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Am I alone in feeling that it is inappropriate for Palin to be taking on this job having just had a baby with Downs syndrome?
They CHOSE to have the baby, and I think that is commendable in many ways, but not if you're going to rush off and do something else the second a better offer comes along.
Is her husband going to quit his job and be a SAHD? If so, then that's a step in the right direction - I don't care which parent takes charge of the baby, but this seems so very selfish to me on her part. I think she would be able to do many things, including her existing job in Alaska. But VP for the US of A? I do not think so.
Now with the news about the oldest daughter, it seems that they need to be there for their own family instead of trying to promote themselves up the political ladder. They chose to have 5 kids, 4 of whom are at home, one is a 6 month old baby with special needs and the other is a knocked up teen. I really think that BOTH of the Palins need to look a bit closer to home before taking on time consuming jobs of any kind. Now the job Mrs Palin wants happens to be as one of the leaders of this country. She seems in no way equipped for this from what I have seen, especially taking into consideration her family situation.
I mean can you IMAGINE what would happen if she ever had to take office as the president?
I find it offensive that Mccain seems to think that just because Palin is female, that all women will race out and vote for her, just because she has the same anatomical parts. There are women out there of whom the USA could be proud as part of the leadership. I think Hillary was one of them. This woman is so ill equipped to handle any of this and it irritates me that of all women out there, THIS is the one he came up with.
I initially thought Mccain choice of a woman as VP was a clever move to get out the female vote, but the more I hear about her, the more of a political blunder it seems.
How is being VP more strenuous than being governor of Alaska? So just because she had a Down's Syndrome baby, should she retire from politics altogether and stay home with her child? I think that if she hires a nanny, the baby will be just fine at this point and for the next five years. The National Down's Syndrome conference was in Boston just a few months ago, and I worked one of their luncheons. In addition, NPR had a show where they interviewed a woman with a Down's Syndrome teenager.
Anyway, I don't think that Palin can't be both a good VP and a good mother to her baby at the same time. In addition, there was another thread where someone criticized Palin for flying in an airplane while in the late stages of her last pregnancy, and I don't see what the big deal is about pregnant women flying. My boyfriend's mom flew twice while being pregnant with him, and one of those times was in the last month of the pregnancy and he turned out just fine and without any complications. Pregnant women aren't that fragile.
How is being VP more strenuous than being governor of Alaska? So just because she had a Down's Syndrome baby, should she retire from politics altogether and stay home with her child? .
Umm, the first question HAS to be a joke right? You think that being governor of Alaska is a similar work load to being VP (and potentially President) of the USA?? Really?
I also don't think I said that she should retire altogether from politics, but having chosen to take on a special needs child, that child should come first in the families lives, not last to be taken care of by a nanny. This is not about putting food on the table and providing for the family. This is a choice she is making and it is about realizing political ambition and wanting the top job.
Personally I think that with a special needs baby that they CHOSE to bring into the world, PLUS a prgnant teen, they have made the choice as to what should be more important to them.
This is pure selfish ambition.
Perhaps I would be more inclined to overlook the family side of things if I thought she was even remotely qualified to handle the job at hand. But as I don't think she is qualified, and I do think that this will be an enormous struggle for her, it comes across as even more selfish of her to have brought this baby into the world. Frankly I think it sucks. She needs to consider where her priorities lie.
How is being VP more strenuous than being governor of Alaska? So just because she had a Down's Syndrome baby, should she retire from politics altogether and stay home with her child? I think that if she hires a nanny, the baby will be just fine at this point and for the next five years. The National Down's Syndrome conference was in Boston just a few months ago, and I worked one of their luncheons. In addition, NPR had a show where they interviewed a woman with a Down's Syndrome teenager.
Anyway, I don't think that Palin can't be both a good VP and a good mother to her baby at the same time. In addition, there was another thread where someone criticized Palin for flying in an airplane while in the late stages of her last pregnancy, and I don't see what the big deal is about pregnant women flying. My boyfriend's mom flew twice while being pregnant with him, and one of those times was in the last month of the pregnancy and he turned out just fine and without any complications. Pregnant women aren't that fragile.
I think she can hire al the help she needs to take over the mothering duites. The travel and social schedule for a VP is heavy so arrangements will have to be made for that. But, having lived next door to a family with a delightful little boy with Downs Syndrome, and helping them out as a babysitter on occasion, I know the family put in an enormous amount of time in therapy, medical visits, exercises, etc and they were often really exhuasted in their efforts to make the boy's life the best it could be.
I think the plane thing was not so much that she was pregnant, but that she was leaking and in labor before she boarded the plane. It worked, so it is ok, but can you imagine the furor if she had the baby on the plane,lol?
Can a mother be a president or vice president? Should only women past menopause be allowed to run for elected office? Or only childless women? To start to wonder if a woman is capable of running a country and a family is, well icky for lack of a better word. Do we wonder this about men? When edwards was running he had small children and a terminally ill wife -- that was seen as acceptable. Nobody asked 'what if elizabeth dies while he is potus, then who will take care of the children?'...why is that?
