Posted by
Ann Marie Curling on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 12:01:00 AM
As I was getting my children ready this morning before driving them to school, I was taken in by my nine year old daughter Erin. She was sitting in the computer chair swiveling around in circles as she's apt to do singing. She has a stuttering problem, and for her singing is therapy. If she can't get the words out, she sings them to you. The song that she was singing this morning struck me though. It's not like I haven't heard her sing it a million times before, but given this new fresh political season that we're in the midst of it hit me differently this time. If you're the parent of a preteen girl I'll bet that you've heard it before, it's entitled, "Who Said" and it's sung by Hannah Montana. While I'm less and less fond of Ms. Cyrus these days, you have to admit that she's inspired a lot of little girls to think more of themselves. She's a star, and I can bet you down the road many little girls when they become stars of their own will say that Miley Cyrus was the catalyst that made them become who they are.
Hannah Montana - "Who Said?"
How does this tie into anything political you might ask, this is how. When John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate last week that same sort of inspiration overcame me. I'd been a big supporter of Mitt Romney for President and then after his departure from the primaries I supported him for Vice President. During the days leading up to Mr. McCain's announcement I anxiously dreamed of seeing Romney up on that stage in Dayton Ohio. I'd put much of my time and energy the past three years pushing for everyone to know him as I did. When the rumors came out that it would be Pawlenty of Minnesota I was crushed. Then it was bantered about that it would be Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania or Joe Lieberman. I watched intrade put Romney ahead, and then saw him fall. Then shortly before McCain made his announcement I saw on Drudge that it looked to be Sarah Palin Governor of Alaska. Now, I knew of her, but I didn't know her. So, this caught me off guard. But, I stayed optimistic. And after I heard her speech in Dayton and furthermore a week later at the GOP convention I became electrified. I am even more so today, and each passing day I get more and more so. Democrats have always acted like they're the "Party for Women". Although I always wondered what woman they were talking about, because they didn't represent me.
If this isn't a coup, I don't know what is. The GOP has chosen a woman, and not one of liberal stripes. Not a "Pro-Choice" woman, but a woman who has family values. A woman who yes has a career, but a successful family as well. She has a newborn for Pete's sakes (one that she takes to the office with, and even breastfeeds during conference calls), and she even deals with the challenges of Down's Syndrome. This is the kind of woman I aspire to be. I have special needs children too, and I have dreams. I'm trying to explain that to my sweet nine year old daughter of mine what kind of history is in the making here. Not that I'm downplaying pop musicians, but a woman a heartbeat from the Presidency, that's really inspiring.