So We're Here

I've been reminded many time by my step-mother, a proud feminist, that we young women have no idea how good we have it, that we take everything for granted. I have to say though, that the choice of Sarah Palin as VP (and perhaps the first VP with a real shot of taking that office) has made me think long and hard about what women have worked for.

I should also say that I didn't really want to write anything about all of this. This is a gardening and cooking blog not a political one but I just couldn't stop myself. First, I think that governors make better presidents any day. While many of them are inexperienced, they don't have a lot of places to hide from real decisions. I often view senators as public intellectuals and don't have that much respect for them. For all of the weirdness with Guiliani he had a lot more executive experience and made a lot more decisions that W ever did in a relatively low-key governorship like Texas. Oh, I guess I should say that not all governorships are created equal. They each have their own set of power that is gained sometimes through procedual, appointment, or communications methods. Some are dealt a basically useless hand while others make their own fortune, rearrange the governance in their state, and manage to change how things are done.

Like senators they are subject to the same pressures and politicking and often have more skeletons and dead hookers in their closets. At my last job we were planning on a big event where we were going to invite all of the living governors, former and current, to a big convention. My question (asked after I had already announced my departure) was "Will we invite the ones who are in jail?".

So, how does all of this lead me to a crisis? Well I just don't know what to think about Palin. There are enough things wrong with her governing style (from minor ones like her husband's drunk driving and less then stellar driving record) to more serious problems like firing the state police chief after she, her husband, and her staff harassed him for not firing her ex brother in law. There are also reports that she was almost recalled as Mayor because she fired the librarian and police chief for not politically supporting her. She also tried to find out if she had power to ban books, which I don't really like from any elected official. On her merits, I don't think she has enough experience to lead in the same way that I'm not really sure Obama or W have/had the experience to lead.

On the personal side, the woman is a walking soap opera. There are too many things to begin to list them and despite many people's insistence that we don't discuss, count, or even think about it, any candidate puts themselves up for this type of public scrutany when they run for office. I just finished freaking out about John Edwards and what a jerk he is, not for having an affair, but for dragging his wife and young family though another campaign when there was already blood in the water about his affair.

For me, the crux of the issue, and this comes from a place of non-motherhood, is to question, who would put their pregnant 17-year old daughter through this? Who would fly from Dallas to Ancorage with leaking amniotic fluid with two strikes (advanced maternal age and a child who she knew had downs) already against having a normal delivery. Aren't women who are in their third trimester strongly discouraged from flying. Isn't this why we invest in high quality video conferencing? Why is this woman taking these risks and putting her family though this? I just don't see how any professional obligation could possibly put you in a position to do harm to your unborn baby or to make an already difficult situation with teenage pregnancy even more difficult.

The only thing that makes sense is that she is of a slightly different generation, perhaps a transitional one between the power suite, man eaters that broke the glass ceiling in the 1980's and women of my generation who try make their way professionally while still insisting on a family-work balance. Palin seems to be pretty hard core which is a strong contrast to her beauty pageant days. Perhaps this is about how Alaska breeds a different type of woman, one who gives birth while working on a fishing rig, wears sexy undies for her husband, and makes ends meet. Perhaps, she's a superwoman who is sacraficing herself and her family to show people how to hunt wolves while looking pretty, nursing, and leading a conference call on how to diffuse the tense situation in the Bering Straight.

And here is the rub for me. Does doing it all- being a mom, being a superstar professional, a moral leader, having a husband who does not appear to be the primary caretaker, no help- mean that you have to be totally compulsive, not sleep, and go back to work days after delivering a baby (do they just fall out after a few?). I just can't image it and I can't imagine doing it myself.

So I was raised to believe that women can do anything that men can do plus more. In some ways women my age (31) and my demographic, super over educated from the best upbringing, should do everything. But what if we can't? Does that mean we don't measure up? We can't be anything we want? How do we choose what to sacrifice because right now raising a family and being a professional don't seem to leave room for one to do either very well.

So, if Sarah Palin was a man my thoughts and feelings would be simple and clear cut. I'd laugh at the idiocy of the choice. If I was pro-life I would be very excited that there is actually a high profile christian conservative that walks the talk (and doesn't lead a gay lifestyle while actively eroding gay rights). I sincerely admire her for her choice to keep her baby and to support her daughter through a pregnancy.

But I just can't imagine what this must be like for her daughter.




The caption of this picture should totally read "If women ruled the white house, it would be one giant cat fight".