Palin

[tistheseason]

More sexist views IMHO - a women who's motivated to achieve greatness in her career is automatically assumed to be ignoring the interests of her children. Spin this around, what if her husband were running instead of Sarah? Would we be sitting around discussing how Todd Palin was doing a disservice to his family for running for V.P.? I think not. Is Obama doing a disservice to his daughters by running for President? I think not. So why is Sarah? The only difference here is the fact that she's a woman.

You are missing the point, IMHO. I have no problem with Moms that work. I do that myself. I have no problem with Moms who stay home. I did that, too. While I know it's a nice trigger to try to make the argument about that -- it's not the point.

It's just that when you are in the middle of a 2 major family crisises -- a 4 month old special needs baby (who will need more time and attention than the rest of her babies) and a daughter going through the most challenging year of her life. It just seems to be bad timing for her family. If it was 2 years ago, or 2 years from now I would feel much differently. And quite frankly if she were a man, I'd feel the same way.

I really can't get past the fact that she has pushed her daughter into the national spotlight. I feel terrible for Bristol and I really hope that the nation will be kind to her.

 

[TooFarTampa]

I am also pro-choice so I totally agree with you but I am hoping that this can be kept a private matter as we would also hope if it was our daughter and we were in the limelight.

My problem is the reality of the fact that many people who have never seen a picture of her or heard her speak -- much less actually know her -- are going to rake her over the coals, post obscene things about her, gossip, etc. At age 17 that would have just been unbearable to me. While I can appreciate CCK's point that the VP nomination presents an opportunity for the family, I can't help but think this is an extremely delicate time in this girl's life, and by moving forward, her parents threw her under the bus a little bit. In fact, I can't stop thinking about it.

Then again, I don't know her. She may be the steeliest 17 year old ever. But the kids weren't clued in until very late in the process. I just feel very very bad for the whirlwhind that she has been placed in.

 

[TooFarTampa]

good morning tis.

 

[Jdarg]

You are missing the point, IMHO. I have no problem with Moms that work. I do that myself. I have no problem with Moms who stay home. I did that, too. While I know it's a nice trigger to try to make the argument about that -- it's not the point.

It's just that when you are in the middle of a 2 major family crisises -- a 4 month old special needs baby (who will need more time and attention than the rest of her babies) and a daughter going through the most challenging year of her life. It just seems to be bad timing for her family. If it was 2 years ago, or 2 years from now I would feel much differently. And quite frankly if she were a man, I'd feel the same way.

I really can't get past the fact that she has pushed her daughter into the national spotlight. I feel terrible for Bristol and I really hope that the nation will be kind to her.[/quote]

I feel bad that 2 of her children were thrust into the national spotlight.

 

[Gypsea]

With respect to Gov Palin being a working mum - I am firmly in the camp of believing that one can juggle work and family (some better than others) - there is no right way or wrong way. And it is quite disheartening to see some people attempt to judge her parenting skills by having accepted this nomination. Like CCK, I actually see this as a tremendous opportunity for her and her family and even if I may disagree quite a bit with her thinking on the policy issues that will affect this country, I do not think her status as a working mum should be be belittled. Men running for public office are not scrutinized this way and I think both should be treated equally.

One does not need to dig far to see exemplary stay at home mums and just as exemplary working mums - both come with a distinct set of advantages and disadvantages - if there was one set formula that guaranteed success we would all be doing it.

I also agree with you here and am pro-choice on the work front as well. I chose to be a stay at home mom but it is great to have women in the house, the senate and as governors of their states. What a wonderful thing for our girls to see. You are correct that if she were a man no one would be suggesting that she step down. That is the world we live in. Now it would be great if we could have some empathy and image if the shoe was on the other foot.

 

[Jennifer Steele]

From Merriam- Webster:Main Entry: sex?ism javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?sexism01.wav=sexism') Pronunciation: \ˈsek-ˌsi-zəm\ Function: noun Etymology: 1sex + -ism (as in racism) Date: 1968 1: prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially : discrimination against women2: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex
? sex?ist javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?sexism02.wav=sexist') \ˈsek-sist\ adjective or noun


Plus, how can I remotely be sexist when I am not discriminating against her? Not agreeing with someone's choices doesn't mean I am prejudiced or discriminatory towards that person. It means that we have different values.

Pouncing on someone that you don't know isn't very nice.

Have you noticed on the news in the past 24 hours that anytime Palin's experience or personal life has been questioned, the pundits' immediate response, whether male or female, is "That's sexist" or "You would not say that if she were male." Like someone said earlier, a memo must have been sent out to McCain/Palin supporters to have the same response ready to go, sadly diverting us from the real issues that voters need to ponder/discuss before making their decision.

 

[Miss Critter]

Have you noticed on the news in the past 24 hours that anytime Palin's experience or personal life has been questioned, the pundits' immediate response, whether male or female, is "That's sexist" or "You would not say that if she were male." Like someone said earlier, a memo must have been sent out to McCain/Palin supporters to have the same response ready to go, sadly diverting us from the real issues that voters need to ponder/discuss before making their decision.

Yes, I have noticed that. The two words that best sum up the whole Palin thing imo are not "that's sexist," but "poor judgment."

 

[Chickpea]

By all accounts now it is coming out that McCain really wanted Lieberman but that there was sufficient outrage and threats by others that finally persuaded him that he could not make this choice and have a civil convention.

BTW and IMHO: The whole issue of Bristol being pregnant should have and could have been handled differently by the McCain camp. When they introduced Sarah Palin to the public for the first time, they should have immediately disclosed this and at the same time make the point that this was a private matter, one that McCain knew and that he admired the fact that the family was handling it this way. It would have diffused the surprise factor and would potentially have been more private for her and specifically Bristol.

 

[Chickpea]

Yes, I have noticed that. The two words that best sum up the whole Palin thing imo are not "that's sexist," but "poor judgment."

I am going to ignore all sexist and racist remarks - it matters zero to me that Obama is part african american and it matters zero to me that Palin is a woman - I care about policies and judgment and the way McCain has handled this and what the Alaska legislature are saying about a virtually non-existant vetting process speaks volumes about McCain.

He went his gut as he saw a reformer in her and she reflected back to him what he used to be (a maverick who loved to combat against the establishment) and that is it - either one is comfortable with that or not.

 

[Miss Critter]

Not.