As a middle-aged, white woman who has been thinking about politics intensely for a very long time, this is my conclusion. Palin will be toxic to the McCain campaign not because she is a woman, but because she is a young(ish) woman. If Palin were, perhaps, ten years older and if all of her children were ten years older, she and her ticket would be in a much stronger position. But the way I see it, is that there are alot of women out there paying their dues . . . AT HOME. Not necessarily staying at home, but actually putting their homes and families first. And you know what? Sometimes it sucks. It doesn't feel good putting your career on hold, or on the "mommy track", but you do it. Follow me over the jump and I'll tell you why.
We do it because at this moment in time (but perhaps not in the near future), we have a choice about whether or not to bear or beget a baby, and once we have chosen to beget that baby, we believe that, since the baby didn't ask to be born, we have an obligation to actually raise the baby. Stay at home Dads are great. But they're not moms (and the "First Dude" doesn't strike me as someone whose going to be arranging for early intervention, and going to physical therapy and speech therapy and occupational therapy with Trig in a few months.
Now we all know that there are mythological superwomen out there who can do it all. Who can have great, ambitious careers and have plenty of time left over to make sure that homework gets done and playdates get arranged and dinner gets made (and eaten). But you know what? WE HATE THEM! They make us feel bad. They make us feel incompetent. Like if we're not superwomen, we suck.
Well I can guarantee you that most of the women who go into the voting booth on election day are not superwomen. They're just regular women, who struggle and feel guilty most of the time either because we don't work enough or we work too much and we will never, ever have enough time to do everything it takes to raise a great kid in this scary, crappy world.
So I think that on November 4 what the women of America will tell Sarah Palin is: go home to Alaska. Talk to us again after you've raised your children (like Hillary). I know it's sexist. You know who I know? Because I taught introduction to feminism as part of a Feminist Teaching Collective in the 1980's. But in the end, the way we feel is the way we feel. It is what it is. What do you think?