So we finally know who the VP picks are: Biden for Obama and Palin for McCain. I'm not yet sure how I feel about Biden as a running mate for Obama, the candidate I'm supporting, but I can tell you how I feel about Palin.
No thank you. Just because she's a woman doesn't mean she has my support. Feminism is about freedom of choice and her values don't line up with mine.
It's a nice little stunt the McCain campaign pulled trying to quote-unquote make history by putting up a woman as their VP candidate for the first time ever, yanking the headlines away from the DNC the very next day after Obama's acceptance speech. I hope Hillary supporters, through their anger, see this for what it is. Yes, we want to see the greater participation of women at higher levels of government. But do you think Palin's going to come out pressing for ratification of the ERA - equal pay for equal work? Do you think she's going to fight for LGBT rights? Does she care deeply about rebuildling our badly damaged social safety net and addressing income inequality in this country? How about universal health care? Fighting for human rights and going after the international slave trade? What kind of women's values does she champion?
Palin tried to neatly co-opt Hillary's rhetoric upon introducing herself as the new GOP veep candidate, saying, "The women of America aren't done yet." Speak for yourself but don't pretend you speak for me, Ms. Palin. Don't you think it's patronizing how your party trotted you out -- here, now, after a strong, accomplished politician has concluded her run for the highest office in the land -- to win an election rather than as show its commitment to representing the majority of this country?
The Republicans have not broken any new ground in picking a woman for VP. I'm old enough to remember Ferraro. That was about 25 years ago. It didn't make such a big impression on me then. Maybe my mom would have a different take on that since she was an adult at the time. Veep is different, though. You know what made an impact on me as a little girl? Shirley Chisholm's candidacy. That's partly a local thing in my case because I grew up in South Hadley, MA and she taught at Mount Holyoke for several years after her run at the presidency. We were all aware of her candidacy. Admittedly I was young enough so as not to be all that politically conscious and it happened before I was even born but I remember being very proud that she'd run even if she hadn't made it as the official Democratic nominee. That sort of thing does send a message to girls and young women as does Title IX, which has actually come under attack in recent years if you can believe that.
Here again, in 2008, we have women figuring prominently in the race for the White House. While Hillary wasn't my candidate I think it does say a lot that McCain baldly pandered to women by putting a woman on his ticket. Just because she's a woman. I wonder what young women are taking away from this. We can be genuinely proud that Hillary has normalized the idea of a woman running for the office of President of the United States. She's right in claiming that her campaign has cracked the glass ceiling and I will celebrate when it finally shatters for good. As a thirty-something woman having watched a steady procession of nothing but white, straight, mainly Protestant men since Chisholm and Ferraro's time, this means a lot to me. As does Obama's candidacy for the same reason.
I'll know we've made progress when next time it's not the gender or the race of the candidate that's making headlines but just the bold and visionary policies they put forward to restore the American dream for all people, putting us on a track to realize the incredible potential that we have as individuals and as a nation. Just the issues - real issues, not sensational fluff bits like how many houses McCain has but rather how we're going to fix health care and education, get out of Iraq and repair our failing infrastructure. Obama went into detail on this for the first time on Thursday night as he made history becoming the first African-American to be nominated for the highest office in the land. The newspapers are buzzing about Sarah Palin now but I'm going to exercise freedom of choice and seek out more details on what he and his running mate Biden prescribe for getting us back on track.
Also, my thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast.
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