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Without Trig, Governor Sarah Palin‘s infant son who has Down Syndrome, what might discussions about her being Senator John McCain’s running mate be like?
Gov. Palin’s older sister, Heather Bruce, has an autistic child, an article in today’s New York Times notes:
Before her son was born, Ms. Palin went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that his arrival would not compromise her work. She hid the pregnancy. She traveled to Texas a month before her due date to give an important speech, delivering it even though her amniotic fluid was leaking. Three days after giving birth, she returned to work.
But with Trig in her arms, Ms. Palin has risen higher than ever. Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, says he selected her as his running mate because of her image as a reformer, but she is also making motherhood an explicit part of her appeal, running as a self-proclaimed hockey mom. In just a few months, she has gone from hiding her pregnancy from those closest to her to toting her infant on stage at the Republican National Convention.
No one has ever tried to combine presidential politics and motherhood in quite the way Ms. Palin is doing, and it is no simple task. In the last week, the criticism she feared in Alaska has exploded into a national debate. On blogs and at PTA meetings, voters alternately cheer and fault her balancing act, and although many are thrilled to see a child with special needs in the spotlight, some accuse her of exploiting Trig for political gain.
But her son has given Ms. Palin, 44, a powerful message. Other candidates kiss strangers’ babies; Ms. Palin has one of her own. He is tangible proof of Ms. Palin’s anti-abortion convictions, which have rallied social conservatives, and her belief that women can balance family life with ambitious careers. And on Wednesday in St. Paul, she proclaimed herself a guardian of the nation’s disabled children.
“Children with special needs inspire a special love,” Ms. Palin said, echoing the message she had shared at the shower.
For sure, they do; take it from this special needs mom.
And too, special needs kids need concrete and pragmatic and real answers, need policies and legislation (how about fully funding IDEA and restoring the ADA……..) and understanding that truly makes a concrete difference in their daily lives, throughout their lifespans.
1229 days ago
[...] with Election Day nearing, the choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin—whose youngest son, Trigg, has Down Syndrome—-as Senator John McCain’s running mate got the (Special Needs) Mommy [...]
1278 days ago
[...] And, more particularly and pertaining more to this blog, is she a leader—a model—for special needs mothers? [...]
Obama is such good buddies with Planned Parenthood it should scare everybody! Palin thinks all Children are important regardless of Disability! Planned Parenthood was founded by Margerate Sanger a believer in Eugenic’s! In fact alot of Pro Abortion Democrates and thier Hollywood buddies act like they would NOT have a child like Trig! To me that says alot!
1334 days ago
[...] a speech on Monday in Golden, Colorado, Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin noted that, along with energy policy and government reform, “special needs” would be [...]
1339 days ago
[...] Sarah Palin and her baby Trig Without Trig, Governor Sarah Palin’s infant son who has Down Syndrome, what might discussions about her being Senator John McCain’s running mate be like? [...]
1340 days ago
[...] liberal) describes her experience at the McCain/Palin rally on Wednesday. She concludes: “Palin Power” isn’t just about making hockey moms feel important. It’s not just about giving abortion [...]
“Infatuation” struck me as the right word—–sherry, thanks for noting that.
“Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn’t cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years. ”
This quote is from factcheck.org.
The Chronicle also says,
.”…Stuzman says that much will depend on the coming weeks, and how the media persists in its reporting of Palin’s story.
“We’re in the infatuation stages right now,” acknowledges Stutzman, who says her interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson this week will be a watershed moment – as will her upcoming debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden…”
About interviews with Charles Gibson this week, including schedule.
Vice-President candidate debate
Thursday, October 2 from , Washington University, St. Louis, MO
also,
Three Presidential candidate debates
1: Fri., September 26, 9 pm EDT at University of Mississippi–domestic policy
2: Tues., October 7, Belmont University, Nashville, TN–Town Hall meeting format.
