Apology…
EmailIt is a premise of womenomics that you don’t have to do it all, to have it all. Every working mom we know realizes that sometimes something has to give – that professional output goes up and down in waves, indeed that trying to do it all, all the time, now seems old fashioned and anti-feminist.
With that – apologies for our absence over the last 10 days. The end of the campaign simply took over and, yes, something gave.
The election is over for Barack Obama but not it seems for Governor SARAH PALIN who tells Greta van Susteren on Fox that she is tapping on that door to 2012 to see if it has her name on it. The Governor has been assiduous in keeping a high profile with “exclusives” on both NBC and FOX. Palin defends herself against criticism on clothes-gate and continent-gate and says God will let her know whether to run for higher office. Call me a cynic but I suspect the Governor’s decision lies less in the hands of the Almighty than at the whim of her COLLEAGUES meeting in Florida this week.
As these party grandees look at their bleak performance last week and wonder who has the brains, charisma and determination to dig the GOP out of its hole they should remember something about the lady from the snow country.
Before she was a disaster she was a darling.
Handled better, schooled better and above all not picked long before she had the experience for the job, Palin could still be that star. I keep thinking back to something DEE DEE MYERS wrote in Huffington Post way back on the day Palin was nominated. Myers argued what now seems obvious. It wasn’t fair. Palin was picked for pure political expedience, to give McCain the conservative base, at a time when she clearly wasn’t ready for the job and thus she was almost guaranteed to fail. Here we go again, wrote Myers. A woman being set up to fall. By the end even the base didn’t seem that excited. I spent a cold Saturday night days before the election at a Palin rally in Virginia – it was a surprisingly lack luster performance. I had gone to witness the Palin energy and maybe it was the freezing temperature or the fact she was an hour late but that crowd was not buzzing and she was no rock star.
Worse, Palin’s poor performance in this election is not confined to her own political career – this has repercussions for other women who want to run for office. She, or rather John McCain who so rashly picked her, has created a knock on we-told-you-so-women-can’t-win-effect. This is what really depresses me about the whole Palin campaign. She wasn’t ready, she wasn’t right, she wasn’t qualified and she would never have been picked if she were a man. It was and is an insult to all women.
So the question for Republican governors in Florida this week; today Palin looks toxic, but tomorrow could she lead the party to victory? I am not convinced she could ever reach out beyond her base. But I do know that in order to give that Oval Office door a shot she will have to put in a lot of hard work, build support, raise money, prove herself competent on policy issues and do a lot more than a few puffy, attention grabbing interviews on the TV. Sarah Palin should make the most of her final moments in the national spotlight and then get back to doing her job and doing it well before asking either God or Governors whether to run for the most important job in the world. She will be doing all serious women a favor.
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If you can’t handle your job, let someone else have it. It makes all women less employable when you make ridiculous excuses. Get yourself a participating husband or a nanny.
Posted by: tina | November 11, 2008, 11:34 am 11:34 am
you two nasty hateful bitches don’t have anything better to report on. Leave Sarah Palin alone, that’s why women will always be at the bottom, because of snotty bitches like you. Let it go bitches, she is going to run her state and run it well and throw ice in your faces. You two are an insult to all women, you continue to feed this rabid need to beat Sarah Palin into the ground. Who did you two ugly bitches have to sleep with to get your jobs.
Posted by: Kim | November 11, 2008, 11:36 am 11:36 am
what a pathetic rant. before it was obvious that she didn’t have the experience? barack obama is a “PUPPET” and a “TOKEN” for the white boys in washington who saw that he could read a telepromter while morphing a JFK and MLK and had him pegged for their “boy”. she has done more in her life and with her life than mr obama, with the exception of fooling over half of the electorate into believing he is the “second coming”.
what i recall of the interview is that she said that she prays that God will open doors for her and to have the knowledge to walk through those doors or not. to “get that” you have to have a relationship with your Creator and understand what she is talking about.
I think you are sounding quite bitter and angry. Your guy won. go back to worshiping him and lay off Palin. you may not approve, but that is even more reason why the real people of america, the people that get it, get her.
Posted by: robin | November 11, 2008, 11:43 am 11:43 am
Wasn’t ready to be VP, she had time to learn everything she needed, she had more executive experience than our president elect…but that didn’t stop you ladies from tearing her apart, everything from her wardrobe to could she be a mother and a VP. Now you want to write a blog and play NICE?????????? If she was set up to fail, it was the media that did it, you didn’t just give her a failing grade, you crucified her…and her children.
Posted by: samhiguchi | November 11, 2008, 11:46 am 11:46 am
Another preemtive attack on Sarah Palin. What else is new. She has seen the media try to destroy her and yet she is still standing. If Barry Obama had had even 1/10 of the scrutiny put on Sarah Palin he would have crashed and burned. Fortunately, Sarah is stronger than her detractors. She understands, like Ronald Reagan, that when the press dismisses you as a dunce and as someone who cannot possibly win the presidency you arewell on your way. The press and the writer of this story hate her because she is conservative. The writer of this story believes that women should all think alike and just be good little liberals. That is an absolutely certain way to prevent women from ever assuming their rightful place in the governance of our nation.
Sarah Palin 2012 – she is the leader for REAL CHANGE, NOT THE PHONEY BARRY O SAME OLD LIBERAL POLITICS TYPE OF CHANGE
Posted by: Curt | November 11, 2008, 11:52 am 11:52 am
Two bitter, unfullfilled, utterly lacking in intelligence, women choose to attack America’s most successfull governor? That just goes to show that it is women who are keeping other women down.
Posted by: Curt | November 11, 2008, 11:57 am 11:57 am
What else should we expect from Obama supporters? Obama used sexism and dismissiveness to take on Hillary and Sarah and these media twits are just following his lead. Women of America, the Democratic party is not your avenue to gaining a say in our government. It is the Republican party that holds opportunity and a chance at equality. At least the Republicans will judge you on your ideas rather than this made up sexist crap.
Posted by: James | November 11, 2008, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
Come on girls…think with your brains not your indignant/defensive genes. You liked her and you wanted her to succeed…but she has neither the brains,the backround nor the education to hold the office. No slur against her as a person. As a full-time working Mom of 4 I have no illusions about how easy or difficult her position has been. She gave it a good shot but she is simply UNQUALIFIED. Reality check here folks. She is and will continue to be an amazing PERSON…but she has not got the resume of a President. Don’t push her higher than she would normally be able to go simply because she is a pretty woman who wins a popularity contest… Applaud her success and respect her limitations. Otherwise you are setting yourself and maybe even worse, Sarah for profound failure and potentially pushing womans role in government back decades. I can assure you there will be plenty of “I told you so’s” if we do not put our best foot/candidate forward. She is simply not the best of us! Please.
Posted by: fourmommy17 | November 11, 2008, 12:10 pm 12:10 pm
Obama made anyone not for him and enemy.
His followers beleived that and still act that way.
He failed to deprogram them, or maybe he can’t deprogram their thought process after he planted the seeds.
Obama ran a mind manipulating campaign. evident by his followers.
Posted by: seah | November 11, 2008, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm
Today the left wing bloggers who are not attacking Palin are laying out a strategy to attack the last bastion of conservatism and noObamians, the American South. It seems they need a scarecrow and the white southerners, racists all or so it is blogged, are the new one.
Yet it is the hallmark of the inexperienced politico to fight the last war instead of the next one. 2012 will be about The Wrath of Women who are not so concerned with political power as Claire and Katy, but who will consider a declining lifestyle not as a necessary sacrifice, but as the importuning of the arrogance of the new pirates in the valley.
Nothing changed. Palin will have a very rich vein of resentment to tap in 2012 and Hillary Clinton, who subborned herself to Obama, won’t be able to make that trick work. On the other hand, four years is a long time and just as many Democrats fled to the Republicans in 2000 (eg, Senator Shelby), allegiances will be shifting and some unpredictably.
