Thursday, September 4, 2008

My take on Palin

is best said by this.

I fully support the idea that she should not be questioned for her ability to lead based on motherhood. But I also feel that her commitment to her family, as a woman, who is biologically supposed to nurture her child is a harbinger for how she will care for a nation.

Her gender shouldn't affect how we view her as a potential leader, but I do judge her for working a much-more-than-full-time schedule with an infant. Her babies will only be babies for a short time - there is a time and place for everything - and you can do everything, but not well.

I'm not saying this well, I fear - I have opposing feelings- I support her right to choose to work, but I don't support her taking on such a vocation - as running the country is - it's not just a job - with a small baby. There are ways to balance work and a young family - but I don't think that being VP is a good one.

So even if I didn't already disagree with her politics, I'd disagree with her personal choices. Do I judge Obama similarly? No. He doesn't lactate. Is that fair? I don't know. It's biology.

I must be another of those conservatives with liberal ideals.

3 comments:

goodwolve said...

He also doesn't have a baby at home.

Bill Baar said...

Michelle Obama got a $310k part time job with U of C Hospital after he was elected Senator. She took a leave of absense to campaign for him. She is not a stay at home mom. Should we judge the Obama's both of them, for letting someone else take care of their kids? I think not...

...unless of course you want to argue that that $310k part time job U of C gave her once her husband elected was sort of a phoney job...

Unknown said...

Hi Bill! I guess that it depends on whether or not her children were infants, not yet capable of being on solid food? I don't think that being a stay-at-home mom is the end-all, be-all, but I do think that being able to have a job where you can breastfeed, and balance family and work time, especially for children under 2, is an important family value.

If Michelle was working part-time, then she was achieving that balance somehow I'm sure. And...she isn't running for president or VP :)