I bet she knows what “gralloch” means

Perhaps the new GOP VP candidate, Sarah Palin (R-AK) will be available to explain to Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) when human life begins.

And I bet she knows what "gralloch" means, too!

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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89 Comments

  1. James Isabella says:

    From what I have read about Sarah Palin, she seems like a wonderful person, and I love the fact that she’s pro-life, a whistleblower on corruption, and believes in lower taxes…

    …at the same time, she’ll be a heartbeat away from being president, and its hard to condemn Obama for being inexperienced if you choose an equally inexperienced (and possibly even less experienced) running mate.

    With that said, if she is the choice SNL will have to get Tina Fey back to play her in their skits!

  2. EJ says:

    I just heard and all I can say is an electrified “WOW!” – After giving birth to a child with downs syndrome this past April, Gov. Palin can not only tell Speaker Pelosi and her party of death, cowardice and darkness when life begins, but she is a living testament to the beauty of choosing life, and the blessings that come with it.

  3. Brian Day says:

    I am pleased that Gov. Palin was chosen. Solidly pro-life, fiscal conservative, hunter and fisherman. You bettcha’ she knows what gralloch means.

    To know that your unborn baby has Downs Syndrome and chooses to keep him solidifies her bona fides as pro-life. Good choice Senator McCain!

  4. Papabile says:

    This is GOOD for the base. McCain needs that. This is good for his committment to life issues. This is a good sign for ANWR. This is a good thing…. it’s like picking a Cheney.

    She has littered Alaska with the bodies of former Murkowski staffers.

  5. Jenny Z says:

    I’m thrilled for this choice.

    I wish she would speak up against the Speaker. That’d just make my week.

  6. Dan P. says:

    Contrast Pelosi’s WORDS with Palin’s ACTIONS:

    On April 18, 2008, Palin gave birth to her second son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, who has Down syndrome. Palin refused to let the results of prenatal genetic testing change her decision to have the baby. “I’m looking at him right now, and I see perfection,” Palin said. “Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?”[13]

  7. Deusdonat says:

    Geeze. I really wish people would bother to read through the thread before they comment.

  8. TJM says:

    Depressed Deusdonat? Tom

  9. ThomasB says:

    She at least has executive experience – something Obamma has none of. Not a lawyer, not a senator – another plus.

  10. Deusdonat says:

    TJM – no. Just a bit puzzled/mildly disgusted at how people don’t bother to read the preceding posts. If they would do so, it would foster conversation, rather than have the effect of graffiti. I realise some people think they are just inherrently profound and unique, but if they took the time to review the words of those who came previously, they might just find out someone has said the exact same thing just 3 posts prior. Maybe this is too much of a shock to the ego for them? I dunno.

  11. Bob says:

    I have to say that I am thrilled by this choice. I am not a big fan of McCain but this pick definitely boosts the ticket to a good spot. I would have preferred to see the roles reversed but this is what it is. This puts me solidly behind McCain.

  12. She was born on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. We are celebrating the 150th year of the apparitions of Our Lady to St. Bernadette. Also, concerning the birth of her special child, today is the day that Fr. Denis O’Brien passed away. He was co-founder of American Life League along with Judie Brown and 25 years ago this year, he founded Pastoral del Amor in the Yucatan for down syndrome children, who had been abandoned or their families could not take care of them.
    http://www.semperficatholic.com/page20.html

  13. James Isabella says:

    “She at least has executive experience – something Obamma has none of. Not a lawyer, not a senator – another plus.”

    Ok, she was mayor (and council member) of a very small town, and has been governor for a year.

    I’ll grant you that that is more executive experience than Obama, but hardly a ringing endorsement for a VP pick! Especially considering McCain’s age and health means a greater likelyhood of her having to assume power at some point.

    Listen, I’m as pro-life as anyone here…but I have concerns. How’s she going to look in the debates with Biden?

    This could turn out to be great…but I’m not convinced yet. Make me a believer, Sarah!

  14. Aelric says:

    Alas, I can already hear Biden dusting off Reagan’s: “I refuse to take advantage, for political gain, of my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

    I do look forward to her calling out Biden in a debate as a hypocrite.

  15. TJM says:

    Deusdonat,

    I guess I’m missing your point. Father Z really posed 2 disparate thoughts. Many commenters went with the first with regards to Pelosi. If
    they echo each others thoughts on the point I don’t see the problem. This astute selection by McCain makes it very difficult for alleged Catholics to vote for the Democratic presidential ticket. Let’s see: McCain/Palin, both pro-life; Obama/Biden, both pro-death for the unborn. No contest. It has gotten very tiresome listening to the apologetics and mental gymnastics of “Catholics” voting for a Party which sponsors, aids and abets abortion. In the
    future, I’m planning on tuning them out because it is pointless to continue listening to them. They simply don’t care what the Church teaches.

    Tom

  16. JML says:

    Is she Catholic\?

    Not that it matters as it is nice to see an elected official who chooses the pro life position when many in the world would choose abortion.

  17. Jordanes says:

    Gov. Palin is evangelical Protestant.

    As for her relative inexperience, she has more executive experience than McCain, Biden, and Obama combined.

  18. Jason Petty says:

    From elsewhere on “teh internets”:

    “Reporter: Senator McCain, since you won’t give us a name, can you at least tell us where the VP candidate is from?

    McCain: Alaska.

    Reporter: No, Senator, I’m asking YOU where she’s from.

    McCain: Juneau.

    Reporter: No, Senator, I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking!”

    (I’ll go hide now.)

  19. Dan P. says:

    Deusdonat,
    No its not my ego. My point was to emphasize the quote itself, specifically, “I’m looking at him right now, and I see perfection,” Palin said. I didn\’t mean to \”ignore\” your post. But thanks for pointing out that I should check my ego at the door…we all should.

  20. Fr. Angel says:

    Jordanes:

    Very good point. Not only that, she charged into her office and got rid of the old guard linked to corruption with big oil. She also slashed pork from her state’s budget. A woman who is not afraid to clean house will have no problems facing Biden in a debate. And from what I see of his rhetorical skills, he has little to brag about.

    I would like to see Biden, in a debate, explain to a mother of five including a Down’s syndrome boy born after she became governor, why abortion is so great for woman and why they just don’t need an unwanted child.

    She is practicing and devout evangelical Protestant, totally against gay marriage, and involved actively with the pro-life movement.

  21. momof8 says:

    It was a very smart pick. She is young,pro-life, pro-family, fresh, witty, ethical and fights corruption.. something that needs to be fought in Washington.

    The DNC cant accuse her of much..except for her lack of experience.. but hey.. Obama doesnt have experience and he is pushing this “change” well.. McCain just gave the folks of the USA a huge gift— Someone who is ready and able to bring about CHANGE and not the same old song and dance we have been getting from Both sides of the ticket..

    I would venture to say that alot of Regean Democrats will be voting for McCain.. To include the Hillary supporters as well..

  22. Paul says:

    Deusdonat, it’s called a “Comment” section, not a “Conversation” section. That’s what makes it so great.

  23. ThomasB says:

    Her first speech is very encouraging! As a father of a disabled child, I am moved by her loving care for her youngest, and seeing him carried by his older sister was a beautiful thing!

  24. Deusdonat says:

    Dan – this had nothing to do with my comment(s). I was referring to the fact that Brian Day essentially said the same thing 3 posts prior (and you expanded on it). And you are not alone here as this happens far too often unfortunately.

    Paul – why bother to leave a public comment if you think no one will read them?

    Thomas – very good points. People often refer to “special needs” children. But I think we should also acknowledge and applaud the special needs parents who care for them. It definitely takes a large dose of courage and moral fortitude. My hat’s off to you, sir.

  25. Paul Haley says:

    This was an incredible selection by McCain who obviously did his homework. As to her supposed lack of experience, what matters most to me are her ethics, morality and principles and on this basis her selection is more than justified. Of course, there is much more to see and to know about her in the course of the campaign but if she has to take the reins of command, rest assured there will be many to help her with the details. I for one do not worry about this possibility.

  26. Jeff R. says:

    Just a thought regarding the “inexperienced” issue. I actually think that, if we take a step back, this is a great pick. Ok, so she has “less experience than Obama.” But every time her lack of experience gets mentioned, it will get mentioned hand in hand with Obama’s lack of experience. Every story about her “flaw” is also a story about HIS flaw, and the more attention that gets in the news, the better. Even if the Democrats attack McCain for picking someone with “less experience than Obama” that won’t put Obama in a good light. So, she rallies the social conservative base, she attracts and excited women who might not have been so thrilled by McCain before, and whenever she gets attacked about her lack of experience, it will always involve a reminder to the public about Obama’s lack of experience. But there is one difference: everyone expects a President to be more experienced.

  27. Brian Day says:

    Deusdonat,

    There were no posts to read when I started to compose my comment. If you look at the time stamps for the posts, mine was posted only 2 minutes after the first one.

    And I was the first (and only?) to comment on “gralloch”.

    I’m sorry that I don’t type faster! :-)

  28. Cornelius says:

    At least one commentator has said she’s Roman Catholic, not evangelical Protestant.

  29. Jordanes says:

    I was referring to the fact that Brian Day essentially said the same thing 3 posts prior (and you expanded on it). And you are not alone here as this happens far too often unfortunately.

    Hopefully Father Zuhlsdorf won’t ever institute a rule that commenters are not allowed to say essentially the same thing as previous posters while expanding and elaborating upon what the previous posters said. If he did, all discussion here would grind to a permanent halt.

  30. Cornelius says:

    Specifically, Ed Rollins writes:

    “[Palin] is a young, articulate, smart, tough, pro-life Roman Catholic who is the governor of our northernmost state. She is conservative and a mother of 5, including a son in the Army who is set to be deployed to Iraq on September 11. Her youngest child has Down syndrome.”

  31. Deusdonat says:

    Hopefully Father Zuhlsdorf won’t ever institute a rule that commenters are not allowed to say essentially the same thing as previous posters while expanding and elaborating upon what the previous posters said. If he did, all discussion here would grind to a permanent halt.

    [sigh] uh…yes. Let’s hope he doesn’t. Although I have a sneaking suspicion he would never resort to something as tedious as this ridiculous hypothetical. So, we can all rest easy.

  32. Jordanes says:

    Cornelius, Ed Rollins is wrong. She’s a non-denominational evangelical Protestant.

    http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2008/08/sarah_palin_on.html

  33. Jordanes says:

    See also:

    http://dwb.adn.com/news/politics/story/8334949p-8231037c.html

    Palin’s parents say they are not political and don’t know how she decided to turn her ambition and work ethic toward politics. Her Christian faith, they say, came from her mother, who took her children to area Bible churches as they were growing up (Sarah is the third of four siblings). They say her faith has been steady since high school, when she led the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and grew stronger as she sought out believers in her college years. Palin doesn’t brandish her religion on the campaign trail, but that doesn’t prevent others from doing so. . .

  34. Bryan Jackson says:

    What exactly is a gralloch, and is there backstory I should be aware of?

  35. There’s another way to look at Palin’s selection.

    For nearly 25 years, conventional wisdom has held that the women of the United States will enter the voting booth, lock step, and sing the loud crescendo of feminism by electing one of their sisters as part of the team at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

    And this time, conventional wisdom may finally get it right.

    The only difference is that the feminist movement’s Grand Triumph won’t be led the Holy Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits. Rather, it will be led by the real women of America.

    The Soccer Moms. The Hockey Moms. The Moms Who Loves Being Moms.

    Moms Who Love their Husbands. Moms Who Love Their Kids.

    Catholic Moms. Jewish Moms. Protestant Moms. Islamic Moms.

    Real Moms.

    http://www.brianmcdaniel.org/?p=811

  36. fortradition says:

    I was thrilled to hear McCain’s vp choice. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will attract many of the hillary supporters. Those supporters seem to be the last remnants of the dying feminist movement. With the newest technologies in sonograms, these pro-abort fems have a harder time convincing women that human life is not worthy of being born. In choosing Palin, McCain will shore up the large voting block of Catholics and Evangelicals.

  37. Margaret says:

    Thomas8, once I stopped jumping up and down screaming and clapping that McCain made such a good pro-life move, I had the same thought as you. My oldest has global apraxia and Aspgerger’s, and we’ve been through the wringer over the years, trying to get him the services he needed so he could simply speak clearly enough to be understood by non-family members, learn to tie his shoes, etc.

    The mother of a special needs child in the White House?!?? Maybe she’ll make it one of her projects to rewrite IDEA (again) and try to really make it work for specials needs children and families, in a way that doesn’t bankrupt anybody.

  38. Noel says:

    Gralloch is a verb. Scottish. To disembowel. What you do to a deer, for instance.

  39. supertradmom says:

    I am delighted with the choice. (And, she is a pro-life evangelical Protestant). What an example for women in the United States, as a mom with a five children including the Down’s Syndrome child. What a contrast to the Democratic Party Platform supporting Roe v. Wade.

    This is a total coup for the Republicans. Evangelicals and Catholics unite!

  40. Chironomo says:

    It was humorous that so many liberal commentators picked up on the special needs child immediately. To hear a liberal commentator say that a woman isn’t capable of working and raising a child at the same time is truly the death-knell of radical feminism. They will keep up this attack and destroy their own arguments of the last 50 years all for the sake of advancing a candidate that they all know was the second-string choice to begin with. They could have owned this issue and instead they have allowed it to be used against them, and their only defense is to adopt the arguments of the conservative right. This is precious.

  41. Jordanes says:

    Here’s the Catholic News Service story about her:

    http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0804436.htm

  42. Deusdonat says:

    I am delighted with the choice.

    I think it’s a good one as well.

    (And, she is a pro-life evangelical Protestant).

    Yeah..well…nobody’s perfect.

    Evangelicals and Catholics unite!

    Let’s not get crazy : ) I will however vote for the ticket which most closely speaks to my personal faitha nd values, in this case it is clearly McCain – Palin. That does not mean I am voting in unity or solidarity with heretics.

  43. EDG says:

    James Isabella – Don’t forget that Palin’s state borders on RUSSIA. I’m sure she’s much more aware of things relating to Russia and Asia than anybody on the other ticket is. Going to embassy cocktail parties – or having grown up outside of the US, as Obama did – is not foreign policy experience. Furthermore, in addtion to her state’s geographical proximity, she was involved in an official capacity in negotiations in the petroleum, energy and pipeline areas prior to becoming governor.

    As an aside, her husband is half Alaskan Eskimo – I wonder if he has any Orthodox family members? Many of the native tribes were evangelized by the Orthodox.

  44. Guy Power says:

    Papabile says: This is a good thing…. it’s like picking a Cheney.

    She’s an NRA life-member — I’ll bet you a dollar to a doughnut SHE’s safe to go hunting with.

  45. Garrett says:

    EDG,

    It seems he is an eighth Eskimo, not half.

  46. Mike says:

    Good pick, but although she’s pro-life, I doubt she’s pro-family. Five kids, one of whom has Downs all demanding her love and care, and she’ll be spending most of her time in DC? Are you kidding? They need their mother around, surely. It’s feminism gone mad.

  47. Deusdonat says:

    Mike – I don’t know how you can come up with that irrational conclusion. You don’t think her family will be with her in DC? And most parents with any means have daycare or nannies for their children. Families come in various forms, not just in the Ozzie and Harriet variety.

  48. Mike says:

    Deusdonat – with all respect, daycare and nannies are not the same as true mothers, and the children know it. Radical feminism, particlarly of this kind, is unnatural and is as much a threat to the family as any other.

  49. Tina in Ashburn says:

    Just heard on Fox News that Palin is pro-life but supports the choice in the case of a mother’s health. I was very discouraged to hear this. If this is true, then nobody will be happy: the anti-lifers will say she too restrictive and the pro-lifers will say she’s pro-life enough. You know that ‘mother’s health’ loophole is big enough through which to drive a truck.

    I hope I heard wrong – or maybe Palin has been misinterpreted.

  50. Tina in Ashburn says:

    oops, above, thats “pro-lifers will say she’s NOT pro-life enough.”
    sorry.

  51. malta says:

    Mike,

    I have four children who desperately need their mother, but I agree with Deusdonat that “families come in various forms.” Certainly, their have been Queens, great Catholics who juggled family and responsibility. That said, I agree with you (I think) as well, that too many women put career before family. Children really do need their mothers; stay-at-home-dad doesn’t cut-it, in my opinion (their ARE biological , sociological, and emotional differences between men and women.) We need to promote and support stay-at-home-moms. But someone like Pallin has my vote and support.

  52. