Women in the Spotlight

Newsweek Web Exclusive

« Return to Article

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: CoffeeeCandy @ 09/05/2008 12:57:30 PM

    Oh by the way Donna1000 Palin never once talked about economic issues so why do you feel she would fight for us in that realm

    • Posted By: Donna1000 @ 09/05/2008 6:00:45 PM

      Read this Wall Street Journal article about how she took on Big Oil in Alaska and won: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122057381593001741.html?mod=todays_columnists. The result, more cash for Alaskans, not for oil companies.

      • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/10/2008 11:20:31 AM

        Read it yourself. I'm not your student.

  • Posted By: sieg6529 @ 09/05/2008 1:26:07 PM

    Palin would take away a woman's right to choose. How is she good for women in this country?

    • Posted By: josh22 @ 09/05/2008 2:27:20 PM

      I believe like 42% of women in this country are prolife to about 50% that are pro-choice. A difference of about 8%. Probably, about the national average. If you go to prolife rallies, the most ardent prolifers are almost always women and mothers, who have carried their own children to term and can't understand how anyone would abort them.

      • Posted By: kle5507 @ 09/05/2008 3:40:20 PM

        Even if the numbers are reverse, choice is consider a right, not a privillage. You cannot restrict a right. This is basic studies from your highschool gov't class. The foundation of this country was built on securing the rights of the individuals over that of the masses. The GOP try to practice the politics of the masses. Whereas the DEMs care more about indiviudal freedoms. I think the DEMS are closer to living out the ideas of our founding fathers, don't you think?

        • Posted By: Donna1000 @ 09/05/2008 5:58:42 PM

          And the right to an abortion is established law that is highly unlikely to be overturned. I wish that all of the Obama-Biden Democrats would drop this red herring non-issue.

          • Posted By: kle5507 @ 09/05/2008 9:40:02 PM

            No it's not, the GOP wants to let local jurisdiction to determine this much like the topic of obscenity. And if you try to go across state line to have that abortion, a Federal Law passed in 2004 will make it a felony. Maybe you should be more versed in your rights over your body before letting someone else determine it for you.

            • Posted By: TRLine @ 09/06/2008 2:45:01 AM

              FYI: a fetus (baby) is not a woman's body. It is dependent on the mother for growth and survival, but this does not make it part of the mother. If it were part of the mother how could this so-called "tissue" have completely different DNA and possibly a different blood type?? A thought to ponder: If an unborn child is part of a woman's body does that mean that a woman pregnant with a male child has both female and male genitalia??

              • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/10/2008 11:19:37 AM

                Now you're just being silly.

  • Posted By: redheaded blue girl @ 09/05/2008 5:20:40 PM

    This woman wants absolutely nothing from Sarah Palin. I don't want her questionable past, about which McCain wants to seal records. I don't want her extreme conservative views. I don't want her family dramas. I don't want her lack of non-Alaskan knowledge. She reminds of a bubbleheaded prom queen who thinks she is better than everyone else and is a conniving backstabber. I don't want anything about her.

    • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/10/2008 11:15:32 AM

      Well said. I agree.

  • Posted By: jenbarn @ 09/04/2008 8:10:47 PM

    True that she is a woman, but she is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Hillary so hopefully ALL women who don't identify with the right wing will vote for Obama and keep this woman in Alaska where she can only do harm to her state. She is not on the side of any middle of the road, independent, woman. I pray that Obama gets elected.

    • Posted By: lifeisbeautifultoday @ 09/04/2008 8:54:53 PM

      How do you explain her astoundingly high approval rating in Alaska: 86%? And, since you're going to be praying anyway, how about praying for all the innocent babies who are destroyed every year in our country? THAT would be something compassionate for you to do. Thanks!

      • Posted By: RenitaM49 @ 09/04/2008 9:42:36 PM

        I can explain why she has a 86% rate. we are talking about Alaska that all you need to say.

        • Posted By: lifeisbeautifultoday @ 09/05/2008 7:28:17 AM

          Nice. Is that the really the best you've got?

          • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/10/2008 11:05:44 AM

            You pettily denigrated Joe Biden - something about 'hair plugs,' as I recall.

