Reuters via Yahoo! News
But, because she happens to be a working mom with young kids, a lot of young kids, and because she's vying for the second-highest office in the nation, the mommy war flames have been ignited all over again. Everyone seems to be questioning whether or not she could possibly be Vice President AND be a mother to her children at the same time. And everyone has an opinion.
The New York Times found a way to create a front page story on the matter with subjective quotes from working moms all over the country, who want to give their two cents on if she can handle the campaign and her family.
In the article, one mom, Christina Henry de Tesan, a mother of two in Portland, Ore. said,
You can juggle a BlackBerry and a breast pump in a lot of jobs, but not in the vice presidency.
OK, she might be right, but she might be wrong. When moms are asked to opine on the way other moms work, our conversation becomes a subjective one, not a productive one.
Yes, breastfeeding at work is hard. But maybe Palin can figure out a way to bring that pump on one of the country's Air Force jets. Gee, pumping in a private room on a government airplane sure sounds a lot easier than squeezing yourself into a MD-80 lavatory. And if she doesn't want to breastfeed at all? Well, that's her prerogative too.
But that's besides the point. I don't really care so much if Palin thinks it's better to be in Minnesota holed up in her hotel room than with her baby while she prepares for her speeches. We have all had times when we've burned the midnight oil and put other, more important responsibilities aside. I think it's unfortunate that she promotes abstinence yet her daughter had an unplanned pregnancy, but I'm not sure it would have mattered had she worked or not.
Much has been made about how Palin went back to work three days after her special needs child was born. Does this seem odd? Yes, very. But would I use it as a yardstick to pass judgment on whether or not she could be the VP of our country? No, it's not really relevant in my opinion. I mean, my husband went back to work three days after my son was born and no one batted an eyelash. But because we judge mothers who have demanding jobs in a different light, it's all of a sudden the worst decision ever made.
I'm not advocating that Palin be our next Vice President. I'd rather have morning sickness for the next five months than see this ticket voted into office.
But I also don't think it's fair for the media to solicit irrelevant opinions and create Mommy War drama around how Palin manages her work/ life balance. It's hard to separate a woman's career from her motherhood, but as long as the media continues to throw the Mommy Wars in our faces, we as women aren't going to get through the "18 million cracks." Which is why I'm going to turn off my computer and tune into the television to see what she has to say as a candidate, not as a mother.
Sarah blogs at Moms on Issues at Workitmom.com, an online community for working moms.
For another blogger's take on Sarah Palin, read Why Sarah Palin is good for feminism.
