Palin too busy to be VP and mom/grandma

By: Alex Sanders

Posted: 9/4/08

The presidential campaign is rapidly spiraling into an episode of "Desperate Housewives." There are ridiculous rumors circulating that Sarah Palin's 4-month-old son is really her 17-year-old daughter's child. This is a political campaign - not a drama on ABC. It was shocking enough that John McCain chose a woman as his vice presidential candidate, let alone a woman who will soon be a grandmother. He claimed that he knew about Palin's daughter's pregnancy, yet it seems foolish that he would try to campaign with that hanging over his head. Now, he is faced with a vice presidential candidate who's ability many women are doubting because of her family situation.

Aside from her political standpoint, Sarah Palin is not fit to help run a country as an individual. Raising a family is hard enough without having to perform all of the duties of vice president. She would basically have to choose between her job and her family. At the moment, she is clearly choosing her job. Also, her limited political experience is going to make her job that much harder.

Five children and a grandchild are a handful for any stay-at-home mother. The only way that Palin can seemingly make this work is to hire a staff to care for her children. If she does that, she will rarely be present in the lives of her children - which is crucial for proper growth and development. Psychologist John Bowlby suggested that child attachment is vital for normal growth. That study agreed with psychologist Harry Harlow's study concerning maternal attachment. He studied the effect on monkeys when they were separated from their mothers and found them to be depressed and timid.

Palin has an infant son with Down's syndrome, and from a strictly family-oriented standpoint, it is unfair to her child to not give him the attention he needs and deserves. He already has special needs that Palin has to take care of, along with Palin's granddaughter who will bring the everyday chores of a healthy baby. It is feasible for Palin to be both a mother and vice president but her job, her children or both are going to suffer. It is too much work and there is not enough time in a day to do both jobs in a complete and responsible way.

Bristol, Palin's daughter, will have a difficult time raising her own child at 17. She is going to need her mother's support or her child will suffer as well. The situation at hand creates an unstable family and potential sloppy work in the White House.

It also is unjust that the vice-presidential candidate should have to choose between spending time on her work or with her family. No mother should be in that position. McCain should have thought about her family situation ahead of time and, if he had actually known about Bristol's pregnancy, he shouldn't - and probably wouldn't - have made Palin the vice presidential candidate.

McCain may have won over some conservative women by choosing Palin, but he has angered mothers who know how difficult it is to manage five kids, or fewer for that matter, as a stay-at-home mom or as a working woman. He may have used her to shake up the campaign but if McCain and Palin get elected, her family will suffer - along with the rest of America.