How dare John McCain?
How dare John McCain pick a woman who gave birth to a new baby 4 months ago to be his running mate. And how dare Sarah Palin accept?
As a mother, I am horrified to think that she cares so little about her new role as mother to her fifth child that she thinks it is appropriate to run for Vice President. Seriously. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a working mother. I was and am. But I remember the day that I realized that my twins needed me more than I thought they would; the day that I realized that my role as mother was different from any other role that I will play in my entire life. On that day, I was overwhelmed by the fact that my special duties as a mother didn't stop with giving birth. I needed to be 100% emotionally available to my children. We don't understand this until our children teach us this and when they do, we must be prepared to respond.
Perhaps since this is her fifth child, this is old hat for her. Perhaps she can pass her new baby off to her teenage daughters or hired help. Perhaps she is just so amazing that being a mother to 5 and running for Vice President isn't spreading herself too thin. That is her decision to make, I know. But shame on John McCain. Shame on him for not seeing how important being a mother to a newborn is. Shame on John McCain for being so out of touch that he thinks that women will think it is acceptable for this woman to spend the long hours it will take to be Vice President away from her small children.
Frankly, I have often felt that Barack Obama is selfish for being away from his young children as well. At least the Obamas are always talking about how they have a grandmother there to help with their girls. But it still stresses me out that as a father he thinks it is ok to spend that much time away from his young children.
I think that any woman with children will know what I am talking about when I say that the special time that you have with a new baby in that first year is just too important to lose. Being Vice President is not and will not ever replace the time this woman is losing with her children. There is nothing wrong with a woman doing and being anything that she wants to be, but I think there is something wrong with someone who thinks it is ok to put her family through the ugly hell that is an American election. But I suppose we should expect this from a woman who proudly sends her 19 year old son to war. Her values are completely screwed up.
Have we gotten this confused to think that it is ok for anyone to abandon their young children for a job? I'm not talking about regular parents who go to regular 9 to 5 jobs. I am talking about running for Vice President. There is no excuse for any man or woman to involve themselves with running for office when they are already the most important person in the world to a four month old baby. It is just madness.
Even though I am a liberal democrat, I never hated John McCain. But now I know he completely disrespects family and the role of parents, especially mothers. And to those women who are super excited to see that, yes, a woman can do it all! A breast feeding Vice President! People can and do spread themselves too thin. And the people who suffer don't often have the voices to express it.
Because in the end, isn't your family more important than your country? I know mine is.
