I'm a hockey mom, too, having spent the last nine winters ferrying my now-15-year-old daughter to and from one frigid ice rink after another. I've been there, rising in the dark to guide a warm child into a cold car, both of them balky and cranky in the pre-dawn hours, then hurtling down the highway in a mad dash only to spend the next two hours huddling in a sports facility warm room under fluorescent lights, sipping Dunkin Donuts with the other pathetic hockey parents, all of us looking at least a decade older than we appear to those who see us in the hours after nine a.m. It's a bonding experience, the same way prison must be.
And yet for years we've been sorely overlooked, overshadowed by the more popular and telegenic soccer moms – hey, it's easy to look good when your kid plays an outdoor sport during daylight hours! You can't blame a hockey mom for feeling ignored, invisible, and under-appreciated . . .
And yet for years we've been sorely overlooked, overshadowed by the more popular and telegenic soccer moms – hey, it's easy to look good when your kid plays an outdoor sport during daylight hours! You can't blame a hockey mom for feeling ignored, invisible, and under-appreciated . . .
So I figured, when Republican presidential candidate John McCain picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and it was revealed that she's a hockey mom, too, that we must have more than a thing or two in common. And that must be what McCain figured, too. Women like me – white, 40ish, married with children – are considered to be one of this election season's swing demographics . . .
Let's start with the things we don't have in common:
1. Palin doesn't believe global warming has been proven.
2. Palin is in favor of teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools.
3. Palin believes abortion should be illegal, even in cases of rape and incest, except in limited cases in which it might be necessary to save the life of the mother (presumably so she can go on to have more children!) . . .
Basically, Palin's hockey-mom-dom is the only thing that might remotely recommend her to anyone but the most ultra-conservative voters. Turns out, for hockey-mom swing voters, a shared devotion to mouthguards might not be enough of a connection to outweigh her extreme-right stance, her inexperience and her randomness.
Read Tuttle's full post here.
Seriously, can anywhere out there explain to us the selection of Sarah Palin as anything other than a cynical bid for disgruntled Hillary supporters? This Politico item that lists six things the Palin decision says about McCain is helpful, but we're still confused by what seems like an embarrassingly bad choice.
Reader Comments ( Page 5 of 8)
61. Who goes back to work three days after having a baby? I can't believe she will have a commitment to the country when she has none to her own child. She said this baby just has one extra chromosome ???? Does this woman know anything about special needs kids? or any kids for that matter? This baby needs HER, all kids do and especially special needs children. This woman made a choice to have this child but now it's time to walk the walk. I know she feels all holier than thou for having had her baby but that is all for show. Her actions speak louder than words . The key to being a good parent is doing what is best for the child. Tell me what part of what this woman is doing is best for her child. Before you make any comments speak to a child psychologist ( I am only one year into the program) Speak to any pediatrician and then get back to me.
Ruth at 12:47AM on Sep 1st 2008
62. how much cash does she have?if its millions, mc nasty will try and drop a blue pill on that ars...
heisahoe at 1:10AM on Sep 1st 2008
63. Tim-
1. Couldn't agree more with you. The earth does what it does. What people disagree with is whether or not:
a. We should surrender our economic sovereignty to the UN through crappy agreements like Kyoto.
b. We need to drastically change our lifestyles (creature comforts) so some power-hungry Statists can have more ways to control and regulate our lives.
c. Last but not least, whether any of it will make a difference or not. If we can't stop it from happening, the only thing we can do is prepare for the upcoming catastrophe and enjoy the hell out what we have until it's gone!
I'm a conservationist. I recycle. I dry my clothes on a line. I don't litter. I am eco-conscious. I do these things because ithey are the right things to do. I don't need a limosine liberal who reduces his carbon footprint with "credits" to tell me what to do. I practice what I preach.
2. First of all, don't tell me what I believe. I didn't tell you what my opinion was concerning this issue. You need to read more carefully. I didn't say that Creationism should be taught as fact. What I said was that it IS what a large portion of our population believe and therefore should be taught for that reason alone. As many people believe that evolution is incomplete in it's explation of our beginnings as do believe that creation is a fairy tale. That's why the subjects should be mentioned. Education is more presenting opinions than it is of fact, with the exception of mathematics possibly. Everyday we learn something new. Everyday we prove something false that was true yesterday. That's an education. What is so scary about your child knowing what the other people around them believe?
