Palinalysis

I decided to re-post the following, which I wrote as a comment on my friend Everything But Law's blog:

We all know that McCain's numbskull assumption that Hillary supporters will flock to Palin because she is a woman will backfire (and already has).

But I think the more important reason he selected her is that she is a far-right, anti-choice Evangelical Christian, and he hopes she will recapture votes he is losing for being too "moderate."

As for all of the ruckus about her mother and grandmother-to-be status: there are many good arguments against Palin, but this is one of the poorest ones. I'm getting pissed at some fellow progressives and Obama supporters - men and women - complaining that she shouldn't be traveling the country campaigning with a pregnant teenager and a baby with Down Syndrome at home.

The public wouldn't raise such questions - at least not to the same degree - about a man with the same family situation. That is because people assume that the mother is, and should be, the primary caretaker of the children. Maybe Palin's husband is a stay-at-home dad. Maybe she has a good nanny. I don't know and I don't care, because I believe people have the right to make their own work / child care choices.

My friend EBL is right: it's none of our business. She is also correct that Mr. Limbaugh and Dr. Dobson would have a f-ing field day with this, were Palin a Dem.

Progressives need to focus on the real arguments against a McCain-Palin ticket - the economy, choice, the environment, the war, you name it; there is plenty of material there to keep us busy without resorting to sexism and motherism.