Forgive me for writing another post about Governor Sarah Palin and her family. Her selection as Senator John McCain’s running mate, and the recent reporting of her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol Palin, being pregnant, have cast her thoroughly into the public eye and, one suspects, in more than unexpected ways. What first piqued my interest about Sarah Palin was that she’s the mother of a (very young) special needs child and, too, a working mother.
The September 1st New York Times describes the uproar over Palin as “Mommy Wars: Special Campaign Edition”:
With five children, including an infant with Down syndrome and, as the country learned Monday, a pregnant 17-year-old, Ms. Palin has set off a fierce argument among women about whether there are enough hours in the day for her to take on the vice presidency, and whether she is right to try.
It’s the Mommy Wars: Special Campaign Edition. But this time the battle lines are drawn inside out, with social conservatives, usually staunch advocates for stay-at-home motherhood, mostly defending her, while some others, including plenty of working mothers, worry that she is taking on too much.
“How is this really going to work?” said Karen Shopoff Rooff, an independent voter, personal trainer and mother of two in Austin, Tex. “I don’t care whether she’s the mother or the father; it’s a lot to handle,” she said, adding that Ms. Palin’s lack of national experience would only make her road more difficult.
“When I first heard about Palin, I was impressed,” said Pamela Moore, a mother of two from Birmingham, Ala. But upon reading that Ms. Palin’s special-needs child was three days old when she went back to work, Ms. Moore began questioning the governor’s judgment. Partly as a result, she plans to vote for Senator Barack Obama.
Other mothers are cheering Palin on for her pro-life stance. In the words of “conservative organizer” Phyllis Schafly, who has six children and ran for Congress:
“People who don’t have children or who have only one or two are kind of overwhelmed at the notion of five children…….I think a hard-working, well-organized C.E.O. type can handle it very well.”
I guess it could also be pointed out that people get overwhelmed at the thought of raising a special needs child. As the New York Times notes, “Infants with Down syndrome often need special care in the first years of life: extra tests, physical therapy, even surgery.” (Michael Bérubé’s Life As We Know It: A Father, a Family, and an Exceptional Child contains a harrowing account of the medical needs of the infant Jamie, who has Down Syndrome, and who required round-the-clock care.)
Charlie still requires 1:1 teaching at school with highly trained staff; I can’t just ask a neighbor to watch him. Much of Charlie’s early childhood involved one appointment after another, and hours of mental energy and attention devoted to learning about autism, learning about and accessing treatments, studying ABA and verbal behavior and oral-motor therapy, making up picture schedules and flashcards (and going through at least two laminators). I was working full-time when Charlie was diagnosed at the age of 2; we were able to do a full year of intensive ABA at home for Charlie because Jim was on sabbatical and was home all the time. I soon resigned from my job when Jim’s sabbatical ended and worked part-time for awhile, then (after we came back to New Jersey) full-time, as a writing instructor at a largish northern New Jersey university. This job involved reading and grading piles of papers every week; I think I spent almost every night for four years surrounded by papers.
In 2005, I started my current job as a professor of Classics at a small Jesuit college in Jersey City. Almost immediately, I was given administrative and academic advising duties. These (along with my enrollments—a good thing) have grown steadily. And then, I also started blogging in June of 2005 and, after about a year, was writing regularly here on Autism Vox.
Am I, as Schafly says, a “hard-working, well-organized C.E.O. type”? Certainly, I’ve some advantages with my job as I set my own teaching schedule and can take some work home, plus my college has always been very understanding about Charlie. Jim has been constantly involved, putting Charlie on the bus, coming home early for bike rides, taking Charlie on adventures on the bikes and in the black car on the weekends. I’m not as organized, though, as I could wish; once upon a time writing things in a notebook seemed to work but then I have to remember to check the notebook…. As for being a “C.E.O. type”: I like doing academic administrative work—helping students figure out how they can double-major in Economics and Mathematics and minor in History and keeping my eyes open to academic politicking, such as it is—-but am not for being an executive type.
Sarah Palin is just a few years older than me—-I’ll be 40 in a few months. As a special needs mom, I very often feel that all eyes are watching Charlie and me, and judging, and I tend to often (I suspect) convey an air of “I can handle it all, just watch.” In practice this is not true. Sure I can carry the bags and make sure Charlie carries his share and walk him out to the parking lot; sure I can teach several courses and teach Charlie cello and piano (until we get new teachers!). One thing I’ve been reminding myself (especially after a very hectic summer) is that it’s not possible to do it all. You can want to, but something has to give, and the many hours Charlie and I have spent together in playgrounds, the aisles of Target, doctors’ waiting rooms, and the pool have resulted in us having a solid relationship. We’re friends and of course he relies on me; more and more, I’m relying on Charlie.
So I’ll be watching Sarah Palin’s story unfolr with extra interest. It’s about (as another mother recently blogged) letting go. It’s not necessarily about having it all. Indeed bieing a mother, a working mother, a special needs mother, has taught me that there’s different ways of “having it all,” of working, and of mothering, too.
