I would never fault Sarah Palin for having five children to rear, including a pregnant teenage daughter and a special needs infant. I’m sure she knows exactly what kind of mother she wants to be. I fault her on her complete lack of knowledge of the needs of this country, her lack of integrity, her continual sniping and lying, her position on reproductive choice, her far right fundamentalist beliefs which she wants to impose on the government, and her ignorance of the economic crisis we are now in the midst of. I do not want her to become my Vice President or my children’s and grandchildren’s worst nightmare.

My friends and I are wrestling with this particular issue about the 5 children, our judgement of the situation, our judgement of her, her lack of good judgement, etc. A child going off to Iraq, a child unexpectedly pregnant at a young age, and a child with perhaps permanent and challenging needs… Here’s the thing: I have no right to say she should not go for the VP job. I can only say that if I had this many obligations in MY house, I would reconsider. I would expect the same of my mate. It’s the age old question: How do you balance your own personal development along with the needs of your children? Interestingly enough I have a friend who is an accomplished, psychologist, author, and professor. She raised 3 kids while doing most of this. She is 68 and thinks Sarah Palin should have considered waiting for because of the familial obligations. When the rest of us said that we thought she was being sexist, she serenely (and logically) explained that before John Edwars imploded, she didn’t really believe that he should run either (with a wife in questionable health and young children). So I don’t know. In general I do not think Sarah Palin is right for the job…but then I can live in the gratitude that comes from knowing that she’s not a Democrat. She and I just happen to have the same biological parts. That’s all. Hopefully, after November, she will become a distant memory