3/final: Weds., October 15, Hofstra University, NY–foreign policy
The San Francisco Chronicle argues that McCain-Palin ’08 are using the same “script” as Schwarzenegger ’03:
She’s described as “Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington”; whether she is, will unfold in the weeks to come, or maybe not.
I also saw some video about Alaska that showed her walking to her office from her house. If she lives that close to her office then should could return to work and take care of her family too. I will try to find it again. It was on one of those blogs that was posting old videos and pictures of her trying to prove that she was not really pregnant with Trig. LOL
Lelia,
About the breastfeeding issue. How many kids do you have? I found that breastfeeding my second baby was completely different and much easier than my first. My milk came in before I left the hospital (less that 48 hours) with the second baby. I don’t know why this is such a big issue for some people but I also heard a report that she returned to work after 3 days and brought the baby with her. Come on, she is the govenor. She has some flexibility. She probably was not putting in full days at the office and could surely manage a lot of her responsiblities with a computer and phone at home. No one has said that she just left this baby for 10 hours a day when he was 3 days old. It does take a couple of weeks to establish a breastfeeding routine but if the baby was with her at work than it is very reasonable to think that she could do it. This being her 5th child would mean that she is a pro by now. I felt like an expert with my second baby compared to the first time around.
Joe, face it. She was a big advocate of that bridge. When it became a scandal, then she backed out but still used the money. The fact that she’s misguiding voters, trying to make them believe that she said “thanks but no thanks” from the very start is so blatant that it required major and quite conservative newspapers such as the WSJ to correct her misstatements.
And talk about her fiscal responsibility: billing the State for the nights she stayed at home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?hpid=topnews
More on Sarah’s fiscal “rectitude”:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1839724,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-full-nation
Re: Bridge to Nowhere
Talk about your topic drift.
I don’t think it’s a lie to say she eventually said no to the bridge. In fact, at one time the Alaska Dem. Party praised her for doing so.
I’ll let others have the last word in this thread, but I will say Gov. Palin and Sens. Obama and Biden have at least one thing in common: they all were for the “Bridge” before they were against it. Sens. Obama and Biden voted for it in the Senate instead of spending the money for Katrina aid.
Joe, and the Wall Street Journal – a source you trust – also shows that Sarah Palin lied about the Bridge to Nowhere:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB122090791901411709.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox
She’s still lieing today on her speeches. Shameless.
Joe, sorry but Pajamas Media is a major rightwing source.
My doubt about her breastfeeding, is that you DO NOT establish a breastfeeding routine in 3 days. Three days is what it took for my milk to finally go down – before it was just the colostrum.
AAP recommends at least 6 months of breastfeeding. In many countries, 6 months is the minimum maternity leave (with pay) because of that, not to mention baby bonding – most mothers in the world cannot afford a breast pump either.
It just feels that Sarah did not really celebrate her baby – what with hiding the pregnancy for several months and not being careful on her last couple of weeks and that airplane flight – and she didn’t spend much time bonding with him either. But she surely used him for her political benefit.
Not everyone thinks she misspoke about Freddie and Fannie.
http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OWRlYTY2YWUzMDRkMjJlZmIzNjQ0YjFlZWU1ZjJhMzU=
Joe, the less.
For Joe: If you’re making up a list of candidates with children in the military, don’t forget to include Biden’s son, “Beau” (that’s his nickname, don’t remember his real name).
Every day we learn something else that makes it more obvious that even though many find her very charming, Sarah Palin is not ready for the vice presidency. Yesterday, she showed she didn’t know anything about Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac, even though they’ve been in the news for quite a while because of the fall-out from the bursting housing bubble.
Like everyone else commenting here, I care a lot about disability issues. But if we’re all honest, we must admit that people running for the two highest offices in the land have to be judged on a broader scale than just disability issues (and that’s not to say I think McCain/Palin is stronger on those issues, because obviously I don’t). The economy, foreign relations, the environment, and the list goes on and on, all also effect people with disabilities, because they affect all of us.
cs,
Thanks.
Joe