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• Tuesday, September 2, 2008 12:27 PM

  the mccain campaign made her family an issue

  I think it is important to know that the McCain campaign and it's surrogates have cited her motherhood as one of the main reasons she is qualified for vp. They say that her *choice* (even though she and McCain do not believe the rest us deserve to choose) to raise a child with downs syndrome shows that she has the character to be vp. They deflected internet rumors about Trig's parentage by revealing her 17 year old daughter's pregnancy. They are putting her children and her role as a mother front and center in this campaign. How do we not address it along with the fact that she is utterly unqualified for the position?

  While I wonder if people would be as worried about a man balancing work and family, I don't think we have had any cnadidate in this situation before. She has a 4 month old with down syndrom and a pregnant teenage daughter - that is a lot to deal with for any parent yet a parent about to embark on a grueling campaign. It is a very unusal situation for any presidential or vice-presidential candidate, regardless of gender. And let's remember many people criticized John Edwards for continuing his campaign after his wife's diagnosis. Sometimes we do hold male candidates responsible for their families.

  It also makes me concerned about her stance on policies regarding work/life balance, maternity/paternity leave, and equal pay. She went back to work 3 days after giving birth. Does she expect all women to follow her lead on this? I don;t ahve the answers because the McCain campaign is keeping her far away from the press.

  —asmith101 Read asmith101's other letters
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