Coming down

I'm coming down off my Palin high a little. I don't like her any less, but I am looking at her more objectively and I still want to know more. From her. Not from political analysts, or pollsters, or bloggers. I'm anxious to watch her interview on TV this week. AND! AND! I am going to see her speak in my small town tomorrow!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Full report to follow.

She gave an absolutely smashing speech at the convention but Obama gives great speeches too. Off the cuff, he sounds like he isn't sure what he is talking about. He hedges and uses vague terminology that can be bent to fit whatever perspective anyone wants to use it in. McCain is much better at "town hall" type exchanges where he can speak a little more off-the-cuff and depend less on a scripted speech and a teleprompter...he sounds passionless and robotic sometimes when he's more scripted.

Anyway, I digress. I'm anxious to hear a reporter ask her the tough questions and hear how she responds.

And I've been thinking a lot more about her conservative stances.....people don't like her because she advocates for abstinence only sex education in school (frankly I don't think that is very smart) and opposes abortion (I do too, but I have some fuzzy edges where it isn't all black and white to me). But seriously, think about this. How, as VP, would she get any of that actually legislated? She can't just cruise into the White House and start rewriting the law books. Ain't gonna happen, even if she wanted it to. I honestly don't believe Roe V. Wade will ever be overturned and even if it was, wouldn't that only turn the issue back over to each state to decide? It wouldn't shut down all the abortion clinics overnight, that's for sure.

I'm really perplexed at why people are slamming her so hard for her personal life decisions though. Lots of people (mostly women! Go figure) saying that she should have put off running for national office till her baby is older, till her daughter has her baby, till some other time in the future. They say that she was selfish to put her own ambition above the needs of her family. They say that her daughter would not be getting dragged through the media mudpile and wouldn't be the new poster child for teen pregnancy if not for her nomination, and that it was mean and uncaring for her to accept the nomination now. It isn't as if Bristol won't have the support of her family. She will still be living with her parents until she marries her fiance. If she doesn't end up marrying him then she will be a young single mother....lots of those around, doing a pretty decent job raising their kids. No, it isn't ideal, but real life seldom is. The First Dude has taken an indefinite leave from his job and is taking on the primary caregiver role at home. Yeah, it's unusual, but you know what? It's what feminists have been screaming about for years. And now that the dream has come true in a big way, they don't like it....because the woman holds conservative beliefs. They wanted to redefine what a "typical" American family looks like, and it sure has been. If a family can take care of their own needs, everyone is happy and healthy and reasonably well-adjusted, what does it matter whether mom or dad stays home? Who are we to judge how other people make their families work?

Why is no one asking if Obama can be a good father to his children if he is in the White House? His children are young and need their daddy too. He said it himself, that candidates' children are off limits and shouldn't be a part of our politics. Why did no one take Hillary to task for leaving Chelsea with nannies and sitters while she and Bill pursued their careers? I read a bio on Hillary, and it talked about Chelsea being at a young age, young enough to not pronounce all her words properly, and she was asked about her mom and what her mom did. She responded, "Mommy go make a 'peech." A little double standardish, in my humble opinion.

Why do people assume that a dad can't take just as good care of his children as mom does? It's "just not the same" for the husband to be at home with a special needs child? Oh please.

I am fine with how she takes care of her family. Now what I want to know is how are she and Mr. McCain going to help me take care of mine?