Uninspired

Never in my short life have I been so uninspired by two presidential candidates as in this election season...To vote for Obama would be unthinkable. To vote for McCain--well, if one must, one must, but one doesn't have to like it...

Conservative women all over the country are cheering on Governor Palin, who--in stark contrast with another female politician--has borne five children, managed to look fantastic in the process, and has a sense of humor. Setting aside some troubling aspects of her policy views, do any of her fans feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable that she is running for second-in-command of the most powerful country on earth with a special-needs 5-month-old still at home? Her appeal seems mainly to reach hockey moms; but, whatever Governor Palin is now, she is most certainly not a hockey mom.

There was a reason I chose not to pursue law firm life: I would never see my children. It would require a work week of 60-80 hours. So I forsook the profit and prestige for a humbler role: stay-at-home mom. No one is demanding that other women do the same; but let's be realistic: Vice President Palin's duties would consume far more time than the average working week of the average attorney. It would be one thing if she had already completed her venerable duty of mothering, and all her children had grown; but, as we know, she is far from done with childrearing. If actions speak more loudly than words--and they do--then Governor Palin, regardless of what she might say about the importance of family, is placing political aspirations first, and children second. And if that thought doesn't make conservatives a little uneasy, then perhaps some people might want to consider whether or not they're placing party before principle.