Posted by
Ann Marie Curling on Monday, September 08, 2008 12:01:00 AM
Ever since John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, I have heard nothing but vitriol for her from liberal women. It's absolutely incredible that the same women who talk up woman's rights and freedom to do what one chooses have come down on Sarah's head like an ax chopping off a chickens head for food.
Take one Mary Sanchez of the Kansas City Star.
But for the grace of God go many women when the subject is Sarah Palin.
No, most women will never be considered for vice president. Palin should never have faced that challenge either. As many have pointed out, she doesn’t exactly have the heartiest resume of political experience.
Kay Bailey Hutchison comes to mind as a better choice, as do Christine Todd Whitman and Olympia Snowe. Surely there are others who could have filled this role
...Clears throat...Kay Bailey Hutchison? Olympia Snowe? Um, neither one of these fine ladies have a bit of executive experience. Where does she come off?
Palin is being touted a bit like the female boss whom female workers are supposed to like because of her gender alone. Sorry, but far too many of us have been out in the world long enough to see through this simplistic shtick. Those who look like us do not always have our best interests in mind.
Um, how crazy is this? Simplistic Shtick? Sarah has been a Mayor, a member of a City Counsel, a Lieutenant Governor, and Governor? You call that simplistic? She's more qualified to be President than Barack Obama is.
Yes, Palin is likable. Spunky even — the kind of woman you’d enjoy knowing because she could hold an interesting conversation, retell a poignant anecdote, and also offer a tip on where to buy a great pair of shoes. She’s obviously accomplished as a local and state politician, a loving wife and mother. All laudable attributes.
But women voters do not need a vice president they can lunch with. They need someone who could step in and be the commander in chief.
How condescending is that? Because she's likable and gets along with people she can't be commander in chief? If Ms. Sanchez hasn't noticed she is bringing out the women vote, she is filling arenas and halls to capacity. People are impressed that she's more like one of us than one of them. Ms. Sanchez really comes across as very angry and bitter. That the Republican Party would have the "audacity" to pick a woman, and a smart, experienced, leadership consumed one at that. Damn those Republicans.
Peel back the Palin veneer and what is revealed is a woman dealing with many real-life issues facing American families, but not in ways that would form strong public policy. So while Palin alternately glows and flinches during her 15 minutes in the national spotlight, her story can highlight a few concerns.
She has a 5-month-old baby with Down syndrome and a teenage daughter who is pregnant.
You know what if this was a Democrat this woman would be singing her praises for becoming who she's become despite all these obstacles thrown in her way. But, no, she's not a liberal or a Democrat so they are crutches and something that can't be overcome. What bitterness.
The risk of having a baby with Down syndrome increases as a woman becomes older (1 in 910 at age 30, according to one source, and 1 in 28 at age 45).
Palin is 44. With many women now marrying and having children later in life, and with many unable to afford the tremendous cost of fertility treatments, the odds of older women giving birth to a child with a genetic disorder are high.
Some turn to abortion. Personally, I respect and agree with Palin’s opposition to abortion. It would not be my choice either. Seeing the way the Palin family held the infant son Trig during Palin’s Wednesday acceptance speech, there was no doubt how much love exists for that baby.
But voters also recognize that rape happens, that pregnancy by incest happens, that giving people access to contraception can prevent unwanted pregnancies. Palin’s view doesn’t address those harsh realities. How Palin runs her family is her business, but what she deems best for the Palin family isn’t necessarily best for the masses.
Can you just feel the anger? The jealousy? She's doing it, damn it. She's doing it. Sure, there are other family situations. But, you can't tell me that what the Palin is dealing with is easy. The choice they made (and the right one I might add) was based on love. To them it's seen as unconditional, but people like Ms. Sanchez and Barack Obama see babies as punishment. Something that isn't sacred and God ordained. I feel sorry for them, because they don't see the true spirit of what comes when you have a special child.
Bristol Palin is pregnant at 17. Thankfully, she is also from a well-off, supportive family that will likely ensure she does not end up in poverty and still earns a college degree. Most teenagers in her place can only hope for the same.
Bristol doesn’t need sanctimonious critics chastising her. But teenagers like her most certainly need well-run public schools that accommodate students with children, daycare options, and employers that will see her potential and not just the conflict a baby can cause for a new career.
And Bristol obviously could have used what her mother adamantly opposes: access to contraception rather than just the “stay a virgin” message that, while perhaps ideal, is not realistic.
Dissuading kids from having sex too young is one thing. But the wishful hopes of the adults preaching chastity should not cloud the truth: that teens are still having unprotected sex.
Finally, much has been made of the idea that Palin should focus on being a mother rather than a politician, as if the two were mutually exclusive.
Ok, so we should throw the baby out with the bathwater? Because a politician who professes a policy of abstinence only education has a daughter that gets pregnant it's no longer a valid policy? Sure, some teens get pregnant, but there are many that do not. Because one child makes one decision does not make the whole policy bunk. And while the Palin's are most definitely more well off than I. I wouldn't exactly call them well off.
Had Mitt Romney been chosen as McCain’s running mate, you can bet no one would be suggesting that Romney would be too taxed at the end of his day to spend appropriate time with his five children. There is, after all, a Mrs. Romney to help out. Just as there is a Mr. Palin.
Respecting Palin as a savvy woman is one thing. Believing she is the right choice for the job of vice president is condescending to women voters.
No, Ms. Sanchez your assertion that because she's had to deal with the problems that average Americans deal with disqualifies her for the job of Vice President is condescending.