Ellen Goodman: Privacy, Pregnancy and Double Standards

[marmar]

from Truthdig:



Privacy, Pregnancy and Double Standards

Posted on Sep 2, 2008
By Ellen Goodman

You gotta love this campaign. No sooner does the curtain come crashing down on one climactic moment than up it goes on another. The Democrats choose NoDrama Obama and the channel switches to Soap Opera McCain. You want change? I’ll show you change: Introducing Sarah Palin, a running mate as unfamiliar as the tundra.

Talk about rolling the dice. The idea was to connect to the Hillary supporters. These women, dismayed by the idea that the experienced female was passed over for a fresh male face, were supposed to be won over by a patently inexperienced female fresh face. Never mind that this feisty working mom leans—no, falls—right on social issues. You go, Clara Thomas. Oops, I mean you go, girl.

The Straight Talk Express twisted itself into a pretzel trying to defend her qualifications to be commander in chief. More to the point, the mother of five had a personal story meant to capture the imagination of the American people, whose minds were beginning to wander ominously to such non-entertaining narratives as the Iraq war and the economy.

Not that I don’t find the Sarah Palin story engaging. Mom to mayor to governor to veep nominee? There’s one woman who didn’t have trouble raising her hand in class. There’s one woman who didn’t think she had to be twice as good as a man to run. Be careful what you wish for. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080902_why_palins_business_is_our_business/?ln

[ellenfl]

1. my thoughts exactly . . .

"As for the candidate as mother, is it beyond the pale to wonder whether Sarah Palin and her husband should have thought first of shielding their pregnant daughter from a media lens that they know will focus on the baby bump and a marriage that will take place during a national campaign?"

let's just out the poor kid in the name of political expediency.

ellen fl