I recently stayed in a "LEED" hotel in Michigan, all ecologically correct, down to the sparse lighting, concrete floors with non allergenic throw rugs, midcentury modern furniture in the restaurant/bar and common areas, etc.  It was interesting, at first.  The place felt like being in the Netherlands, and I enjoyed seeing the design.  Unfortunately, the spring weather was a weekend of grey monsoons.  By the second day, the cement floors and ceilings, low lighting and hard surfaces started to feel like "Cellblock D."   The common area furniture was hideously uncomfortable.  I longed for carpeting; it was cold outside, for God’s sake!  I don’t think these places will survive until they take into account our need for warmth, texture, color, light and comfort. 

I think that the idea of a 44 year old woman, former governor of a small state, who has a 17 year old pregnant daughter, three more in between kids who need attention, and a downs syndrome child, taking over in case the oldest ever President dies, is asking too much. I was as much a super woman as any in my day, but we don’t have too take on this much to prove ourselves, and I think it is a form of egoism to say that we can. Sarah Palin and her husband have their hands full, period. Raising healthy families is the best contribution any one can give the world. She could coast a few years politically and get back in the arena later. Meanwhile, why wouldn’t John McCain choose an effective Republican woman, whose childrearing is less urgent, say, Kay Bailey Hutchinson? I write this as a Democrat, a mother of four, and a businesswoman. I have a law degree and took the bar 7 months pregnant. Believe me, I did too much in my day too. I just feel sorry for Ms. Palin, because I think that somehow she feels she has to do all of this to prove herself. She doesn’t.