Sarah Palin

On Tuesday, September 2, 2008, I read an interesting article that made it above the fold of the front page in the New York Times. The article was titled, "A New Twist In the Debate Over Mothers". The article addresses the concerns of mothers and feeling that Sarah Palin is taking on too much. They feel that because of her pregnant seventeen year-old daughter, newborn with down syndrome, and the task of raising five children alone makes it seem unreasonable to attempt taking on Vice Presidency as well.

Personally, I think this is nonsense. I did some research on the authors of the article. Jodi Kantor is a living legend with her experience for someone her age, however, she is known to show great leniency for the Obama family. She defended Michelle Obama by blaming the media for overplaying Michelle's comment in Wisconsin about being proud of her nation for once in her life. Kantor also defended Reverend Wright in an April 30, 2007 article. Rachel L. Swarns is much more conservative or at the very least, appears to be. The worst example I could find of bias was in an article in which she seems to gloss over the fact that Barack Obama's views on affirmative action had flip-flopped multiple times over the years.

They quote an Austin, TX mother who thinks being a mother and the Vice President is "a lot to handle". Well, if Sarah Palin does become Vice President, which remember is the second in command position with less responsibility she would be joining a long list of former Presidents and Vice Presidents with large families. The average number of children for each President is 4, and poor President John Tyler managed to run the White House just fine with 15 children.
I do not question Palin's ability to carry out her position of Vice President simply because she is a Mother, if anything I think she may find it easier because with five children she is a professional multi-tasker. She has proved to Alaska that she can manage the dual-responsibility, and she is ready to prove to it to the rest of the country.

She does have two children with two very different forms of "special needs". One in the form of pregnancy and one with down syndrome. However, what people need to realize is that everyone has different thresholds for stress, and we are not the ones to judge someone else. I know personally, I do better the busier I am. If I have a million things going on, my grades are better; my stress is lessened; my priorities are better organized. When I have too much free-time or not enough things on my plate, my whole world seems to fall apart. It is alright if people want to speculate on Palin's ability to cope with so many things on her plate, but to judge her unfit for the position simply because of our own inabilities or insecurities seems unfair.

Coming from a family of nine, I agree with Phylis Schlafly who raised a family of six and was quoted saying, "People who have only one or two are kind of overwhelmed with the thought of five children... I think the hard-working, well-organized C.E.O type can handle it very well". The country needs to focus on the important issues, such as Palin's stance on war, gun control, and economy, and let Sarah Palin focus on her role as a Mother and Vice President.