"top-tier Democrats will definitely be able to defeat a leading Republican like Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani. "

Look. I don't know anything about Rommey. But lets look at this. Giuliani, the mayor who put the emergency response control center of NY in the World Trade Center, after it was already the target of an attack. Giuliani..the mayor who announced his divorce from his wife and mother of his children on TV (before telling her), evicted them from his residence, and took up with a younger woman. Giuliani... who put Kerik - his former mob-affiliated body-guard - into the position as Police Chief in NY, and recomended him to head up security operations in Iraq.

I really really hope Guiliana wins...because without a single doubt in my mind, he is the easiest to defeat. ANY Democrat, including Clinton, can defeat him. Just reply footage from his divorce controversy. Or interview NYPD leaders. Or NYFD. If he Gulianna gets the nomination (and I just can't see that happening, despite the apparent popularity shown in the polls), he will be destroyed.

Heck, the Democrats don't even need to attack this guy...he is so arrogant chances are he would self-destruct anyway.

I'm about to hire a 24 hour live-in nanny. I live in China. I will pay her around $190 per month. We have 2 small children – 8 months and 2 years old. My wife wants to go back to work. And truth be told, this is one of the reasons we live in China. Because we can get good support at a very low price. (also, we just generally think living here is a cool adventure that never stops)

We have a 8AM to 4PM domestic helper now. She baby-sits, cleans, and cooks. And still, we need more help. My wife is still exhausted at night between 4PM and 7PM when I usually get home. She does not have enough time to do job search or develop other things. We are lucky in that we have an Aiyi (“Aunty”) who is good with kids...talks alot and plays well. She doesn't clean well and her cooking is blah and she is a stupid ignorant peasant who likes to watch the Chinese-equivalent of Jerry Springer. She is stubborn and does not listen to us. But she has a big big heart and is good with my kids. Only big downside is that my son speaks Chinese with a local peasant accent. And she refuses to adjust her cooking style.

I really don't get what all the fuss is about. Of course my kids love Mommy more than AiYi. Of course I do not expect Aiyi to love my kids like we do. And of course my kids behave better when with Aiyi (I think most kids behave better with external caregivers than with parents…I wish someone could tell me why though)

Why do people worry about this? When you raise kids, you do what is necessary to raise them. And often that means both parents working. Would my kids be better off with the grandparents, who are old, move slowly, have back problems, and are full of narcosis? Maybe yes, maybe no. Having a nanny in no way means you are shucking off parenting responsibilities. The decision to get a nanny – to get this form of support – is a parenting decision. And nannies are no more parents to the children than an elementary school teacher is. In America, most of us don’t say “we should not send the children to school because that is abrogating the parents responsibility to educate the children”.

Why worry that kids are getting less from a nanny? Nannies bring other things to the table. Other cultures. Other play styles. Sometimes other languages. I see it as all good. Much better than being cared for by older grandparents who don’t have a lot of energy.

And what’s up with all this stupid class-warfare on this forum? Getting a nanny does not mean someone is rich. As others said, it’s MUCH MORE affordable than daycare and gives the children more individual attention.