Politics From Mommy's View

And now, a break from cutesy baby talk....

I have been trying to keep up with politics more than I normally would since I am so appalled at the state of our nation right now. I always vote, but rarely spend much time really following what is going on with the candidates. I actually watched portions of the conventions last week (Ok, so it might have something to do with having no cable too!) When we watched the DNC, I commented to Colby that it was too bad that Obama is black since, no matter how amazing he could be, he will lose a percentage of the vote simply for that reason. We would love to believe that we are beyond that point in our history, but in all honesty, we are not.

Fast forward to the Republican convention and McCain names a female running mate! I immediately called Colby, "Well, it looks like McCain evened the playing field a little." Because as much as we still suffer with racism in this country, we also have our share of misogynists who just will not stand for a woman being in such a role of power in our country.

But, not only would I question McCain naming Palin since she is female, there are other things about her I find curious. Palin is a candidate who endorses a abstinence- only sex education program. She then has a daughter who received this education and is pregnant at 17! Yet, Palin still won't budge on the fact that maybe other forms of sex education should be coupled with the abstinence. Will she be faced with programs as a VP that she won't be willing to change even if they are proven NOT to work???

I also cannot get past the fact that she has 5 children, one of whom is an infant with Down's Syndrome. As a mother of three, I know that when you are working full time, either your job or the children suffer. When I was 20 years old with no children, I worked like a horse... 60 hours week, whenever I needed to so that I could do a great job and advance. But, after children, clearly I couldn't do that. I needed to get home to see them for some portion of the day. And sometimes I needed to miss work for sick kids, doctors appointment, soccer games, dance recitals, etc... How will someone who has a job 1000 times more demanding then mine ever reconcile those things? Her 7 year old is just starting her days of sports and extra-curricular activities. Where will her mommy be? I would pose these same questions if the candidate were a male with 5 children. We all make choices in life and when you choose to have 5 children, you need to realize that they will take a considerable amount of time to raise them adequately!

Anyhow, I just think she is a poor choice for McCain and he shot himself in the foot, even if he was trying to get the 'Hilary' vote...