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So far, Barack Obama is the choice by far of the US pharmaceutical company respondents to my Obama vs. McCain Survey — 46% of these respondents say they intend to vote for Obama, whereas 27% favor McCain. Another 27% are undecided.”I’m still waiting to see who McCain picks as his running mate before seriously considering either candidate,” said one undecided respondent. “I’m not so passionate one way or another yet to make my decision at this point.”"The stakes on the environment, national security and the overall economy are too high to put them in the hands of McCain who is economically illiterate, pugilistic and will continue the Bush policies,” said an Obama fan. “While I think Republicans in general are more favorable to the industry, I believe that intelligent, nuanced policies will be more likely to be championed by Democratics, ones that will preserve IP and foster innovation while enhancing our overall economy and increasing healthcare access for all.”What do you think? Is Obama or McCain better for pharma? Take my survey and vote today!Meanwhile, we can look at PAC (political action committee) contributions to candidates by the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries to get a better idea which candidates these industries support. Again, Obama is in the lead. See the charts below (click on an image to get an enlarged view for easier reading):Source: OpenSecrets.orgUnfortunately, contributions by PACs may not accurately reflect the total contributions received by candidates. The figures certainly don’t include personal contributions by people employed in the healthcare industry. (Source: Pharma Marketing Blog)
Senator Barack Obama and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson
Is Barack Obama’s choice for Vice President Bill Richardson, the Governor of New Mexico?
Obama is running out of time in the run up to the Denver Democrat National convention which starts next Monday and he is in New Mexico today.
Flap’s pick for Hillary Clinton but gives Obama a battleground state advantage and someone who has foreign policy experience.
Stay tuned…..
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Barack Obama and his runningmate Joe Biden visited Pennsylvania today, their first stop after the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
They campaigned in the western section of the state, visiting the Pennsylvania Biodiesel plant in Monaca (subject of an earlier post) and then stopping for ice cream at the Windmill Ice Cream Shop in Aliquippa.Barack had butter pecan and Joe had a heaping helping of both chocolate and vanilla.
I ran for vice president just so I could get ice cream. That’s why I’m here.
Barack had this to say about campaigning with Joe:
I’m really pleased with Joe Biden. You know, our families have just really hit it off. We had some of his grandkids over for a sleepover with Malia and Sasha and they just had a great time. I’m absolutely convinced that Joe Biden is the right person to help move this country in the direction where working families have a shot.
Joe elaborated on his commitment to working families at a rally in Beaver, speaking about his roots in Scranton and his debt of gratitude to the United Steel Workers, the first union to endorse Biden, in his very first political race.
A crowd of over 8.000 people in Irving Park listened the pair speak about the clear choices they have in this election and heard them brag a bit about getting to meet Mike Tomlin, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After his first major speech as Barack Obama’s running mate at the Democratic National Convention last night, Joe Biden woke up early to drop by the Pennsylvania Delegation Breakfast at the Denver Marriott Tech Center this morning.
Joining him on stage were Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. ; After being introduced, Joe Biden spoke about his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He spoke about the values and ethics his parents and grandparents instilled in him and the conversations his family had at the dinner table. "There was always that there was notion that nobody was better than anyone else."
After speaking to the crowd, Joe shook hands and took pictures with nearly everyone in the room. ; Sarah Mandano-Diaz from Philadelphia said, “Everybody in Pennsylvania knows that he is like one of the family. ; I am really moved by the fact that he took his time with everyone, he was incredibly gracious” ; Joe even signed a quilt from "Berks for Obama" — an organization from Berks County, Pennsylvania — led by Cynthia Baughman. Cynthia is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from the 6th Congressional District in Pennsylvania. ; See if you can spot Cynthia (and her “one-of-a-kind” purse) in the slideshow from today’s event:
Forty-five years ago today the nation stopped to listen. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and gave a speech that created the vision of what could be possible in America. ;
Tonight the nation’s attention will be captured once again as Barack Obama accepts the Democratic party’s nomination. ;
Representative John Lewis from Georgia joined Bernice King and Martin Luther King III this evening in paying tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. ;
As Hurricane Gustav approaches and Gulf Coast residents evacuate their communities, our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are affected by this situation.
Mayor Ray Nagin has announced a mandatory evacuation for the City of New Orleans today, Sunday, August 31st. If you are in the New Orleans area, please contact the state emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 if you need more information or go to the State of Louisiana site for an updated list of evacuations by parish.
State and local government officials are working hard to ensure the safety and well-being of the people of the region, and many of you have asked how you can help too.
As the sun set over the football stadium at Dublin Coffman High School, Battalion Chief O’Connell gave a crowd count of about 18,000 people. They came to see Barack Obama and Joe Biden, joined by three of their own — Governor Ted Strickland, Senator Sherrod Brown, and former Senator John Glenn — lay out the case for the change.
It was a perfect ending to an action-filled day that ran the emotional spectrum — from hearing people’s stories at a diners and farmstands to speaking at the funeral services of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a pioneering ; Congresswoman who passed away last week.
Barack and Joe concluded the day with a press event at which they addressed Hurricane Gustav.
Barack was briefed today by Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Paulison and spoke with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, and Governor Jindal.
They spoke about how evacuation plans were going, particularly for the elderly and poor and the pre-staging of personnel and supplies in the area. They also talked about the levees in New Orleans.
Senator Obama offered whatever he could do to help.
