Of Palen, Teenagers, Decisions, Decency, and Politics
I won't be participating in the feeding frenzy going on right now about the fact that Governor Palen's 17 year-old daughter is pregnant. Apparently, the daughter will have the baby and rumour has it she intends to marry the boyfriend who fathered the child. I wish them well, and hopefully the child will be born healthy.
I would never vote for Senator McCain, even before his selection of Governor Palen. Indeed, I have every intention of voting for the guy who's mom fathered him when she was 18. Palen makes me even less likely to vote for McCain; she is as radical right as they come. But, of course, I'm into voting against them because of their respective domestic positions, and candidly, like most liberals and progressives I used to know, I don't judge people based upon how their kids turned out.
Like many of you out there, I know lots of folks, decent folks, very decent folks, whose children have disappointed them for all kinds of petty and real reasons. I think, like most Americans, like most people, you see quite a few things as you get older that they didn't teach you about in elementary school.
Governor Palen's daughter raises a question that millions of parents, pro-choice an pro-life, have had to face when their children turned into young adults. These are real decisions, and as the father of four, three of whom are girls, and two of the girls now being women (ages 21 and 22), I have confronted these decisions head-on. I bet I am not the only Cafe reader or American who dealt with birth control and teenagers in the same breath. Thank G-d, my adult daughters never became pregnant, but I'm not going to claim that the reason we were so lucky is that my ex-wife and I are exceptional parents. Stuff happens, and I think we dodged this bullet because, guess what, here's a secret. . . teenagers have sex.
In short, this is a real story that millions of American families, liberal and conservatives face. I know there will be plenty of wanna-be Rove/Drudges pushing this intimately personal family story who will claim that this is an issue that goes to Senator McCain's judgment (see Kleefield and Sargent with the imprimatur of Josh Marshall going ga ga over this). Have at it. But, to this life-long Democrats who absolutely destests the political views of Governor Palen and for reasons other than her daughter believes that she was a horrible and insulting VP choice (which, in light of her experience and views, does go to McCain's judgment), my heart goes out to her and to her husband and to her daughter right now.
Ultimately, it's not about me. So, more importantly, how do you think the rest of America outside of the Cafe is feeling about this story right now? Do any of you believe those Reagan Democrats we need to bring back into the fold want to have a whisper campaign about Governor Palen's family challenges?
In crass political terms, who are the American people who would have voted for McCain before this story broke, but will not vote for him now, or will just stay home? Always remember as we squabble into November, the issues we discuss are not just about us
I would never vote for Senator McCain, even before his selection of Governor Palen. Indeed, I have every intention of voting for the guy who's mom fathered him when she was 18. Palen makes me even less likely to vote for McCain; she is as radical right as they come. But, of course, I'm into voting against them because of their respective domestic positions, and candidly, like most liberals and progressives I used to know, I don't judge people based upon how their kids turned out.
Like many of you out there, I know lots of folks, decent folks, very decent folks, whose children have disappointed them for all kinds of petty and real reasons. I think, like most Americans, like most people, you see quite a few things as you get older that they didn't teach you about in elementary school.
Governor Palen's daughter raises a question that millions of parents, pro-choice an pro-life, have had to face when their children turned into young adults. These are real decisions, and as the father of four, three of whom are girls, and two of the girls now being women (ages 21 and 22), I have confronted these decisions head-on. I bet I am not the only Cafe reader or American who dealt with birth control and teenagers in the same breath. Thank G-d, my adult daughters never became pregnant, but I'm not going to claim that the reason we were so lucky is that my ex-wife and I are exceptional parents. Stuff happens, and I think we dodged this bullet because, guess what, here's a secret. . . teenagers have sex.
In short, this is a real story that millions of American families, liberal and conservatives face. I know there will be plenty of wanna-be Rove/Drudges pushing this intimately personal family story who will claim that this is an issue that goes to Senator McCain's judgment (see Kleefield and Sargent with the imprimatur of Josh Marshall going ga ga over this). Have at it. But, to this life-long Democrats who absolutely destests the political views of Governor Palen and for reasons other than her daughter believes that she was a horrible and insulting VP choice (which, in light of her experience and views, does go to McCain's judgment), my heart goes out to her and to her husband and to her daughter right now.
Ultimately, it's not about me. So, more importantly, how do you think the rest of America outside of the Cafe is feeling about this story right now? Do any of you believe those Reagan Democrats we need to bring back into the fold want to have a whisper campaign about Governor Palen's family challenges?
In crass political terms, who are the American people who would have voted for McCain before this story broke, but will not vote for him now, or will just stay home? Always remember as we squabble into November, the issues we discuss are not just about us