3. Once again , I didn't tell you what my opinion was concerning the legality of abortion. Read more carefully. The abortion issue is probably the most illustrative issue of the coercive power of the State. Before Roe vs.Wade, abortion was legal in some states and illegal in others. If you were pro-abortion and thought that strongly about it, you could live where it was legal and vice versa. That is the point of Federalism. I do not, I repeat, I do not want any federal law concerning abortion whatsoever. The constituion didn't mention it, therefore it should be a decision left to the individual states. The constitution also guarantees us the freedom of association. That would include living in a state where enough people agree with your opinions that you can make the laws accordingly. The end of Roe vs. Wade wouldn't end abortion. It wouldn't put women in back alleys with coat hangers. It would just mean that if you want to rid yourself of "undifferentiated cell cluster" (you're right, where I come from, we call them babies) you would need to live somewhere that it is legal to do that. It wasn't anti-abortionists who caused this problem. It was pro-abortionists. They had to have unfettered abortion across the US. They pushed and now others are pushing back. They brought this on themselves. At least be honest about the who, what, when and where of this issue.
You guys love to claim that anyone who disagrees with you is pushing their beliefs down your throats. Isn't that a two-way street? That's the beauty of the way our country used to be run. We used to have choices. If you didn't like the way things were where you lived you could move to where you could be happy. Since the left started legislating from the bench with activist judges all of that changed. Now we have the right using the some tactics and the left is screaming bloody murder. I don't support ANYONE who subverts the legislative process. When you use the courts, you take away the peoples' voice. If something needs changing get the votes and change it. If you don't have enough votes, get out and change peoples' minds. Some guys in blacks robes handing down edicts ffom on high is not democracy. It's not fair either.
Don't Tread On Me,
Eric
ericoverthere at 1:33AM on Sep 1st 2008
64. Wow!
Since when did the left decide being a stay-at-home mom was a good idea?
I thought we needed mandatory pre-school so working women wouldn't have to take time off from their careers bacause of child-rearing?
I guess since she's not one of yours...
ericoverthere at 1:37AM on Sep 1st 2008
65. For those of you who believe in global warming, read some of the findings from Prof. Reid Bryson of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He has said that the earth has been warming for 300 years, since the last mini ice age ended around 1700.
Before the last mini ice age, wine was produced in Scandanavia, so that tells you how much warmer Scandanavia was then, compared to now.
Prof. Bryson also claims that the earth lacks enough weather data-gathering sites to be able to reach any conclusion as to whether the planet is getting warmer because of man's use of fossil fuels.
Finally, Prof. Bryson notes that carbon dioxide makes up less than 1% of the atmosphere, and that doubling or tripling the about of CO2 would still have a level less than 1%.
The biggest component of the atmosphere is water vapor, and use of fossil fuel leads to increased water vapor in the atmosphere, which helps cool the earth.
Remember that after 9/11, the only air traffic was military. All commerical and general aviation flights were grounded from around noon ET on Tuesday until midday on Friday. In areas with no changes in weather patterns, temperatures rose.
Why?
A lack of airplanes meant that there were no contrails to form cloud cover. So, more sun light reached the ground, warming air temperatures. In Chicago, you can have no clouds in the early morining, but by midday, it's partly cloudy. With every aircraft flying at 30,000+ feet, contrails form that help obscure the sun a bit.
So, perhaps Sarah Palin isn't as far out in left field as people think.
Granted, her view on teaching creationism in the public schools is wrong, but then I believe she belongs to the Assemblies of God denomination. That church is just loco about science. As a enlightened Methodist minister once said, creationism and intelligent design are theories stemming from the Judeo-Christian tradition. So long as we believe in separation of church and state, they must not be taught in science classes in public schools and colleges, but rather in religion or philosophy classes.
As to her view on abortion, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that many Catholic hockey moms in Chicago, whose sons wind up playing for teams in Catholic high schools, probably hold similar views to Gov. Palin.
Remember that the pro-choice moms are either Catholics who believe the Pope needs to wake up realize that this is the 21st Century, and not the 19th Century, or mainline Protestants. Conservative Protestants and Catholics who follow all teachings of the church to the letter are pretty much pro-life.
Kent at 2:12AM on Sep 1st 2008
66. 21. Let's compare Sarah Palin to Barack Obama, as it relates to change and political reform.
xx
Obama laid out 29 points in his acceptance speech alone.
This includes tax breaks for 95% of us, capital gains reductions on small businesses, universal health care, penalizing corporations for outsourcing, ending tax breaks for American corporations with offshore maildrops, energy independence in ten years with funding for startup energy businesses and retooling industrial areas, tax credits for green compliance and for college education. And the GI bill. Remember, mcsame wanted 12 years of service before eligibilty. That's outrageous.
You will also see restraint of trade and corporate collusion laws that have not been enforced since Reagan.
This will affect ALL business done in America and it's the single most important reform step.
It will enable small startups to get a foothold and compete and begin regulating banks and equities trading more closely.
Obama's and our party's objective is to ensure that the American economy once again serves the American Interests and the American people, ESPECIALLY the shrinking middle class, not offshore profiteers or a tiny number of obscenely wealthy individuals that lobbied to tilt the board, then raped america under Reagan and post reagan redistribution.
Under Obama you will see the withdraw of troops from Iraq that he and Maliki have forced the bush administration to get into line with.
He'll stop endless rotations overseas and redeploy to Afghanistan and Pakistan and CATCH Bin Laden!
And the accounting adds up. It will pay and we will prosper as we have always done under democratic government.
There will be execs who are making billions while bankrupting the companies they head, and that will come to an end if the Clayton Act is once again enforced.
With Sarah Palin, you'll see none of that.
You'll see the same war, the same banking, the same shrinking middle class, poorer education, more hunger, more joblessness, more trillions borrowed from communists and arabs, the same housing crises, WORSE health care since mccain would put an end to group insurance rates, shrinkage of lifespan, more work for less money, and about 300 people becoming so obscenely wealthy it easily surpasses anything in our history by feeding on what the rest of us earned.
No, there is NO reform in sight with the polar bear hater.
She is 100% neocon, as far loony right as anyone can get without wearing a swastika and she's a perfect sockpuppet for neocons if you turn out to have elected John McCorpse.
The problem is you all are crazy to have put Bush into office in the first place,and even crazier to think anything would change. Your party has a high incidence of easily avoided self-inflicted injury.
I see her as as much or worse threat to America's future as Mccain, but your party is reckless and impulsive in practice and never considers consequences.
This could be fatal for our Nation.
Obama has ten times the education, is many times more intelligent and is already recognized internationally as a world leader and statesman.
His policies I outlined here are intelligent and DOABLE!
With sarah, whatever dick cheney or paul wolfowitz or pat robertson or that hagee idiot says, she believes.
She is a creationist, meaning that, sorry, she isn't rational.
In the 21st century, if your science literacy is about two hundred years behind reality because of your superstitions you shouldn't be running for anything, except maybe your life from polar bears..
Clif Kuplen at 2:48AM on Sep 1st 2008
67. The difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama is that when Mrs. Palin entered political office and saw corruption, she fought it, and when Mr. Obama saw corruption, he turned the other way (at best) or thrived off of it (at worst). Why do I think he’ll say that he didn’t know it was happening? So much for his keen insight
Jack at 4:36AM on Sep 1st 2008
68. What I find the most galling and maddening is the assumption that providing a woman for "us" to vote for will be effective in shifting votes from Obama to McCain. How patronizing can you get? And doesn't this move sum up in one action the McCain camp's real feeling is on women.....just give them a female and we'll have them, who cares if her politics are 180 degrees from Hilary Clinton's. They're all the same....
So, unless you really support the politics, don't be fooled by anybody's skin color, gender or hair color. Vote on their record, on their ability to communicate their stances. Use your own brain to make your decision, not the hype or political posturing.
Sally at 12:17PM on Sep 1st 2008
69. I am a moderate Republican and Sarah Palin's views are her own I do not believe that she will force them upon others which I dislike about certain elements of this Party. I find her to be a totally refreshing choice for any public office. She is tough, practical, very self confident and knows corruption when she sees it and doesnt' stand for it. SHe is also highly principled and firm in her own beliefs - the birth of her fifth child affirms that. Most important she is beacon of hope for women of the world who are totally oppressed in many countries. She is an American icon of rugged individualism in a skirt. These are the talents and traits that our Country needs in Washington and in the eyes of the world She has my vote.
Michelle at 10:20AM on Sep 1st 2008
70.
In the 21st century, if your science literacy is about two hundred years behind reality because of your superstitions you shouldn't be running for anything, except maybe your life from polar bears..
Clif Kuplen at 2:48AM on Sep 1st 2008
Funny, thing, Eskimos,Alieuts,Inuits, and other Native North Americans seem to be able to deal with the two competing ideas. The live in the 21st century but also hold in reverence those beliefs that have been handed down from generation to generation. But then again I guess they are merely savages since they do not support only one side of the equation. They are able to live with both.
M2D5 at 10:52AM on Sep 1st 2008
71. 64. The difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama is that when Mrs. Palin entered political office and saw corruption, she fought it, and when Mr. Obama saw corruption, he turned the other way (at best) or thrived off of it (at worst). Why do I think he’ll say that he didn’t know it was happening? So much for his keen insight
Jack
xxxx
No Jack, the FBI and the IRS did the fighting. BTW, your gal is under investigation for ethics violations as we speak.
Tim at 10:53AM on Sep 1st 2008
72. Both McCain and Palin make a good team and demonstrate that they both care.
Their trip to the hurricane zone is proof McCain and Governor Palin care about the average person like us, I am definitely voting for McCain in November. I feel like he can be trusted to lead way better than Obama.
I will miss Mike Huckabee. Perhaps he will be Joint Chief of Staff. But I think Palin is a far better choice than MITT Romney. So I am quite pleased. As I learn more about her the more I see it was a brilliant choice. I am happy with it. Mike Huckabee hasn't really lost, because his message of change and reform are now in a female body. And despite of Obama's disinformation Campaign, McCain is the real agent of Change and Reform against both the republican and democrat establishment.
Most American's DO NOT favor abortion. Nor do they wish to align themselves with factions dedicated in butchering innocent babies inside and outside the womb. And NO, that baby is NOT the women's body; it is a separate body with a separate heartbeat and separate brain activity. And YES, the unborn baby FEELS PHYSICAL PAIN as it is being ripped out of what should be the safest place on earth - mother's womb!
The Planned Parenthood abortionists lie to young women all the time just to get their money, while those ex-mothers and ex-fathers suffer emotional distress as they realize everyday that they have just allowed a child killer to convince them, not only to take their money, but also to kill their precious little baby. Abortion STOPS A BEATING HEART and the future of a civilization.
People weep and wail over the loss of a High School football player destined for a great professional career who had been gunned down by a random shooter, but yet we will never know the great deficit future generations will suffer for the loss of over 50 million innocent babies in this country alone. Shame on America for tolerating this horror ... and shame on its citizens for tolerating their personal complacency. Pro-choice is a lie - Babies do not choose to die!
Away with this archaic freakish, barbaric practice! It will soon be done away with, along with these fake pro-abortion polling numbers! As long as the president chooses judicial nominees his Vice-president better be pro-Life if he is ever going to win an election.
"A nation that cannot protect its most innocent and helpless citizens and the sanctity of human life is a weak nation that will utterly collapse economically, socially, relationally and entirely." - HMH
RICHARD ROBLES at 10:56AM on Sep 1st 2008
73. Funny, thing, Eskimos,Alieuts,Inuits, and other Native North Americans seem to be able to deal with the two competing ideas. The live in the 21st century but also hold in reverence those beliefs that have been handed down from generation to generation. But then again I guess they are merely savages since they do not support only one side of the equation. They are able to live with both.
M2D5
xxxx
Have any belief system ya like. Just don't seek national office so you can use it as a bully pulpit.
If ya believe that thunder is caused by Thor then a job as a meteorologist ain't for you and if ya think the stork brings babies, neonatology might not be your bag and if ya think there really is a controversy to teach in science class and ya wanta force that on our school system, then polotics shouldn't be your bag either
Tim at 10:58AM on Sep 1st 2008
74. Bitch, bitch, bitch......some people can't help but bad mouth everyone for anything. Ms. Palin seems like an appropriate choice for the VP post. She possibly has as much experience as does Biden...who I think has had 1 year of experience and 35 years of the same. Just because she is pro life and has a great family and a positive productive life...maybe a bit of jealousy is sneaking in. I am 77 now and once was a Hockey Dad.
az at 11:09AM on Sep 1st 2008
75. Ada you are nuts and I had to laugh hockey moms!!!!!!!! Sara is correct in the global warming crap. If you were to look 40 years ago we had alot of record highs and lows. This global warming is a joke, it is not proven.. The earth has and will continue to go in cycles. no stopping it. Also read your bible you sill se taht abortion is wrong in the eyes of god and so is gay marriage. Sarah new she had a down syndrome child before he was born and she DID NOT abort him. I commend her for this. and she has a 79% approval rating plus more experiance than obama has,, so what is your next GRIPE!
tom at 1:58PM on Sep 1st 2008