Posted by: len | November 11, 2008, 12:27 pm 12:27 pm
fourmommy17,
You want to declare Sarah Palin unqualified? The governor of the state of Alaska, a person who has shaped the oil industry in her home state, and a woman who was able to break into an all-male political environment. If Sarah Palin is not qualified then NO woman will ever be. You can criticize her for being unprepared but she wa only on the national scene for a short while. Look at where you beloved dear leader was two years ago when he began his run. He was stumbling over himself in unscripted moments and saying things that came back to haunt him in the primaries. There in lies the difficulty for women, you think any women who wants to play on the national scene needs to instantly become one of the good old boys. People who can give polished answers that say nothing. You gave Obama two years to improve but you cannot give a woman 10 weeks?
Posted by: Christi | November 11, 2008, 12:50 pm 12:50 pm
To the authors:
Sarah is better looking than you, she is smarter than you, she has accomplished more than you, and given her closeness to family and the grace with which she has withstood the attacks on her, she is no doubt a better person than either of you.
get over it – women don’t need to compete with each other.
Posted by: Meg | November 11, 2008, 12:55 pm 12:55 pm
My goodness. I am shocked at these comments! I totally agree with your assessment and have to believe that most people do, as well. On any objective level Palin was not qualified to fulfill the main duty of a vice-president – be prepared to BE president at a moment’s notice. I will be very surprised if Palin gets a warm reception at the Governor’s meeting.
Further evidence of the GOP’s lack of faith in Palin? Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney already have speaking engagements scheduled in Iowa!
Posted by: PunditMom | November 11, 2008, 2:40 pm 2:40 pm
Did we see the same video segment?
Never mind. I’ve come to expect vitriolic nonsense from ABC.
Posted by: Gunner Sykes | November 11, 2008, 5:03 pm 5:03 pm
Regardless of whether or not Sarah Palin was “picked” she had the option of saying no. You can spin it anyway you want but the American people have seen enough to know she is not qualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. If she is truly the saavy busineswoman/politician her supporters fancy her to be she should have known to sit this one out. Whether qualified or not now was not her time. We women continue to shoot ourselves in the foot. Can we have it all? Yes, I absolutely believe we can. Just not all at the same time. Michelle Obama is a demonstrating judgement and grace right here, right now and we women need to wake up and notice. She is supremely qualified and capable of doing whatever she chooses and she is choosing to put her children and family first. Sarah Palin put her own ambition and quest for power before everything else. And, without blinking. WOW
Posted by: show me | November 11, 2008, 5:36 pm 5:36 pm
An unimportant posting from a couple of supercilious hacks.
Posted by: Joao | November 11, 2008, 7:23 pm 7:23 pm
These women aren’t jealous of Sarah Palin. They are just telling it like it should be told about that big joke of a woman that lies, blames EVERYBODY ELSE for her mistakes, and conducted a racist, hate filled campaign that backfired on her. The only people she attracted was that one core GOP base, no minorities or people of color. She ran and she LOST. Her 15 min. is up!
Posted by: Teppie | November 12, 2008, 6:43 am 6:43 am
I think McCain threw a “Hail Mary” pass with Sarah and, at least initially, it looked like she might come up with it. In my opinion, he misjudged the complexity and depth of our gender, thinking 1) a woman, 2) attractive, 3) right wing, and 4) with some good sound bites would be enough to attract women voters. Since I don’t agree with her idealogy, I’m personally relieved it didn’t work.
When a woman of Obama’s caliber rises to national attention, she’ll get elected. It’s simply reality that if you have one of this culture’s devaluing marks against you…be it race, religion, gender, age, or sexual preference…you must be beyond exceptional to be elected. I am encouraged to know that, in Obama’s case, we as a nation recognized HIS exceptional abilities and voted for the best option available. The question before all of us is how to level the field so those devaluing marks no longer exist. Because as long as they do, most really exceptional women (gays, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, etc) will choose other than political careers for fulfilling, challenging, and rounded lives.
Thank you both for a thoughtful and thought provoking article.
Posted by: Janie | November 12, 2008, 5:45 pm 5:45 pm
My belief is that the GOP wanted votes from the Hillary supporters.
Enter Sarah.
But, the dumbest thing they did was to try and sell the idea that she was ‘just like me.’ NOT!
Sarah does not speak for the majority
of women in this country.
Posted by: sandko | November 13, 2008, 12:21 am 12:21 am
I hope as time passes she will address her weakness, (at least those perceived by her critics) learn from this nasty experience and go on to participate in some form of government to better our lives. Which is what I believe is in her heart.
If there is anything that came out of this election is’s the need for healing, and bipartisanship. If we are not able to bond together and truly problem solve our energy crisis, current financial recovery, and immigration, and Iraq; we will truly be an example of Divide and Conquer, and never fire a shot.
Please ladies put the past to rest, and learn how to help our country grow strong United in our values. This is the only way we will survive these dismal times.
My goal as a grandmother 62 years old was to bring grandma’s back to the family sharing our wit, wisdom, and experience. This to help parents and children know we can be a safe harbor in the storm. There to listen and there to help. Perhaps we can all consider those things for our country and let the past die and take from it knowledge.
I just finished a year of battling Ovarian cancer, the anniversary of the death of my seventeen year old son who died seventeen years ago while trying to survive life; working two jobs one writing a blog to help others focus on family,unity and being happy. The other full time days selling commercial real estate a thankless, heartless industry.
I’m concerned regarding current issues; we all are. So get off all your horses and get working on real problems.
Help make our country strong and healthy again, we can do it if we focus on the future and what works for all of us. Not what someone is wearing or what she misspoke last week…However, we must do it together. I’m giving you a challenge to stop with the criticism and instead write a solution or thought you might have to solving one of our problems. In our own way, each of us has something to give to our country. Lets give it…
My blessings, Dorothy from grammology
http://grammology.com
Posted by: Dorothy Stahlnecker | November 15, 2008, 11:14 am 11:14 am
JUST SAY NO!!!
Sarah Palin may have been set up to fail but she taught women of the world a lesson. “No” is a wonderful word. When the future of your country is at stake time is needed to make a decision.
Women are apt to say “yes” when asked to do a job. A woman’s nature it seems, is to say “yes” first and then try to figure out what it is they are supposed to do second. She, like many other woman in power, should learn to say “no” or at least explore the possibilities in more detail.
Shame on the Republican party for what they did to her.
Shame on her for not saying “no thank you”. Woman need to be useful not “used”!!!
b
JUST SAY NO! http://torristravels.typepad.com/torristravels/2008/09/sarah-palin-lik.html
Posted by: b | November 17, 2008, 10:07 am 10:07 am
Let me add a second comment here…when commenting on a blog, please pretend we can see your face and know you personally. A well thought out comment with not be hateful and mean. It seems the less one knows the more hateful the comment. Good manners never go out of style.
b
Posted by: b | November 17, 2008, 10:14 am 10:14 am
i wish i was not born.i wish that i could have had a mother that loved me. but i dont. i dont have a family i have no one.this christmas i going to get nothing. im going to lose more then i have. i lost my job.. down sizing.im being kicked out of my apartment that dont have lights buges. and moled.that is flooding, my land lord tuck my lost money i have know car so its not like i can just get up and live. i have know money,no family,no nothing all i have is me.no one wonted me. my brothers raped me from 4-12 years old. then my mother told me to forgive then. then sent me away…i have never had a christmast,brithday. i dont know how it feels..to be happy…someone pleas help me im at the end:(
they said they cant help me becouse i dont have childern. then what do i do
Posted by: earlene | December 12, 2008, 11:53 am 11:53 am
I just am freaked out that ABC put pornographic bleached out bimbo Holly on Dancing with the stars.. I am watching another network this season!
Posted by: jean | March 9, 2009, 9:24 pm 9:24 pm