On Palin and feminism With a Lowercase “f”
Almost immediately upon McCain’s announcement that he selected a beauty queen to complete his ticket, there began cries of sexism from female voters. Most voters who were up in arms criticized the selection of a “beauty queen” as a setback for women after the great strides that were made by Hillary Clinton, lo these many weeks ago. The reality is, however, that Palin is a competent leader who has all of the qualifications that even the Democrats’ top pick lacks.
Now, it would be foolish to discount Hillary Clinton’s contribution to women’s rights simply because she does not sit on the right side of the aisle; becoming the first viable female presidential candidate is no small feat. But neither is becoming the governor of one of the United States, even if it does have a modest population.
Palin raised herself up from a solid middle-class childhood to become one of the country’s most successful women today. In so doing, she did not succumb to the challenges to faith and self that lie in the weeds alongside any political life.
Raised a Roman-Catholic cum Pentecostalist, Governor Palin describes herself as a post-denominational, “Bible-believing Christian.” To the extent that voters consider the religious views of the vice-presidential candidate, this is a choice that voters can feel confident in. Having Palin to bring her strong Christian conservative views to the ticket also serves to make up for a deficit that some perceive in McCain - namely the fact that religion plays a comparatively small role in his life.
Indeed, her commitment to faith and family, perhaps best characterized by her support of her daughter in a time that could leave a lesser family in crisis, epitomizes her strength and leadership abilities better than any political decision ever could. Pity the poor liberal media that seize upon her decision as it was indicative of any fault of character.
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