North vs. South and The Election
My cousin Donna and I grew up in worlds about as far apart as you can imagine. I grew up in New York, Donna in Texas. As you can imagine, my liberal leanings don’t always sit well with her but she’s a good counterpoint for me. When she asked in an e-mail what I thought about Sarah Palin I told her I just couldn’t bring myself to blog about her because my mother always taught me, “If you can’t say anything nice…”. This was her response:
Now, now, now. You can’t ignore a fellow female who is just trying to walk that thin pink line…whether she is a Democrat OR, dare I say, a Republican! Let me see, governor of the largest state in the union for 2 years versus senator from Illinois for 2 years, but that senator is running for president not v.p. You know, this is going to be the first time in decades that we are going to have a president from the senate. Having 5 kids is a lot of work, but she has a husband. It may keep her more in-tuned to the plight of the average woman, and family for that matter. In other words I think you need to recognize her on your blog, good and bad, because that’s what it’s all about.
Donna’s right. And the fact is I am glad to see a woman on at least one of the tickets. But voting for a woman was never as important to me as having the right people in office. As I walked around my office saying during the democratic campaign, “Obama, Hillary, both are OK to me. Just no more old white men.” Then Jessica made a bumper sticker for me with this same phrase. Now I get lots of honks and thumbs up. The guys at the car wash and the valets tell me they particularly like it. I also got two flat tires and am still not sure if it’s related.
TAGS: Barack Obama, democrats, republicans, Sarah Palin
I believe it’s important to separate out being an accomplished woman in the workplace and a mother from being the V.P. or President of the U.S. of A. As a high achieving working mother myself - like Sarah - I can say that the skill set for managing 5 children does not qualify a person for managing the country. The skills for being a mother have to do with love and relationship. These skills have little to do with leading our country. She may indeed be able to identify with women more than a man but so what? Again,that ability has little to do with the job she is being considered for. I would also say that a mother of 5 who has the job of V.P can’t be much of a mother and probably doesn’t truly enjoy being a mother.I hope her husband intends on staying home and raising the children (as Michelle has said she will be doing when Obama goes to work) because it’s clear Sarah doesn’t intend on doing that. Let’s get real. Any of us who are working mothers- with fewer than 5 children- let alone one with Down syndrome - can barely get a walk in let alone run the country. She is relying on her husband, other family members and paid help. So, she may be pro choice but I doubt she is pro motherhood. She’s making her choices in life and all of us in the women’s movement make it possible for her to do this. I applaud her for it. I think she’s smart, hard working, a loose cannon, true to her beliefs, pretty,has great skin, and is in no way prepared for the job. But it doesn’t seem to matter to the Republican party. The spin about her is absurd. She will be a puppet as V.P and if McCains heart gives out, she will hopefully have a great team in place to help her do her job. She will need it.
Comment by Susan Picascia — August 31, 2008 @ 10:04 am
I stand corrected in my original comments: She may be pro-life (not pro Choice!!(Freudian wish)
Comment by Susan Picascia — August 31, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
so you are saying a woman either has to stay at home and be a mother (whether she has 1 child or 5)or be a member of the workforce? you can’t have both? what about men? does that make barack obama a bad father? he won’t be around much to help michelle raise their daughters.
Comment by teej — August 31, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
I think you may have missed that I am a working mother. So, no I don’t believe you have to do one or the other.
Comment by Susan Picascia — August 31, 2008 @ 11:55 pm