The Distasteful Attacks on the Palin Pregnancy

John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, deserves to be fully vetted and researched and questioned like all who seek public office, especially the 2nd highest position in the land. However, the absurd and bitter attacks against her and her family regarding the news of her 17 year old daughter's pregnancy are hitting new lows. First, this story all grew out of internet rumours that swirled a conspiracy theory ripped right from a Desperate Housewives script, claiming that Governor Palin's new infant is not hers, but rather her daughters, and the Governor was pretending to be pregnant to cover up this teenage mistake. The fact that this story, spun by some liberal blogger grew so fast and gained such momentum is shocking. Even more shocking is the vitriol that has been spewed in the days following the Palin's announcement that their daughter is indeed 5 months pregnant. To Barack Obama's credit, he has maintained that the family of Palin should be off limits, but that has not stopped his supporters, surrogates and other liberals and democrats from going on the attack (a move Obama perfected during the primary where his supporters attacked Hillary Clinton while the candidate himself was able to masquerade as staying above the fray.) There has been a barrage of insults levelled against Sarah Palin, from her hypocrisy for supporting 'family values' while having a pregnant teen, to the quality of her judgement for not refusing the VP spot knowing her daughter is in this sticky situation. But no attack has been so harsh, so unnecessarily vicious as Obama supporter Ed Shultz's words on Larry King Live last night. Not only does Sarah Palin apparently lack judgement for not dropping out, not only must she be a hypocrite for having a pregnant teen, but she is also a terrible mother? According to Shultz, its important to ask, "What kind of mother is she?" Apparently, teenage indiscretion equals bad mothering. Schultz even went so far as to muse that "most professional gardeners have a really nice yard, you know what I mean?" Thus, Shultz insinuates that if there is a problem in her family then it must mean Sarah Palin is a miserable mother and a pitiful leader. Does this mean that the woman who is cheated on is a bad partner and terrible wife? If a kid fails in school, does it follow that the parent is also an underperformer or unintelligent? This discourse is absurd and it's nonsense. And the Obama campaign better be careful, because with millions of independent-minded, moderate voters up for grabs in this election, attacking this mother for the choices of her children might drive many Americans into Sarah Palin's corner. Palin's best attribute is her down-to-earth, 'neighbourly' feel. Americans want to elect leaders to whom they can relate, and I'm willing to bet Americans can relate quite well to a strong, working mom who's family has its share of problems, just like everybody else's.