More Political Commentary

In this columnist's eyes, it's long past time for the media to stop with the trashing of Sarah Palin and her family, including the sexist subtext that she can't have both a high-profile job and have a family.

This has nothing to do with the political stance of Palin; this has to do with how we treat women politicians with one set of standards, and men with another. It also has to do with the whole notion of the so-called "mommy wars."

This much-ado-about-nothing over Palin reminds me of the classic Ms. essay written by Jane Brody in 1971, "Why I Want a Wife." Despite her having a somewhat nontraditional husband, Palin still doesn't have a wife.

No wife, no life is Palin's problem.


The more I think of the media harping on Palin, the more I see something else at work. Given the fact the media are in the tank for John McCain and have been for years, this constant slamming of Palin actually BENEFITS McCain and doesn't hurt him at all. McCain, in turn, can complain about media unfairness and get away with it because the media DOES appear to be unfair to him. What this does is strengthen the resolve of his supporters and pisses off other people on the fence. At the same time it hurts Obama, whether or not Obama and his campaign are up to their eyeballs in promoting the smears. I am coming to the conclusion there is a lot more than meets the eye here.

We will see if my growing suspicion is right or is just simply borderline tinfoil.