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I'm a married working mother of roughly Palin's age. Recently, I applied for a mid-level position at a major nonprofit. During the 1 1/2 hour interview, the fact that I'm a soccer mom never arose. In fact, nothing about my personal life -- my marriage, children, family -- was discussed. Instead, we talked about my work experience, my approach to my job, my strengths and weaknesses, and what I would like to accomplish. This is the way it should be.
If experience as a soccer mom is irrelevant for this mid-level position, it is even less sigificant for the vice presidency of the United States. I realize that politicans routinely situate themselves in a family context. They say: this is who I am, this is the kind of character I'll bring to my public office. Fair enough. But Palin does something further. She claims that her family experience is actual qualification for the job. Vote for me BECAUSE I'm a hockey mom. Now, if she were applying for a job at a youth hockey league, this would make sense. But it makes no sense at all for the position she is running for. I find it quite insulting to my intelligence -- but more important, quite scary. Do we really want someone at the top levels of giovernment whose biggest claim to fame is that she is a hockey mom?
