When John McCain announced that 44-year-old Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was his VP choice for the GOP ticket, many female voters – especially mothers – gravitated toward her “everymom” image. That image could have a downside, however.
The New York Times reports, “With five children, including an infant with Down syndrome and, as the country learned Monday, a pregnant 17-year-old, Ms. Palin has set off a fierce argument among women about whether there are enough hours in the day for her to take on the vice presidency, and whether she is right to try.”
The “Mommy Debate” is on, and observers may notice surprise twists with regard to the competing factions. Most social conservatives, who normally argue that mothers should stay at home and raise their children, are rallying around Palin, while others, including career mothers, are expressing concern that the young governor may be “taking on too much.”
“How is this really going to work?” asks Karen Shopoff Rooff, a personal trainer who is also raising two children in Austin, Texas. “I don’t care whether she’s the mother or the father; it’s a lot to handle.”
“When I first heard about Palin, I was impressed,” said Pamela Moore, a mother of two children from Birmingham, Alabama. But after learning that Ms. Palin returned to work when her special-needs child was just three days old, Ms. Moore began to have doubts about the governor’s judgment. Partly because of this, she is planning to vote for Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Lori Viars, who also has two children and is from Lebanon, Ohio, says she is supporting Palin’s candidacy and admires both Palin and her daughter for deciding to have their babies.
“The whole family is pro-life, and they put that into practice even when it’s not easy,” she said.
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