CAMPAIGN 2008

Mother and Child

A cynic's view of Palin's family fanfare.

By Susannah Meadows | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Sep 4, 2008 | Updated: 2:09  p.m. ET Sep 4, 2008

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  • Posted By: jae_cho08 @ 05/24/2009 10:00:20 PM

    Palin did a good job, but inexperience cost her.
    Richmond Hill Dentist
    http://www.bcdentalcare.ca/NewPatients/tabid/472/Default.aspx

  • Posted By: jbz7879 @ 12/11/2008 2:54:22 PM

    palin is a painfully ignoble clone of hilary -i prefer the clintons to palins anyday

  • Posted By: dasher205 @ 09/17/2008 4:23:11 PM

    Does anyone know why all my apostrophes come out as ??????????'s on this page?? Or how I can fix it????

  • Posted By: dasher205 @ 09/17/2008 2:56:26 PM

    As voter and as a mother, I???ve questioned whether or not Sarah Palin can juggle her responsibilities as a parent and potential Vice President. Is that sexist? I hear over and over: They wouldn???t ask a man that question. Actually, we have. And we should do it more often.

    After the horrific accident that killed his wife and daughter and left two of his sons in critical condition, it was legitimate to ask, could Joe Biden handle his job as newly elected senator? He asked that question of himself and came close to deciding not to serve. He agreed to be sworn in, but only with compromises. He would commute home every day. He would be called out of meetings if his sons needed him. Though Biden reluctantly decided to fulfill his promise to serve, I don???t think anyone would suggest that he would have sought out a candidacy at that difficult time.

    When John Edwards continued to run for President after his wife???s cancer returned, didn???t we all wonder what we would do in his place? Was his decision a display of strength and patriotism, or was it just that he wanted it so much? Knowing what we know now, it looks more than ever like his choice was just the tip of an iceberg of confused priorities and egocentricity. In retrospect, maybe we should have examined his decision even more carefully and critically.

    With an infant son born with Down Syndrome, it is fair not only to question whether or not Sarah Palin can handle both family and politics, but also to ask how she came to the decision to run. Palin proudly declares that she ???didn???t blink??? when asked to be Vice President. She ???didn???t hesitate.??? Even for a minute? She didn???t weigh the impact such a role would have on her family? She didn???t wonder if this was the right time for her to be taking on such a daunting task? It???s a beautiful concept that she considers her new baby a blessing from God. But that blessing carries with it overwhelming responsibility???time consuming, emotionally draining, physically exhausting challenges. I don???t see how you can embrace one without the other.

    So is it fair to question her choice to run? It???s not only fair, it???s crucial. It is neither sexist nor intrusive to examine any candidate???s judgment in making important decisions, his or her capacity for compromise, his or her ability to make good decisions. It is part of a legitimate evaluation that includes experience, intelligence and understanding of complex world and domestic affairs. We shouldn???t have to apologize for asking if a candidate???male or female--can handle the job, or for examining the seriousness and sensitivity with which he or she weighs priorities, responsibilities and realities.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/17/2008 8:06:04 AM

    i remember when hilary tried everything to knock obama down even the kitchen sink and it did not work! now the obama camp is trying everything including the kitchen sink on palin and its not working ! she gets bigger crowds at her rallies and he gets small ones his ego is crushed and he is worried that he will lose the white house ! and he should be ! McCAIN / PALIN 08 ! >>>>>>>>>> OBAMA / BIDEN BACK TO THE SENATE !
    as history suggests issues of policy will ultimately trump the politics of identity. obama is all about who he is and nothing about what he has done ! McCain is all about what he has done not who he is ! the choice is clear !

  • Posted By: rube @ 09/16/2008 12:10:38 AM

    Comment: I cant feed my family or take care of them with warm feeling from Palin, here is what I know.

    Today bad news rolled in 550 point dow loss, worst day for "W" ( Bush and Wallstreet) in 8 years!
    People/voters will connect the dots and they will vote from their wallets and their
    checkbooks.
    Truth is the scadals such as s&L, subprime, mortage/wallstreet and banking industry meltdown
    have two names writen all over them! Not to metion unneeded wars based on duplicity and subversion that cost 3 trillion dollars- that may well last 100 years!

    the two names all over these falied policies are Bush/McCain!
    Connect the dots and you will see that A. Greenspan and a bevey of other finanacial experts are coming out on record to say- "we cant afford John McCain"!