    • Posted By: lifeisbeautifultoday @ 09/04/2008 8:48:32 PM

      How do you explain her astoundingly high 86% approval rating in Alaska? Not too many Republicans on this board... Must still be out celebrating.

      • Posted By: jenbarn @ 09/04/2008 8:55:32 PM

        She hasn't had that approval rating for some time now. Just look at the facts. Yes, at one time at the beginning of her Governorship she had that rating. Now it is not that, after all of her escapades.

        • Posted By: lifeisbeautifultoday @ 09/04/2008 9:12:59 PM

          I just typed in "Palin approval ratings" in Google, and according to theatlantic.com on the evening of September 2, 2008, 400 Alaskans were polled and the results were an 85% confidence level for Palin, with a +/- 4.9% margin of error. That's pretty recent...

          • Posted By: a woman against palin/mccain @ 09/04/2008 10:09:29 PM

            how about all the innocent lives lost in Iraq???? ohhhh, I see, those "lives" are less worthy than the ones that have not left the womb....RIGHT!!!

            • Posted By: lifeisbeautifultoday @ 09/05/2008 7:23:00 AM

              Let me enlighten you... Those brave men and women CHOSE to serve our country and paid with their precious lives. Babies who are aborted have no choice, yet their lives are as precious, too. It's truly hypocritical to be pro-abortion after YOU"VE already been born.

              • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/09/2008 5:30:22 AM

                Nor do babies have a choice when a 40 something mother chooses her sexual pleasure over the baby's health. How about abstaining for a day or two or using appropriate birth control? Palin rolled the genetic dice and her baby's health was not the concern it should have been.

              • Posted By: sedonakaren @ 09/05/2008 10:36:30 AM

                Let ME enlighten YOU now. No one is "Pro abortion." I defy you to find anyone who promotes it. We pro-choice people are only for Government staying OUT of our lives and personal decisions regarding sex (of gays) and having children (choices about having babies). Most legislatures are MEN and they know very little about what a woman goes through with a pregnancy or what she puts herself through when she chooses to end an unwanted pregnancy. It's interesting that the very people who are so adamant about the right to choose, also argue against contraception and rubbers being advertised or otherwise described to teens. JUST SAY NO didn't work in the 50's and it doesn't work in 2008. Many of you may not remember that girls used to commit suicide or endanger their lives with illegal abortions. I attended such a funeral of a friend when I was a teenager. My friend shot herself rather than go through with her pregnancy. It's time we valued the lives of the people who have been born, before we try to make MORE people, don't you think?

                In addition, a fetus is simply a bunch of cells with the potential of being a person, with no eyes, nose, mouth, or ears, at first. Personally I don't believe it's actually a "baby," until it can live outside the mother's body. Until then it's a part of the mother's body.

                • Posted By: lifeisbeautifultoday @ 09/05/2008 12:09:22 PM

                  Nice try, but YOU"VE done nothing to enlighten ME... It's easy to say you are not "Pro abortion" but you do, in fact, support it. I have no problem with contraception. We, as women, should take responsibility. A baby may be a "bunch of cells" AT FIRST. The heart starts beating at five weeks. It's one of life's greatest miracles! I look at my kids and reel at the thought that I could have deprived myself and the world of their existence. It breaks my heart to think of the potential that's been destroyed through abortion. This is not the 50's. It is no longer a scandal for an unmarried woman or teen to have a baby. Abortion devalues life. Period.

                  • Posted By: jmd8888 @ 09/08/2008 1:18:50 PM

                    i agree with you 100%. I will there were more people with values in this world.

                • Posted By: Wise up @ 09/05/2008 11:07:20 AM

                  I am Pro life but that is my opinion. I have friends who are pro choice and we get along fine. Anyone who thinks that roe vs. wade will be overturned is delusional. However, I do believe when the decision was made it was a violation of state rights. Your argument does have a slight flaw. You say that a fetus is simply a bunch of cells with the potential of being a person. To stay bipartisan on the issue I will give you part of that statement. And say that I can see your view point in the first trimester. But Obama supports partial birth abortions which is where the child is partially delivered. When the head comes out they punch a hole into it with a sharp object. He also supports denying medical attention to a baby that survives and abortion (meaning it is alive outside of the womb. This is my problem with Obama???s stance on the issue. I have problems with others as well but not relevant in this post.

