often in my opinion!), I have to wonder how individuals who feel strongly about mothers being at home with their young children will deal with Palin. Could they justify voting for McCain when they know they are doing what they consider harm to a family?
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Talinn. We can have it all but not all at once. Part of me does have to wonder about the judgment of anyone with a four month old (regardless of the child's health) who doesn't appear to have a problem seeking a position that will keep him/her away his/her baby more than the typical 40 hour work week ever would. And I'm VERY supportive of mothers who work outside their homes.
I think if conservative types think critically about all of this, McCain's running mate pick could really do some damage.
Or not. We'll see.