Palin's attacks are potentially dangerous [to Democrats] because they are aimed at the crucial voting bloc of women and middle-class voters who can see their lives in her life. Obama talked about coming from a middle-class life. Palin still lives one.
A picture is worth 10,000 words.
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There are stay-at-home, homeschooling mothers who've had daughters get pregnant out of wedlock.
Erin,
One little, itty-bitty difference here: THOSE MOTHERS AREN'T BEING TURNED INTO NATIONAL SHOWCASES FOR THE ALLEGEDLY CONSERVATIVE PARTY!!!
Let's be blunt: she isn't being chosen for her years of service in Wasilla, nor even for the short time she was on the energy commission in Alaska, and it sure as heck isn't for a full successful term as governor. She is being chosen solely on the basis of her identity, her identity as a woman, as a mother, and as a Christian. That's it, that's all she has, and that identity is not ideal. In fact, it's way less than ideal.
At any rate, given the Enquirer piece (which was good enough for John Edwards), Palin doesn't exactly fit the profile of a conscientious mother doing her all and still falling short because of a bit of bad luck.
Even if that was the case, there's a difference between showing a bit of compassion for a slip and rewarding a downfall. In fact, the McCain campaign, with Palin's connivance, has gone out of their way to use Bristol as a lightning rod. Again, any responsible parent, be they mother or father, would not have taken on the sort of responsibility Palin is with their home situation in such a state. Every time conservatives not only make apologies for Sarahtonin, but actually sing praises for the disordered state of her family they shred they make a mockery of their political and social philosophy.
To be blunt about it: Palin doesn't belong in this race, she probably shouldn't be governor of Alaska. She should be back in Wasilla with her kids cleaning up the mess she let happen for the sake of her career. If she were half the mother she's claimed to be, she'd be focusing on helping her other oddly named children avoid the fate of Bristol instead of playing the patsy for John McCain.
Now, you're going to tell me judgmental. Well, you're right. I am being judgmental. I'm judging the character of a candidate being offered for high office, and she lacks, a lot.
1. Her home life is a mess.
2. She's abandoning a commitment she made to the state of Alaska before her term is even halfway finished.
3. She apparently doesn't have the wit or the integrity to realize any of this, making her either clueless or ruthless. You decide which is better.
So, Derek, how do you excuse Hillary Clinton's decision to run for President?
Her husband has cheated on her multiple times--once, with a girl only about four years older than Bristol Palin.
Her daughter has been photographed drunk for the tabloids, has grown up in the glare of the public spotlight, and has had her every action scrutinized. If we don't know the details about Chelsea's early sexual encounters it's only because she either didn't end up pregnant or didn't let the evidence of pregnancy survive, so to speak. And it's pretty disingenuous to claim that as an adult Chelsea (what an odd name *that* is, btw!) no longer needs her mother; her mother was working most of Chelsea's life.
Clinton's home life is a mess.
She's abandoning her commitment to serve New York as Senator only two years into her second six-year term.
She apparently doesn't have the wit or the integrity to realize any of this, making her either clueless or ruthless. As you said to me, you decide which is better.
Oh, wait, there is a difference, though. HRC lost the nomination, and Obama passed her over. So I guess she can go back to trying to repair her marriage and working in the Senate.
....
I'm being tongue in cheek, here. But don't you see how selective it is to hold one woman to a completely different set of standards, simply because she's a conservative?
All this judging of a woman because she carries her baby in a sling? Is this a way to tell if she is a loving, caring mother?
Erin, I hope you're not under the misapprehension that Derek is some kind of liberal. Or an ally of mine on any front. Or a supporter of Hillary Clinton! Though that is an amusing thought--Derek as a closet Clintonista!
I never got a chance to express my joy that Derek in fact declared me to be right on this one occasion. I realize I'll probably have to live on that one accolade for the rest of my life, but it will always occupy a special page in my book of memories. Like the time a guy took me on a date to the Young Republican Ox Roast, but then explained that he couldn't dance with me, have a beer, or kiss me because he was a Baptist. Thanks, Derek. I can't kiss you either, but it was a golden moment while it lasted.
Frankly, it seems the attacks are the kind caused by worry...
Russ
www.modmum.com
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