    The truth willl set our nation free!

    Listen and read and leave denial at the doorstep!
    This has very little to do with a female running for a ticket as the same policies of that person have sent the nation into a headlong financial tailspin! Palin does not get our vote- three females in the ruiz family!

    Comment: Today bad news rolled in 550 point dow loss, worst day for "W" ( Bush and Wallstreet) in 8 years!
    People/voters will connect the dots and they will vote from their wallets and their
    checkbooks.
    Truth is the scadals such as s&L, subprime, mortage/wallstreet and banking industry meltdown
    have two names writen all over them! Not to metion unneeded wars based on duplicity and subversion that cost 3 trillion dollars- that may well last 100 years!

    the two names all over these falied policies are Bush/McCain!
    Connect the dots and you will see that A. Greenspan and a bevey of other finanacial experts are coming out on record to say- "we cant afford John McCain"!

    The truth willl set our nation free!

    Listen and read and leave denial at the doorstep!

    There are a million beautiful women that covent their wonderful children- and everyone of them would look glorious on that RNC stage. But none of that will pay the bills or fix the continued fleecing of the American middle class!

    • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/16/2008 8:26:34 AM

      Obama says I have the best plan to cure the Mortgage Crisis ??? this is a Lie. He and his campaign buddy Penny 'Sub Prime Bank Collapse' Prizker have had your little fingers full of subprime cash - Obama has taken $1,180,103 from the top issuers of subprime loans: Obama received $266,907 from Lehman, $5395 from GMAC, $150,850 from Credit Suisse First Boston, $11,250 from Countrywide, $9052 from Washington Mutual, $161,850 from Citigroup, $4600 from CBASS, $170,050 from Morgan Stanley, $1150 from Centex, and last but certainly NOT LEAST - Obama received $351,900 from Goldman Sachs. I am sure that cash all came from folks who knew the subprime loan they had was a dream,
      Then how did FANNIE MAE Director Jim Johnson end up on Team Obama?[and then have to quit after it was found that COUNTRYWIDE Loans gave him cut-rate mortgage interest deals]?
      It is also important to acknowlage that Obama has embraced Rubinomics in fact. Not in theory. Indeed,Rubin serves as Obamas top economics ''wise man''directing the reins of his policy,eclipsing Goolsbee. Yet responsibility for the impending financial disaster,must be fairly laid at Rubins feet.
      For over six decades,the GLASS-STEAGALL Act ,crafted during the New Deal in a masterpiece of Keynesian economics [the godfather of modern economics,Maynard Keynes,was often in direct opposition to many FDR policies. Roosevelt picked those ideas from both liberal and conservative economic philosophies leaving those in which would have the greatest effect. He would scrap the NRA,but kept this in place,[FDIC] as it did two things. First ,it would stop mega-mergers between bank consortiums ending the spectre of a ''National Bank''[a fear shared by the American people going back to Andrew Jacksons presidency]. Then,it would also create a wall between private non-banking lenders,insurance companies,and main financial institutions.
      So far,so good. But in 1999,President Clinton at the urging of Robert Rubin [Treasury Sec.].repealed GLASS-STEAGALL,virtually setting up the sub-prime mortgage entity and the nightmare it would become. ''Ecomomic policy and its health would flow from financial sectors rather than trade and commodities'' noted critics from the UCLA School of Business,BLOOMBERG, and Investors Business Daily at the time. Preciently,it was found that Rubin would be the one who,having rammed through his repeal, garnering Republican support through Texas' Phil Gramm through a series of compromises worked out between him,Clinton and the Republican leadership,would go on to find his reward as chairman of CITIGROUP,where he immediately merged it with TRAVELERS Insurance,creating the first large, of many species, of the subprime mortgage lender.
      That he just happens to be on Team Obama,should be neccesary cause for worry.
      PBS FRONTLINE. May 03,2003:''The Long Demise Of GLASS-STEAGALL''
      The NATION.Nov.05,2007:''CITIGROUP:Too Big To Fail?''
      The United States Senate www.senate.gov Feb.24,1999:Testimony of Treasury

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/16/2008 8:19:17 AM

    BREAKING NEWS ............Obama taps Barbra Streisand

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/15/2008 8:03:09 AM

    McCAIN HAS BEEN RUNNING ON CHANGE FOR 30 YRS.. HE HAS GONE ACROSS PARTY LINES TO GET THINGS DONE (IE;CHANGE!) HE HAS WAITED A LONG TIME TO HAVE THIS CHANCE TO MAKE REAL CHANGE IN WASHINGTON! IF ELECTED HE WILL HAVE A CABINET OF DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDANTS AND REPUBLICANS THAT HE HAS WORKED WITH OVER THE LAST 30 YRS! HE KNOWS THOSE IN WASHINGTON THAT WANT CHANGE BUT WERE TO AFRAID TO SPEAK UP FOR FEAR OF THIER PARTIES REPRISAL.. SO THOSE FOLKS WILL BE APPOINTED TO HIS CABINET ! NOW A QUESTION FOR YOU WHO WILL OBAMA PUT IN HIS CABINET ? WHO HAS HE WORKED WITH IN HIS SHORT TIME AS A U.S. SENATOR? AND WHO DOES HE KNOW IN WASHINGTON THAT WANTS REAL CHANGE ( NOT THE LIBERAL VERSION OF IT ) WHO ? IF YOU WANT A NSWER TO THIS YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS (1) GO TO MOVE ON .ORG AND SEE WHO IS PAYING HS WAY INTO THE WHITE HOUSE ! OR (2) LOOK AT THE COMPANY HE HAS KEPT FOR THE LAST 20YRS ! THAT???S WHO HE WILL APPOINT TO HIS CABINET MAYBE NOT THOSE FOLKS .. BUT ONES EXACTLY LIKE THEM !

  • Posted By: bammer @ 09/14/2008 12:45:15 PM

    WHEN THE LIBERAL ELITE "MAIN STREAM MEDIA" INJECTS ITSELF INTO A NATIONAL US ELECTION, IT LEADS TO THE "LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES"

    IF THERE'S WAS NO "MSM" BIAS AGAINST HILLARY, HILLARY WOULD BE THE US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND OBAMA WOULD BE THE VP CANDIDATE

    IF THE TICKET IS CLINTON/OBAMA.....THERE IS NO SARAH PALIN EFFECT

    IF THERE IS NO SARAH PALIN, THERE IS MCCAIN/ROMNEY REPUB TICKET

    THEREFORE, THERE WOULD BE 8 YEARS OF CLINTON/OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

    THEREFORE, THERE WOULD BE 8 YEARS OF OBAMA/KEANE ADMINSTRATION


    BY US LIBERAL ELITE MEDIA BACKING OBAMA AND TRASHING HILLARY, THEY LOSE A POSSIBLE 16 YEARS IN POWER AND WILL PROBABLY NOW LOSE 8 OUT OF THE LAST 11 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

    THE MSM DESERVES WHAT IT GETS

  • Posted By: dontbehatin @ 09/12/2008 2:29:50 AM

    I had the same thought., and cynicism has nothing to do with it. The little guy was there to push the buttons of the GOP "base." And what good, really, is Palin the Advocate? She's on record spouting the idealogical misinformation that "government programs" are as a rule B-A-D. Parents of kiddos with special needs don't need some symbolic advocate, the need real help: legal protection, affordable healthcare, childcare options, etc. Oh, but those things are all evil.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/11/2008 9:55:07 AM

    SARAH PALIN IS NOW BEING JUDGED FOR ALLOWING ARIEL WOLF HUNTS IN ALASKA ! SHE HAS SIGNED A BILL THAT WILL ALLOW WOLF HUNTS AND THE PETA PEOPLE ARE GOING NUTS ABOUT IT AND THE LEFTIST LIBERALS TOO !! ITS NOT OKAY TO FLY A PLANE IN A STATE THAT IS ALMOST ALL WILDERNESS TO HUNT DOWN WOLFS THAT HAVE BEEN DEPLETEING THE OTHER WILD LIFE IN THE STATE ! THESE WOLFS HAVE GROWN IN POPULATION SO MUCH THAT THEY ARE NOW COMMING INTO CITIES AND TOWNS TO HUNT THEY ARE KILLING OFF LIVESTOCK AND DOMESTIC DOGS AND CATS PLUS LAST YEAR IN THE STATE THERE HAVE BEEN 19 REPORTS OF HUMANS BEING ATTACKED 14 OF WHICH WERE CHILDREN ! (GOOD THING SOMEONE WAS THERE TO HELP THEM ) SO THE LIBERALS AND PETA ARE IN A UPROAR !! BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT LIKE I DO YOU WILL COME TO THIS ......... WOLFS HAVE AS MANY AS 12 PUPS AT A TIME BUT NO FEWER THAN 5 AND IN A PACK 85% OF THE PUPS SURVIVE ! SO THAT BEING SAID THE WOLF POPULATION IS VERY HEARTY NOW MOST PEOPEL HAVE 1 KID AT A TIME SOME TIMES 2 OR 3 RARELY MORE ! WHY IS IT WRONG TO KILL OFF SOME WOLFS THAT ARE NOW BEING REAL BOLD AS TO ATTACK HUMANS BUT ITS OKAY FOR THE LIBERALS TO SAY HEY IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT KID GO GET RID OF IT ! SO WHAT I SEE IS ITS OKAY TO KILL BABIES IN THE LIBERAL POINT OF VEIW BUT IF YOU KILL A WOLF THEN YOUR A BAD PERSON !

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/11/2008 9:54:37 AM

    Posted By: HarleyisHere @ 09/09/2008 01:18:09
    Comment: Palin brought on victory herself when she laid claim to "18 million supporters" whom were betrayed by Obama! Women. everywhere said. It is not about Palin; it???s about Hillary! How could Obama care less, about women sure he knows that if he picked Hillary he would be winning right now! But he picked biden who said that Hillary would have been a better pick! But because Obama is a sexist fool who can???t come to terms with having a woman on the ticket even if it costs him the election! Too bad we as women of this great country will stand behind Palin for support of women all across this land!

  • Posted By: MD-ex-rep @ 09/05/2008 9:00:04 AM

    It disturbs me that Palin is willing to sacrifice her family for political gain. How in the world, can she care for her baby when she is running off to Wisconsin to campaign? Being governor to a state (being close to home) is one thing, but campaigning as Vice President of a large nation is another whole different bowl of cherries. Who is really going to parent that child? I feel for Palin's husband. It reminds me of my husband's newphew, who gave birth to a child with serious learning difficulties, and his wife left him and the child to pursue her career. The whole family suffered miserably. -female ex-Republican

    • Posted By: rashx4 @ 09/05/2008 11:03:17 AM

      Female ex-Republican... you should be ashamed. I can't believe how sexist some women are -- we would never question a man's motivations for going after one of the biggest jobs in our country. I hope you will look at the big picture and understand how this finally recognizes what we women have known all along -- women can and do make important decisions every day. Why can't we take that skill to the White House too?

      • Posted By: j_ashus @ 09/10/2008 11:40:35 AM

        So if you're going to shoot babies out like bullets, you should try to give them the security of a family life not abandon them for your own ambitions, especially politics. These children will see very little of their mother and that is sad, especially for little Trig. I do not admire Sarah Palin, I think it is obvious that she only cares about what she wants.

      • Posted By: joemama1 @ 09/05/2008 11:59:38 AM

        The White House is not just a job. It has incredible pressures that no other role has - that's why they call the president the "leader of the free world". The vice president's role is no longer one of just going to funerals - it's become much more. Having an infant is difficult on any family, let alone with the additional stresses the Palins have. Anyway, let me ask, how many presidents or vice presidents or candidates have there been with infants, let alone one with special needs? Or a pregnant teenage daughter? I don't think many if any, but either way, the same questions should be asked of either gender in that situation.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/09/2008 7:42:55 AM

