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September 04, 2008

A Bad Political Dad From History?

I think many Americans were touched last night by an image from the Republican convention. It is one that was frighteningly all-American -- but also controversial, with some saying the reality it represents being reason enough for Palin being rejected as Vice President, and why she should not be on it at all. I refer, of course, to the fact that Sarah Palin is the mother five not-entirely-perfect children, and that she is somehow a bad parent for seeking this office -- or even for being the Governor of Alaska.

I've held the image above in my heart even as I've struggled with how to refute that charge, with where I could look for an example from history to either disprove it or demonstrate its inherent sexism. And as I did so, a disturbing image popped into my head -- one that could only have sprung into the mind of a student of history.

Now some of you may not see the connection, and others may mistake what I mean by connecting last night's events with an American tragedy four decades ago. But consider the picture that the tragic event shown above deprived us of -- Senator Robert Francis Kennedy accepting the nomination of the 1968 convention in Chicago (either for president or vice president -- contrary to popular history he had not locked up the former and may have had to settle for the latter on a ticket with Hubert Humphrey), his arm around his visibly pregnant wife as the couple was surrounded by their TEN beautiful children under the age of 18 (as well as his niece and nephew, the children of his murdered brother).

Think about it -- rather than the stark shades of black and gray and white that depict the end of what many Democrats would describe as the Golden Age of American liberalism, we would have had an amazing technicolor celebration of what was seen as the model American Catholic family (though we now know that was merely a facade).

And no one would have dreamed of asking any form of the Sarah Palin question about Bobby Kennedy:

Was he selfish to seek this office?
Would he short change his brood to serve America?
Would he fall short as president because of his obligations as a parent?
Was he just plain a bad father because he didn't wait until they were older to run -- say 1984 or 1988?

I say again, those questions would not have been asked in 1968, not even by his Republican opponents. Nor do I believe anyone would seriously ask them in 2008, even with full knowledge of the sad stories of drug abuse, child abuse, suicide, and other pathologies and bad choices we have seen among RFK's eleven offspring.

That leads me to ask the obvious question -- why not? There are only two honest answers, either partisan bias or naked sexism. After all, the major difference in circumstance here is that Kennedy was a male liberal Democrat, and Palin is a female conservative Republican.

Personally, I'd argue that it is a lot of both, with sexism being the larger component. Consider the attempts to find nude Sarah Palin photos or pictures of Sarah Palin in a bikini. Has there been a comparable search for similar photos of Barack Obama or Joe Biden in order to discredit them-- and would anyone seriously argue that this picture of Obama on his recent vacation somehow makes him morally unfit for office?

Of course, given that there has been no serious effort to discredit Senator McCain with similar photos, we must be led to the conclusion that much of the opposition to Palin is based upon her gender.

And that my friends, is something we as Americans need to firmly and forthrightly reject. Too bad that the icons of feminism and so-called leaders on behalf of women's rights cannot be bothered to speak out against a return to the most egregious of sexual double standards at the same time they shrilly denounce Palin as unfit for office on the basis of ideology. Why can't they take the time to demand that their side hold a woman to the same standard they would hold a man of their own party?

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Excellent post.

|| Posted by SJ Reidhead, September 4, 2008 08:23 PM ||

This is yet another example of the hypocrisy of the liberal left. They claim to back “feminism” as long as the female fits into their mold of “victim” and plays by their rule book. Large families are fine as long as they are dependent on some government agency to pull them through.

They did the same with successful black individuals like Clarence Thomas who reached his level without the help of the liberal left. The key word in all this is “individual”; something the socialist agenda would do away with in favor of a collective, the community driven goals. This is the redefined America, the one that would make our founders roll over in their graves if they were around to witness this travesty.

|| Posted by T F Stern, September 4, 2008 10:38 PM ||

Straw man time?

The voices from the right and the left who have raised questions about Palin's ability to serve as a mother and as a veep are rare in comparison to the republican voices trying desperately to act as though opposition to the unqualified, unvetted, inexperienced, possibly criminal Palin. Sorry, RWR, you're not going to shut down the criticism by trying to act as though it has anything to do with the silly "bad mom" argument.

The only person I've personally heard making this argument is a staunch Republican, who believes in "traditional values".

I pointed out the error of her ways.

|| Posted by Dan, September 5, 2008 05:18 AM ||

Dan -- If you've got actual criticism, bring it on. But don't deny that there are plenty of voices, mostly on the left, who have raised the bad mom argument.

Want to argue experience and qualifications? Bring it on -- Obama is less experienced and less qualified, unless you argue that the act of running for president constitutes experience and qualification for the office.

And if you want to defend a law-breaking cop who abused a child, drove a squad car drunk, broke hunting laws, and threatened to murder a man if he helped his daughter get a lawyer, feel free to do so. I'd argue that taking significantly more action to remove him from the force would be appropriate -- and that firing an at-will employee like the director of public safety is hardly criminal.

By the way -- where is the obsession over disqualifying pictures of Obama, Biden, or McCain in swimsuits or nude? It didn't exist -- but does with Palin. Pointing out the sexism there is not trying to silence critics -- it is trying to right a wrong.

|| Posted by Rhymes With Right, September 5, 2008 02:52 PM ||

By the way -- when will Barack Obama finally be vetted?

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September 04, 2008

A Bad Political Dad From History?

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