I see the concern, I really do. I a woman who made the choice to stay at home with her children and I do think that is the best way to go. At the same time, if a woman is barred from becoming vpotus because she has children at home.....that sets up a very bad precedence for all other women. Can a woman be the president of a fortune 500 company if she has minor children? Can a woman be an astronaut if she has minor children? Can a woman be a police officer, a fire fighter, a doctor, a lawyer, an office worker if she has minor children? Do you see the slippery slope this argument can take? I made my choice, and I hope that people will not start taking my daughters choice of career from them.
The travel and social schedule for a VP is heavy so arrangements will have to be made for that. But, having lived next door to a family with a delightful little boy with Downs Syndrome, and helping them out as a babysitter on occasion, I know the family put in an enormous amount of time in therapy, medical visits, exercises, etc and they were often really exhuasted in their efforts to make the boy's life the best it could be.
Exactly so. And they went into having the baby knowing what the situation was and what would be required. Now because an exciting new job opportunity has come up the baby can go on the back burner. Well I'm sorry, but something seems a bit askew there. If they were living and working in one place, even with a heavy work load things with the baby could be made to work.
This woman just seems very ego driven to me. Now her teenage is getting married off to remove that little problem, and the baby will be shuffled off with a nanny despite his special needs. Special needs tends to mean that MORE care is required, not less. Why have the baby at all if this is the plan for him?
I actually feel that the job of governor is a more more strenuous job than VP. A governor is making more active decisions and is at the helm of the state. A VP traditionally is just going around socializing with all those dignitaries that were hoping to have time with the president, but didn't make it onto the date calendar.
And what about Palin's husband? Hasn't he already resigned his post and is ready to be a house husband? I'm a feminist too, but I think that Palin's husband needs to do his share of the parenting duties also. As to her pregnant daughter, I see her getting married and staying in that small town in Alaska for the time being. I don't think that her mother needs to be around for the childrearing. 'm sure that she has the full support of her boyfriend's family also.
As a feminist, I don't see why women need to try to "do it all"... being a mother hen, career woman and super hero, the men never trouble themselves like that. And in my area, there are plenty of families where the mother also has a full career and the family has a nanny or au pair for the kids. Even when one of the kids is a special needs child.
Can a mother be a president or vice president? Should only women past menopause be allowed to run for elected office? Or only childless women? To start to wonder if a woman is capable of running a country and a family is, well icky for lack of a better word. Do we wonder this about men? When edwards was running he had small children and a terminally ill wife -- that was seen as acceptable. Nobody asked 'what if elizabeth dies while he is potus, then who will take care of the children?'...why is that?
I see the concern, I really do. I a woman who made the choice to stay at home with her children and I do think that is the best way to go. At the same time, if a woman is barred from becoming vpotus because she has children at home.....that sets up a very bad precedence for all other women. Can a woman be the president of a fortune 500 company if she has minor children? Can a woman be an astronaut if she has minor children? Can a woman be a police officer, a fire fighter, a doctor, a lawyer, an office worker if she has minor children? Do you see the slippery slope this argument can take? I made my choice, and I hope that people will not start taking my daughters choice of career from them.
Of course a mom can be president of the US, but unlike another job, do not expect the mothering to be of the same intensity as it would be in a different situation. Just as Obama has had to sacrifice family time with his daughters, Clinton also, most high level govt and corporate employees, military members, etc do too. Does not mean that it is the best situation for the kids though. When I was married to the military and my spouse deployed, my kids suffered. It is the same situation. A decison has to be made, which are the priorities and then you work them out, but you do not have the luxury of thinking you can have it all, man or woman.
This woman just seems very ego driven to me. Now her teenage is getting married off to remove that little problem, and the baby will be shuffled off with a nanny despite his special needs. Special needs tends to mean that MORE care is required, not less. Why have the baby at all if this is the plan for him?
And Obama isn't ego driven? All politicians are ego driven. So are professional musicians. So are professional dancers. So are actors and actresses. I see nothing wrong with an ego driven woman.
Should only women past menopause be allowed to run for elected office?
NO
Or only childless women?
NO
To start to wonder if a woman is capable of running a country and a family is, well icky for lack of a better word.
Don't be silly - I would have voted for Hillary, or other QUALIFIED female with children. This woman has 5 kids, one who is special needs, and I think she is selfish for putting her own ambition first. I also don't think she is the only culprit but that BOTH Palins need a swift kick in the rear to get their priorities in line.
Do we wonder this about men? When edwards was running he had small children and a terminally ill wife -- that was seen as acceptable. Nobody asked 'what if elizabeth dies while he is potus, then who will take care of the children?'...why is that?
Good point.
Can a woman be the president of a fortune 500 company if she has minor children?
YES
Can a woman be an astronaut if she has minor children?
YES
Can a woman be a police officer, a fire fighter, a doctor, a lawyer, an office worker if she has minor children?
YES
Do you see the slippery slope this argument can take?
No, not really. These are not jobs that run a country. The job she wants is. It would be different if she had ANY experience at all, and even an idea of what to do. She has no experience, I don't see anything which gives me any fuzzy feelings of security that she could handle the country in emergency, and on top of this she and her husband have chosen to bring into the world a special needs child. One of them needs to step up and parent. I don't really care which of them it is, but if you don't intend to parent your special needs child, then don't have it.
I made my choice, and I hope that people will not start taking my daughters choice of career from them.
My comments above in red.
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