John McCain and his VP pick, Sarah Palin

I'm supposed to be working on a paper for a class I'm taking this semester. Ironically enough, the class is titled "Gender, Power and Relationships". I can't get my mind off John McCain's VP pick of Sarah Palin though. I'm hoping that if I write about her now, I can get my mind off of the issue and back onto my class assignment.

I'm a proud supporter of Barack Obama. I have always felt that Hillary, simply because her last name is Clinton, would be polarizing and divisive. This country needs someone who is capable of bringing Americans together in addition to rebuilding our image overseas. Obama is a fresh face and I'm confident about his commitment to women's issues. If Hillary had won the Democratic nomination I would have supported her, but ultimately I'm happier with Obama. I thought that his selection of Joe Biden as his VP running mate was sensible. He has plenty of experience, he represents most of my views on the issues and again, he supports women's issues. Of particular note, Biden's office drafted the original Violence Against Women Act in 1994. He's also chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee-not too shabby!

Enter GOP nominee McCain. I thought he was ok in 2000, but I could never get past his anti-choice stance on abortion. I would have difficulty voting for anyone who is anti-choice; that is a deal breaker for me. I don't like his stance on the war in Iraq and I take issue with the fact that he is one of the Keating Five. We are in the middle of a recession that has been largely affected by deregulation of the banking and mortgage industry. We can thank Mr. McCain's buddy Phil Gramm for that one. Why on earth would anyone want to elect one of the Keating Five as president?! Our current recession is worse than the 1990-1991 one, caused by the Savings and Loan Scandal and it's going to get even deeper. Americans are going to pay a huge price in rebuilding the economy and I think it's going to be slow and painful. Yet McCain has consistently referred to himself as a "de-regulator". He's completely out of touch. In short, I can no longer tolerate him and I think he is an exceptionally bad choice for the US.

Yesterday he announced Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin is anti-choice and belongs to an organization called "Feminists For Life". I checked out their official website. I can't see anything that remotely suggests their organization supports women's issues. Their sole issue is anti-abortion/anti-choice. They say "pre-conception" issues fall outside of their "mission", yet their FAQ page makes reference to "non-abortifacient contraception". That kind of language is loaded and speaks volumes. It means that they do not approve of any kind of chemical/hormonal birth control or IUD's.

While I could never see eye to eye on their anti-choice baloney, I can respect their right to hold those views. I am a bit disturbed by their complete ignorance regarding the need to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place. How on earth can an organization claim to be feminist when they completely ignore women's health concerns, and YES contraceptives are a health concern.

The mother in me is appalled that Ms. Palin returned to work 3 days after giving birth...to a baby with Down Syndrome none the less! Women have worked far too long and hard to get maternity leave to have someone who ignored it represent us. She's still nursing and yet she's heading out on a major political campaign. I breastfed my son for 2 1/2 years. Hey Sarah-*NEWSFLASH* have you ever heard of mastitis? It's extremely painful. Stress and over working yourself are the easiest ways to bring it on. If you spread yourself too thin you will make yourself sick and will be of no use to the American people. To fail to recognize such a simple and basic principle is irresponsible and neglectful.

She was mayor of a tiny Alaskan town (which she drove into debt) and she's been governor for less than 2 years. Alaska's entire population is smaller than that of most major US cities. If Rudy Giuliani didn't have the skills to pay the bills after running the city of New York and handling 9-11 and its aftermath, why would McCain think this woman is ready? Oh wait-that's right...she's a "maverick". She opposed the "bridge to nowhere". (Oops.)

How does this extremist, evangelical, Christian supposedly represent the average American woman? Regardless of what fundamentalist Christian's would have us believe about contraceptives, most American women use them or have used them. How does she stand for us? She is not our friend. She is not the kind of woman who is going to "break the glass ceiling".

Any feminist who votes for McCain/Palin is ignoring the issues. I think the vast majority of democrats who supported Hillary will give their support to Obama/Biden. The ones that vote for McCain/Palin either have their heads up their butts or won't vote for Obama because he's black. McCain is sickeningly pandering to women. It's insulting and condescending, not to mention insincere.