My Feminist Perspective on Sarah Palin

I heard about McCain's choice for the VP slot on the ticket on the way to pediatrician with Darius.  My gut reaction was slightly positive but apprehensive.  When the newscaster on the radio says "You've probably never heard of Sarah Palin" you've got to be a little concerned that McCain picked her for all the wrong reasons.

To me, the nomination felt like a desperate move on McCain’s part.  The party had lost older, white women voters who changed to Democrats in order to vote for Hillary in the primary.  McCain’s long standing moderate Republican record doesn’t sit well with Religious Right.  So why not pick a woman with staunch conservative values?  Seems to me like he’s trying to kill two birds with one stone. 

I’m not so sure that women will once again cross party lines to vote Palin into office.  If they moved over to vote for Hillary, then they must understand that Palin stands for everything that Hillary is against.  And while I want a woman in the White House just as much as any other woman, I want the person to be fully qualified.  I’m not sure that Palin was the right candidate - regardless of her gender.  If she was a man, I’m pretty certain that this Republican ticket would guarantee a win for Obama/Biden.

Personally, I still believe that Hillary Clinton was the right person to be President.  I’m still not 100% sold on Obama.  A part of me still wishes that it was an Obama/Clinton ticket.  However, it would certainly take a lot for me to forgive McCain for his sexist views on women and equal pay before I could ever circle his name on the ballot.  Am I undecided?  No.  I’ll vote for Obama.  It won’t matter much in my blue state - Obama will win no matter what here in California.  But I want to believe in Obama.  I want to see real change in this country. 

I’m not going attack Palin for her stance on abstinence-only sex education or her views on abortion or gun-control or creationism.  In order to be Republican, she practically has to have those views - especially if she is so highly revered in the conservative right.  I’m not going to question her mothering abilities to a pregnant teen-aged daughter.  I’m not going to go there.  Honestly, I wish that every pregnant teenager would have a loving supportive family to cushion the fall.

Instead of looking at Palin as a beauty queen turned working mother turned Vice Presidential nominee, I urge all Republicans and Undecided’s to look at Palin’s public service record.  She may be able to talk like a feminist, but is she one? 
What has she done for the advancement of women?  Women supported Hillary not just because she was a woman but because she was a champion on women’s issues. If you look closely, you will surely find Sarah Palin is NOT advocate for women.

McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate is a last-ditch effort to appeal to disappointed Hillary voters and get them to vote for another woman.  Ultimately, a vote for Palin is a vote against a woman’s own self-interest.