              • Posted By: sedonakaren @ 09/05/2008 10:40:05 AM

                IIn addition, although our military consists of "volunteers," that doesn't mean they signed up to fight nonesensical wars on the whim of a moron of a president. As everyone should now be aware, we were LIED INTO this war. Doesn't that phase you at ALL? These people have died for NOTHING. ZERO. ZILCH.

              • Posted By: Wise up @ 09/05/2008 10:38:36 AM

                For the record it is disrespectful to all our men and women who fought and died for us if we pull out before the job is done.

            • Posted By: busby @ 09/05/2008 1:33:23 PM

              what will you say when Obama losses them in Afghanistan? Do you a mother who loses a child will care?

  • Posted By: jolio1212 @ 09/10/2008 8:17:52 AM

    No need to pride of a mistaken VN war. The poor experience will not be wiser by the poor war.

  • Posted By: okmama @ 09/10/2008 7:56:07 AM

    Women don't want anything from Palin because they know they are not going to get anything from her . She is the biggest joke the Repugs have ever tried to pull off. Total hypocrisy....a female that is anti-women.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/09/2008 7:41:13 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: sherry31 @ 09/09/2008 11:32:33 AM

      hey will not vote for obama? the democratic are not desparate . sarah palin does not know anything else to talk about that is why she is saying the same old speech. what else does she have.. even her speech that she is saying is a bunch of lies like gthe bridge to no where yeah right. and she got earmarks too. 197 billion in one year. the only reason why she says nothing else is because of the same old speech. she says is that all she knows knows nothing about our issues. only thing she talks about alaska and her life what about the people what about the issues. that will be her and mccains downfall in november. i am tired of hearing maverick and what she has done in alaska and how many kids she has each day. she is not the only one in politics swith kids. hell i am on the pta. she also lied about being in charge of the national guard in alaska she speaks lies i am so tired about hearing about the snow mobiling family. this should be about politics

      • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/09/2008 2:05:26 PM

        you are an idiot ! turn off your t.v. get some rest...... you have no clue about the issues that you just wrote about ..........your just spouting off the msnbc talking points! its people like you that make it easy for obama to fool the masses !

        • Posted By: sherry31 @ 09/10/2008 6:59:42 AM

          HEY WILL NOTE VOTE FOR OBAMA. YOU ARE SO RIGHT. I DON;T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE ISSUES GUESS WHAT I AM JUST LIKE SARAH PALIN THEN SHE DOESN'T KNOW ISSUES ABOUT ANYTHING OVER HERE. AND IF THE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN IS FINALLY TEACHING HER ABOUT FOREGN ISSUES? AND THEY ARE GETTING HER UP TO SPEED ABOUT THE ISSUES OVE HERE? IF SHE IS READY THEN WHY HAS SHE HAS TO BE TAUGHT. ITS LIKE GETTING HER CLIGG NOTES BEFORE SHE GOES ON A DEBATE AGAINST BIDEN? COME ON GIVE ME A BREAK ITS BIASED.

  • Posted By: INIKEYA @ 09/06/2008 10:52:38 AM

    suzanne smalley wants her to show how strong well her speech showed she could attack but if that was supposed to show how strong she is then why after the attack everyone said leave sarah alone this the sme thing that has happened with this current administration noone wants really wants to dig into it and after 6 days on the national scene everyone is saying what a wonderful mother she is well!!! i say if you really want to be a wonderful mother to a special needs child when are you going to see him i feel sorry for this child

    • Posted By: promesse @ 09/09/2008 9:49:37 PM

      I find it hard to believe that even selfish decisions made by a republican can be so nicely explained.

  • Posted By: EoGuy @ 09/09/2008 9:42:47 PM

    Since I'm voting for Bob Barr this does not affect me in any way.

  • Posted By: BeWise @ 09/09/2008 9:29:00 PM

    I'm a woman. Well educated, successful, divorced and putting one child through college and raising a teenager at home. I'm a little disturbed at the news I'm reading about, regarding women voters flocking to Palin because she's a woman. Why alone would that be the determining factor. Is our sex so irrational as to make these accounts true? When I interview a potential candidate for a job, I don???t just hire someone because they are a woman. I look at their credentials, experience, personality and back ground in order to make an intelligent decision on whether or not to hire them. Why would voting for one of the most important positions in our U.S. Government be any different?
    I want to know facts. Who is this person, what is their back ground, experience, credentials and how they stand on the issues, of our country, that are important to me and the future of my children and the future of the U.S. Yes, I would have loved to seen a woman in our top office, but I would hold her to the same standards I would hold any potential candidate that I plan to vote for. My vote is too precious and I wouldn???t waste in on anything, so trivial, as a gender preference. I would pray that most of my sex would do exactly the same.

  • Posted By: ALLEAS @ 09/09/2008 9:08:13 PM

    Thank God journalists are now vetting Sarah Palin and exposing her for the fraud and liar she really is. She is just like the rest of the Republican party. God help us all if McCain somehow manages to win this thing. Palin is the perfect example of how Republicans continue to mislead this country into thinking that they are the true change agents. These Palin shenanigans are such a perfect example of what liars Republicans are. They will do and say anything to gain and hold onto power. They don't have one ounce of concern for the average American. She makes our current vice president look like a Boy Scout.

  • Posted By: myjibril @ 09/09/2008 12:07:39 PM

    The republican trick is to keep the Obama/Biden campaign's hands tied because they do not want to be accused of sexism. That is the only reason they picked Sarah. But Sarah herself said she is a pitbull with lipstick. Good, because the world is run by pitbulls with ties! So, if Sarah is a pitbull with lipstick and she gets ripped by Biden, a pitbull in a tie, and her fans cry sexism, then Sarah is not fit to run this country let alone protect us from the pitbulls in ties that run the world! So when they cry sexism does that mean we need a man, a pitbull in a tie, to come to Sarah???s rescue because she is the victim of sexism, the damsel in distress? Let???s keep it real. World wide, internationally, the pitbull in lipstick will be the ???victim??? of sexism and the pitbulls in ties are not going to care less about her complaining about sexism. Get over it, it???s a trick that is not going to work. Give her hell Biden, just remember, she???s a pitbull with lipstick.

  • Posted By: sherry31 @ 09/09/2008 12:00:13 PM

    COULD SOMEONE ON THIS WEBSITE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY SARAH PALIN HAD SAID THE IT WAS GODS WILL THAT THE TROOPS HAD TO GO TO IRAQ? COULD SOMEONE ALSO EXPALIN TO ME WHY SHE SAID THAT THE PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH HAD TO PRAY BECUASE IT WAS GODS WILL THAT THE PIPELINE HAD TO BE PUT IN ALASKA GOD WOULD WANT THEM TO PRAY AND PUT MONEY INTO IT? ALSO COULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME IF JOHN MCCAIN IS AGAINST EAR MARKS AND PORK BARRELL SPENDING AND IF HE KNEW IF ANOYONE IN HIS PARTY TOOK EARMARKS THEN HE WOULD CALL THEM OUT. WELL I GUESS THAT HE WILL HAVE TO CALL OUT SARAH PALIN BECAUSE SHE TOOK EARMARKS ALL THIS YEAR. ANOTHER REASON TO SHOW AMERICA THE ONLY REASON WHY HE PICKED HER. THEY GO AGAINST EACH OTHER VIEWS.

  • Posted By: Melinn @ 09/09/2008 10:45:23 AM

    I too am looking forward to see how Palin does this next 2 months.

    I already know what the other three have to offer.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/09/2008 10:36:45 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 9:34:45 AM

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

  • Posted By: Mom's for real issues @ 09/04/2008 8:55:44 PM

    The only reason she is there is because she is a woman. As a mother of three I hate to say it but he would never have picked a male Governor (of 20 months)of any state with only 600,000 people. She has been so busy with Alaska that she has no real thoughts about Iraq. I do not know how effective or how good she is at her job and I also do not diminish what she has accomplished for herself and the people of Alaska but Vice President (heartbeat away from President). I am pretty sure she'll need a world map to see where these other countries are that are real players in foreign policy at this time in our world. After all her foreign policy experience comes from being close to Russia. She doesn't stand for anything I stand for.

    • Posted By: josemarti @ 09/04/2008 9:00:29 PM

      That ain't no woman you saw last night. That is the grey eyed Palin Athena........in full armor. Palin Athena, I tell you.

      • Posted By: labman57 @ 09/04/2008 9:11:21 PM

        So because she can deliver a scripted, memorized speech full of banal talking points and divisive sarcasm we are supposed to regard as some type of noble goddess? Wow. Good luck trying to sell that one.

        • Posted By: Wise up @ 09/05/2008 10:27:26 AM

          Well, you cling to every word Obama says and he can???t speak without his "scripted Speech" (written by someone else) being played on a teleprompter. That???s why he can debate and has refused to debate McCain in an open public forum. He will only agree to the 4 traditional debates where all the topics are preselected and they tell them the topics. HMMMMMM...... You might want to think about that one.

          • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/09/2008 5:25:01 AM

            Sen. Obama does not need to be 'On' all the time. A president doesn't need to showboat. Intelligent judgment is Obama's strength. Palin is big on mouth and short on brain.

  • Posted By: wildlifeusa @ 09/04/2008 10:03:21 PM

    This was pulled from a newspaper article from someone who knows Palin, Check it out,

    ABOUT SARAH PALIN

    I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

    CLAIM VS FACT

    *"Hockey mom": true for a few years

    *"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since

    *"NRA supporter": absolutely true

    *social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconstitutional) .

    *pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.

    *"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation

    *"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.

    *political maverick: not at all

    *gutsy: absolutely!

    *open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.

    *has a developed philosophy of public policy: no

    *"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro- drilling off-shore and in ANWR.

    *fiscal conservative: not by my definition!

    *pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.

    *pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents

    *pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.

    *pro-labor/pro- union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro- union.

    • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/09/2008 5:19:52 AM

      It seems some good folks in Alaska are not gaga about Sarah Palin. Can't say I blame them. When she introduced herself nationally as a Pitbull with Lipstick I thought she's strange and she's a bully.

  • Posted By: Ranger01 @ 09/04/2008 10:41:58 PM

    Oh, I must disagree with the writer from Alaska, I really think she pulled the moose over your eyes too when Bristol had Sarah's baby and now this makes #2. Sarah, I want to know who paid to bring all those children blessed their hearts, and who will pay to send them back?

    • Posted By: fsuttonnc @ 09/05/2008 8:59:32 AM

      Are you nuts? Count the months and you will figure out that if Sarah Palin's baby is only 4 months old and the daughter is 5 months pregnant....hello. But here is the real fact. It is none of your business.The daughter is not running for office and you should be ashamed of yourself for even talking about a very private emotional matter affecting a 17 year old. You might want to look at your own family and see if they could withstand that type scrutiny. I bet not.

      • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/09/2008 5:14:40 AM

        Who outed Bristol's pregnancy? Sarah Palin. She should have kept her big mouth shut but once again, poor judgment.

  • Posted By: wildlifeusa @ 09/04/2008 11:41:44 PM

    Alvy.... I heard to from a friend of mine how MC Cain sold confidential infos to the communists... I also heard by people who were in vietnam at the time that he does not want the government to release M I As records. It is because they know something we don't? I also heard he was a traitor from the same POWs I know.


    • Posted By: Texas Momaw @ 09/05/2008 12:31:51 AM

      You heard, not facts, and I have several friends who were there also and they say different, they respect him fully. A veteran he was a prisoner with, says he was a hero, he did do these heroic things, and the guy told it on TV. Are your friends jealous. I haven't heard any of the garbage you wrote about and I also know several Vietnam Vets. Don't write garbage about people unless you know for a fact it is true and you can prove it, especially someone running for President, its called defamation of character and if he is what you said, I would watch my back. I was a Democrat for 61 years and still was until this year. After reading what so many Democrats have had to say in these comments pages, rude, ugly, stupid, ridiculous, I am glad I am now an independent and vote for the person and not the party. I guess next, we will have a war in America between the Democrats and Republicans. Glad I am for NRA.

      • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/09/2008 5:11:40 AM

        NRA promotes guns. You love the NRA. If it doesn't worry you that innocent Americans are murdered every day by guns, what point is there in worrying about anything else?

    • Posted By: Alvy @ 09/04/2008 11:52:09 PM

      He chaired the committee that closed his file. He looked so old tonight. That "fight with me" was just underwhelming. What's he going to do for jobs? Eight straight months?

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse