Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Sarah Palin's Pioneering Streak (Bristol Palin for President)
Townhall ^ | Wednesday, September 03, 2008 | Maggie Gallagher

Posted on 09/02/2008 10:26:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Forget about Gov. Sarah Palin.

Seventeen-year-old Bristol Palin is better qualified than Barack Obama to be president of the United States in at least one respect: Figuring out when a baby gets human rights is apparently not above her pay grade.

For better or for worse, John McCain's gutsy appointment of Sarah Palin, a 44-year-old mother of five signals a new era for women in America and perhaps the world.

Being a powerful woman poses special difficulties: Americans may pretend to enjoy (or aspire to) racial blindness, but not gender blindness. Women leaders must forge personal strategies for combining "feminine" with "powerful" even while living in a society like ours that pays lip service to the idea that gender doesn't matter anymore.

Newsflash: Of course it does. Sex is one of the more consistently powerful forces in the human psyche, and both men and women notice whether someone is female or male.

Generally, powerful female politicians fall into one of two archetypes: They are either Margaret Thatchers or Indira Gandhis.

Indira Ghandis come to power through their female family role, not in spite of it. They rise as daughters or wives in powerful political families to become mother figures -- playing off the "lady bountiful" ideal in traditional societies.

Margaret Thatchers are post-sexual figures. They're tough old biddies whose days as wives and mothers seem well behind them. Schoolmarms, crones -- they are classic female authority figures who can be trusted to exercise power "like men" because their disturbing and complicating female sexual persona has largely dissipated.

Hillary Clinton, as a pathbreaking female presidential candidate, struggled to combine both archetypes, and I think largely successfully. Hillary forged a way for a woman to appear tough and powerful enough to be president without altogether losing her female "brand."

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008rncconvention; mccain; palin; palinfamily; palinping; palinpraise
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

1 posted on 09/02/2008 10:26:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

“Bristol Palin for President” wth?


2 posted on 09/02/2008 10:27:49 PM PDT by bahblahbah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Any person that has bought a condom can tell you when life begins.


3 posted on 09/02/2008 10:30:00 PM PDT by Lizavetta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lizavetta

“Any person that has bought a condom can tell you when life begins.”

I like that... Did you make it up?


4 posted on 09/02/2008 10:36:46 PM PDT by babygene (This Government no longer works to secure our freedoms and provide for our common defense.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Sarah Palin’s youngest child has the exact same amount of executive experience as Joe Biden and Barack Obama combined.


5 posted on 09/02/2008 10:39:11 PM PDT by Question Liberal Authority (Sarah Palin got more votes running for Mayor of Wasilla than Joe Biden got running for president.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

I pray that the living hell the Dems have put this family through, will blow up in their ugly faces.


6 posted on 09/02/2008 10:39:18 PM PDT by no dems ("Extremism in the defense of Liberty is no vice...." Barry Goldwater)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: babygene
Nope......wish I did but I can't take credit.

But feel free to spread it as far as you can.

7 posted on 09/02/2008 10:42:39 PM PDT by Lizavetta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
Seventeen-year-old Bristol Palin is better qualified than Barack Obama to be president of the United States in at least one respect: Figuring out when a baby gets human rights is apparently not above her pay grade.

Tuck that killer line away for the debates. Whoa...

8 posted on 09/02/2008 10:43:23 PM PDT by Billthedrill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Question Liberal Authority
Sarah Palin’s youngest child has the exact same amount of executive experience as Joe Biden and Barack Obama combined.

And is cuter than both of them combined as well!

the infowarrior

9 posted on 09/02/2008 10:45:37 PM PDT by infowarrior (“Let the voters decide if Palin is laughable.”-Tublecane)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
What we need here is a new sexual archetype for female achievement. And I think in Gov. Palin, we have an extraordinary one: pioneer woman.

A pioneer woman is a traditional figure. She stands beside her man -- not at war with him. She takes care of her home and her community. If her man is around, maybe she lets him kill the bear. But if he falls, or fails, she picks up the rifle and gets the job done, whatever the job is that needs to be done.

Is THIS why they are so frightened of her, and trying to destroy her? In this "new" archetype, modern feminism is cast aside by classical feminism. A major perceived dependency supposedly filled by the Democrat Party is debunked. Women can again be women.

10 posted on 09/02/2008 10:47:04 PM PDT by Lexinom (Sarah Palin: more executive experience than any candidate on either ticket.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: babygene; Lizavetta

Wasn’t it originally a Peggy Noonan quote?


11 posted on 09/02/2008 10:50:54 PM PDT by lesser_satan (Satire today, headlines tomorrow...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: lesser_satan
Don't know, don't care.

It's priceless, prescient, and spot on no matter who said it.

12 posted on 09/02/2008 10:54:28 PM PDT by Lizavetta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: no dems

Im just waiting for the post game mudslinging after the Dems lose. Its going to be hilarious... “If I dont win, everyone in America is a racist” - Barakh Hussein Obama


13 posted on 09/02/2008 10:57:43 PM PDT by ketelone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: lesser_satan

Khan Noonien Singh?


14 posted on 09/02/2008 10:58:18 PM PDT by ketelone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Question Liberal Authority; nickcarraway

Bristol for President, 2028 ... I think I can dig that.


15 posted on 09/02/2008 11:00:12 PM PDT by Category Four (Joy, Fun, the Joke Proper, and Flippancy ... Flippancy is the best of all.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

God help us..
If I had to make the choice between her and Obama I’d actually go with Bristol Palin.

I sure hope that Bristol comes through this mess alright....it sure is a rough break for the poor girl. And it would be terrible if her mom lost and she blamed herself for it....we can’t let that happen!
McCain/Palin !! Contribute, take people to the polls, crawl over broken glass...do whatever it takes.


16 posted on 09/02/2008 11:07:54 PM PDT by Bobalu (Obama wants to raise taxes and kill babies. Palin wants to raise babies and kill taxes.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: lesser_satan

From her August 22nd WSJ column:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121935481067161515.html?mod=todays_columnists


17 posted on 09/02/2008 11:15:51 PM PDT by Deo volente (The New York Times: All the News That Fits, We Print.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
Figuring out when a baby gets human rights is apparently not above her pay grade.

Great line. That cannot be said enough.

18 posted on 09/02/2008 11:41:48 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (McCain/Palin '08! Real change you won't have to "believe in." You'll be able to see it!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lizavetta
Actually, I think that anyone who ever bought a DEFECTIVE condom can tell you when life begins...
19 posted on 09/02/2008 11:50:05 PM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Nobody owes you a living. Now shut up and get back to work Obama..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Let’s not get carried away here. What Bristol and her “fiance” did was wrong. Maggie Gallagher shouldn’t be celebrating. These things happen, they made the right decision on the baby, but frankly if I were in the Palins shoes I would leave both Bristol and her fiance at home for the convention.

The contrast between how the Palins handle this and Obama who has stated that he would not his girls burdened with a baby is crystal clear. Heck, he would allow it to be killed even after it was delivered.


20 posted on 09/03/2008 12:20:48 AM PDT by Roy Tucker ("You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."--Ayn Rand)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson