Re Palin's 'duty to family' meme

I'll let Erik frame the argument in response to an excellent article that Sean posts:

Knowing the insane scrutiny of a presidential campaign and knowing the attention and vitriol that will be thrown at your family if a minor, single, high school drop out [?*] child, living at home, gets pregnant, how could one in good conscious [sic] subject your family in general, and your daughter in particular to the negative media attention that will inevitably occur?

That is a cruel thing to do to your family and your daughter.

Heck, I'll even bracket it with my simple response:

Yeah, Erik. As daughter of the governor of Alaska, nobody would ever have noticed.

And Palin should have stepped down as governor FOR THE GOOD OF HER FAMILY tm.

Sucks that there’s nothing on McCain, doesn’t it?

But that's the simple answer.

Let's get this one out of the way here and now. The left is sounding the trumpets and crying HYPOCRISY!, so let's do it by the numbers.

1. This would not be a question if Palin were not a woman. (Should be end of list, end of story.)

For example: Why not ask John Edwards if he should have packed up his campaign because of his family's issues - both Elizabeth's terminal cancer and his philandering during it.

Why not ask Al Gore about the scrutiny his kids underwent - they did drugs at the time and had run-ins with the law: should he ever be in the limelight?

The list could go on interminably, except, apparently, in the case of second-time presidential candidate (and '96 Dole Veep short-lister) John McCain, whose main skeleton is that after a highly decorated, influential and insanely tortuous career, he left a troubled marriage and began another, which has lasted 28 years. I don't like divorce, but what percent of public servants would be left to run things if that were a litmus?

2. Republican VP candidate Palin should be the one, with her co-candidate and family, to decide whether the level of scrutiny and their personal issues would be liveable if she accepted the nomination.

As another commenter on Sean's thread said,

"That is a cruel thing to do to your family and your daughter."

And if Bristol was saying to Mom, “Go for it, be the VP!” then I guess it would really be cruel to do something your kid was encouraging you to do… eh, Erik?

Service and scrutiny in high political office isn't a novel thing for Bristol to consider. We don't know yet how Bristol felt, but she'd have to be pretty self-centered and immature to not consider what it meant to the rest of the family.

3. Bristol is not newly pregnant, she's five months along.

She knew, as a governor's daughter, that she would receive unkind treatment in the broader press, some flak from "reporters" trying to get quotes, and that the main difference under a presidential campaign would be the number of stories and reporters leaping from bushes, resulting in the charming need for her to have to sit for a Good Housekeeping, People, or similar publication "inside story" interview.

Personally, I think she should campaign to be Paris' new BFF. Paris could use some conservative cred to show she's her own brand of maverick.

4. When, even during the Clinton era, have high-profile politicians' kids ever gotten a break?

Mama Hillary may have come across as the 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Ol' Yeller who kept the press at bay, but if Chelsea'd turned up pregnant all bets would've been off.

5. How will this affect Palin's viability and performance as a potential VP?

It's not Palin's transgression, for you glass-house finger-pointers, it's her daughter's - and funny that you "it's Bill and Hillary's private business" people should consider it such. Palin's been able to deal with a lot and run a household and a state at the same time.

Ya think Palin was thumbin' her Blackberry when she was in Labor & Delivery back in March? She was probably advising on legislative updates, adding things to her official calendar, responding to the interest of the McCain team, and sending the family's grocery order to Peapod while working on her Lamaze breathing technique.

There. Five's good for me. Although I do reserve the right to add to this list as the "How Could She" hysteria unravels.

PS ?* Drop out? Show me the link - I think Erik's makin' this up as he goes. Not very considerate of what the young girl is going through...