Sarah Palin, Mother of a Special-Needs Child, as VP Nominee

Whitney Hoffman, of the LDPodcast and Parent's Eye View, says what I'm thinking about Sarah Palin's decision to accept McCain's offer of the vice-presidency.

[snip]
While I will be one of the first people in line to be empathetic with Sarah Palin and the challenges she faces ahead of her with her son, I think she is deluding herself that she can be both a great mom to a child with a disability and the Vice President of the United States.  Heck, most moms I know have enough problems being a mom, holding a job, handling homework, and volunteering with the PTA.

Having a job like Vice President basically is a 24 x 7 type of position.  She will be required to sit in the Senate.  She will have meetings all over the world.  Yes, I have heard of nannies. But her son will require tons of care and attention, consistently, and especially during his early years, to ensure he develops to the maximum of his potential.  And I worry that being Vice President means she will miss all of that, or leave it to her other children and/or caretakers to take her place. [snip]

Go read Hoffman's whole post

Comments

[Whitney]

Thanks, Liz. I certainly respect Palin's getting involved in the political process; I understand the overwhelming nature of the offer of the Vice Presidency, but I honestly think her resume is thin, and with a child with Down Syndrome, who was born in April of 2008, she just doesn't yet fully appreciate the challenges she faces, and raising a child with a disability, trying to get up to speed on national policy, and trying to campaign- that's just crazy.

[Fielding J. Hurst]

What about the dad, what does he do? Maybe he is care-giver???

[Joel Sax]

I thought of you when she was announced. I'm blogging again, btw.

I'm with Whitney. Palin is all flash and little substance. There were so many more excellent Republican women they could have chosen.

[omg!]

I cannont belive that if she is do dedicated to special needs children why she would attempt to take on such a huge responsibility as the Vice President of the United States! You are correct, she clearly does not understand the nurturing, time, patients, attention, a special needs child needs to be a succesful adult. Her commitment too this child should be before her commitment to this country. A child needs his mother, even more so ones that have special needs!

[David]

Give her a chance, how can you all be so sure she has no idea what she is doing? She seems like a great roll model and a strong woman with her priorities straight.

[Beckie]

Palin actually cut the budget in Alaska for special needs kids in schools by 62% For more information visit:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/04/politics/animal/main4414049.shtml

[Brandy]

As a mother of a special needs child, I was so upset by her lack of good judgement over all that I felt I needed to have a group on facebook on the matter.

I don't think she can be a good mother and a VP at the same time.

She rubs me the wrong way. Plus, when I say she should be home with her son, I get the " Your just being sexist" replies! When I would say that about a MAN as well. Special needs children need the love and support of 2 parents ( where there are two parents in the family. For those with one parent, I feel for that parent.)
Cheers and thanks for the honesty! I am going to link this page to my group on facebook.

[cher]

Sarah Palin also cut funding for the Alaska Special Olympics by half.

[Carrie]

All this talk about what a good mother she is makes me sick. As the mother of four children and a 18 year old daughter, I think any mother who would accept a VP nomination knowing her daughter was pregnant is the worst most selfish thing I have seen in any mother. She threw her onto the world stage at a difficult time. Also just giving birth to a special needs child she is clueless on how to be a mother. She should have told McCain "Thanks but no thanks", if she was any kind of mother at all who puts her children first and not herself.

[Carrie]

All this talk about what a good mother she is makes me sick. As the mother of four children and a 18 year old daughter, I think any mother who would accept a VP nomination knowing her daughter was pregnant is the worst most selfish thing I have seen in any mother. She threw her onto the world stage at a difficult time. Also just giving birth to a special needs child she is clueless on how to be a mother. She should have told McCain "Thanks but no thanks", if she was any kind of mother at all who puts her children first and not herself.

[Lisa]

Wow, I am impressed at the narrow minded comments displayed here. Let me ask a question. Can you be a good father and be VP? Have you asked that question to yourself. Did anyone ever stop and think about the implications when confining women and men to stereotyped roles? Why is it just assumed that the mother should be the sole caregiver, or the primary caregiver, and advocate for their children. Men are equally qualified to be caregiver and advocate for their children. Sometimes they are better than dear old mom. Just look at Joe Biden. Palin's husband appears to be completely qualified to be the primary care giver and I am guessing that she, her husband and her family already have this worked out . Thanks for sending men's rights back to the 50's.

Additionally in response to "other qualified candidates": Hutchinson, Rice etc... Easy answers but are they really electable?

Would it be better if Palin was from Ohio? How does being elected governor to a state with major foreign and domestic interest make you unqualified? How is that flashy? Does a woman who can deliver a speech well and with some zing bother folks. Better answer, look at the candidate, review policies and platform and then decide not to vote for that person based on fact not oratorial skills otherwise Dewey would have been president. I may not agree with her stand on several issues but I would not take it as an opportunity for a girls bathroom type meeting with ad hominem attacks defaming her character by saying she stinks or she is selfish. How do you know? Ladies sounds a bit "Odd girl Out."

For that matter, why don't we just disregard Harry Truman's presidency and call him the little hat maker form Missouri. Hat makers are flashy or heres a better one - all hat and no cattle - hows that? In the United States you have the opportunity to aspire to anything no matter if you are a man or a woman or black, yellow or red. Although we all know that there are certain limitations is that not the basic belief? Maybe we should tell our daughters, you can be president honey but only if you are the right type. Way to go champions of equal rights and the glass ceiling- for men and women.

A word of caution: Don't be fooled by grandiose written statements by both parties that are not enacted and furthermore have no funding attached. Politicians can promise the world without putting your money to it and then the value of a statement is worth nothing but the recycled paper it is printed on.

Frankly who better to be in VP position than a parent who has a child with special needs. Here's a thought, instead of the cynical "I'll believe it when I see it " attitude maybe we should think wouldn't it be great if she did... and she does!

Lastly for the ladies out there. Have you ever joked with your friends, if this country was run by a women things would be different. But I guess the part of the punch line that has never been said is only if that woman fits your suit and looks like Margaret Thatcher.

Think Past the TV and then vote.

[Dearpru]

Lisa, have you looked at Palin's resume? It is so thin, it's practically transparent. She is not a brain -- she attended six different colleges and got mediocre grades. She is vindictive -- accused three times of firing people for personal reasons (once is understandable, but THREE times?). She lies on the national stage and thinks she won't get caught (Bridge to Nowhere funding, which she kept; state jet sold at a loss to a friend, not thru eBay). She CUT funding for special needs children as governor. She clearly has no empathy or feelings of stewardship -- she poured money into pro-hunting ventures, including offering a bounty for wolves killed in winter from airplanes when they have no cover. She took big money from the NRA and bar owners, the latter whom she let keep their bars in Wasilla open until 5 a.m. when the people of Wasilla put a measure on the ballot to close bars at 2 a.m. C'mon, Lisa. It doesn't take a great thinker to see this woman is a dud, a liar and a fake. Don't be fooled by her cheekbones and "can do" attitude. She's ALL attitude.

[Sunnydaz]

True about Palin increasing the educational budget for special needs kids to bring it more in line with other states. As a mother of an autistic daughter, I keyed into John McCain's mention during the RNC of being a "champion for autism". As past behavior is indicative of future performance, I got busy researching his autism creditials. In 2002, a war appropriations billed was passed by the house, with $100million earmarked for autistic schools of excellence. Senator McCain spoke eloquently AGAINST the funds for autism schools. He did not mention autism again . . . until the 2008 RNC. Not one word. Not one bill. Nada, nothing, zero. He did end up signing the 2005 Combat Autism bill-- late, and only when it was being passed unanimously in the Senate. If you go to his website, he does NOT have position papers for disabilities. You can't even FIND his position on disabilities. Trust me-- parents of kids with disabilities are disenfranchised ENOUGH. This man has no right to use our kids for self-serving gain-- he has done nothing for people with autism. Obama? Obama spent significant time in the Illinois Senate passing laws for autistics, and autistic spectrum disorders. He was one of the first to co-sponsor the combat autism bill in 2005, along with Hillary-- and the bill itself was written by Sen Dodd. Sen Obama has disabilities position papers on his website; he has a position paper on Autistic spectrum disorders! Unbelievable. His healthcare plan includes a whole provision for autistics (1 out of 150 american children). His healthcare plan, so maligned by the conservatives, will not allow the continued discrimination of children with special needs because of "pre-existing conditions."
If you know and love someone with a disability-- please encourage everyone you know to vote Obama. He gets it.

Thanks for the rant space. I get a bit unnerved every time I see that women parading that baby around the stage.

[Sunnydaz]

Note to Lisa:
I share a concern that somehow working women are coming under fire here with Palin working with 5 kids at home.
I think the frustration you're hearing has more to do with the hypocrisy of this particular situation. Running on a "family values; family first" platform, and dumping the kids with caretakers to pursue your own ambitions is, well, hypocrisy. Having forfeited a $250,000 annual salary so that I could be central support for my autistic daughter and 13 year old daughter so she doesn't get into trouble like, well, Palin's daughter-- I feel completely qualified to speak to this. And imagine-- I don't even walk around with the "family first" holier than thou banner over my head. Like many other women like me, we just live it. Screaming abstinence from the pulpit, then glorifying a 17 year old pregnant daughter is,well, hypocrisy.
The biggest hypocrisy in this whole scenario is having an obviously unqualified woman in a role which is way over her head simply because she is pretty and can play hostess to the "christian" right, which did not support McCain before this self serving decision, and which in no way represents the values of the general population. How "forward" the republicans are moving-- we saw this kind of garbage sexism in the 1980s in corporate America.
I find the need to find something, anything redeeming about Sarah Palin very desperate and sad. The truth is, no matter how much you want to find something viable about this woman, it doesn't matter. The VP's role is defined entirely by the President. Period. If, god forbid, McCain finds his way to the White House, Palin will quickly be shown to her office-- in the basement. And you will learn, too late, that you were used.

[Sunnydaz]

If You were The Boss... which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts,stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc., this is an unusually critical election year.

Let's look at the educational background of the candidates and see what they bring to the job:

Obama:
> Occidental College - Two years.
> Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
> Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

> Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
> Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

> vs.
>
> McCain:
> United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 out of 899 (meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was at the bottom of his class)

> Palin:
> Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
> North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
> University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
> Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
> University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire to lead the most influential nation in the world?

[M]

Great post! Although i disagree with the points. It's good to see a different perspective none the less.

www.godzillachai.blogspot.com