    130 LAWYERS FROM THE OBAMA CAMP IN ALASKA GOING THROUGH EVERYSCRAP OF PAPER THAT SARAH PALIN HAS LOOKED UPON ! AND THEY SAY THIER NOT WORRIED ...... AND IT HAS BEEN 10 DAYS AND THEY HAVE ( AS RUDY WOULD SAY ) NADA ! ZIP, ZERO, NONE, AGAINST HER THAT WOULD MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE THE OBAMA CAMP IS DESPERATE YESTERDAY THE OBAMA CAMP SAID THAT SHE JUST KEEPS MAKING THE SAME OLE SPEECH (WHILE OUT STUMPING ) DO THEY REALLY WANT HER TO GIVE A DIFFERENT SPEECH ? AFTER ALL HER FIRST ONE WAS REAL GOOD AND THE NEXT WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BE EVEN BETTER ! McCAIN / PALIN 08 TRU 16 PALIN / ? 16 TRU 24

    • Posted By: j_ashus @ 09/10/2008 11:19:06 AM

      You say her first speech was real good. Well her 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. were the exact same speech word for word.

  • Posted By: bammer @ 09/09/2008 6:38:02 PM

    TO: NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, NYT, CT, WP, Newsweek, Atlantic Weekly, LAT---

    WHAT MAKES YOU WORTHY OF TELLING US WHAT YOU THINK?

    The Main Stream Media should be ASHAMED AS HELL OF ITSELF; but, we know, it has NO SHAME!!! It NOW thinks it should get involved in the vetting of a VP, while it GAVE A SHAMELESS PASS to OBAMA for the PRESIDENTIAL SLOT.

    So you think giving SOFTBALL questions to OBAMA in the debates proves anything. Do you think not tracking down his associations, record, accomplishments or lack thereof proves anything? Do you think that attacking a 17 YEAR OLD GIRL of a candidate AND THE CANDIDATE HERSELF MAKES YOU WORTHY OF TELLING US WHAT YOU THINK?

    It proves that the MSM is trying as hard as we have ever seen to CONTROL an election like a Chicago Party Machine, or a government controled, Banana Repubic press.

    The MSM press has been disgraceful and there has been and will continue to be a decline of the MSM into tabloid, celebrity, and sexism journalism.

    With some MSM outlets like NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, NYT, CT, WP, Newsweek, Atlantic Weekly, LAT, and others becoming tabloids following DailyKos, MoveOn.org, and HuffingtonPost, the vast majority of normal, middle class, independent/moderate WILL BE SICK OF YOU.

    ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

    WHAT MAKES YOU WORTHY OF TELLING US WHAT YOU THINK?

    • Posted By: Curious61 @ 09/10/2008 10:30:08 AM

      What makes you worthy to share your partisan opinions?

    • Posted By: Curious61 @ 09/10/2008 10:13:02 AM

      What makes you worthy of sharing your partisan opinions with "us"?

  • Posted By: cinderslp @ 09/09/2008 12:28:03 PM

    Palin was exploiting her infant and that child was merely a prop.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/09/2008 10:38:17 AM

    Posted By: HarleyisHere @ 09/08/2008 21:41:51
    Comment: YUP MICHAEL VICK TO A WOMAN CLAIMING TO BE A "PIT BULL" or a female dog, whats the word for a female dog, can't quite remember it, female dog...oh yeah PALIN!

    Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/09/2008 10:33:28
    Comment: hey dumb ass the pitbulls won he's in jail and the dogs are getting belly rubs and dog chow! you really must have lost it after the polls started slipping from obama!! poor lady please go talk to someone about all of this before you have a brain hemmorage !

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/09/2008 9:38:56 AM

    THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BRIDGE ! http://www.retireted.com/category/real-estate/gravina-bridge/

  • Posted By: techie22 @ 09/09/2008 9:00:03 AM

    Are there photos of Palin during her recent pregnancy?

    There are those who believe the baby is her daughter's.
    A couple proud photos of Mrs. Palin during the pregnancy
    would put those rumors to rest.

    If I were a nursing mother of 5 kids, I personally would not
    put them through the stress of running for VP, especially if
    my oldest daughter was expecting out of wedlock.

    The Republicans are the ones exploiting this situation,
    not the Democrats.

  • Posted By: desertclair @ 09/09/2008 7:53:26 AM

    Republicans will do anything to get elected. They have no sense of right and wrong, no matter how many entertaining musical Sunday events they attend at their mega-churches where they preach a world view that believes it is God's Will that we fight in the middle east (Palin sure believes this!) Check out the documentary movie by an ex-Catholic priest - "Constantine's Sword"

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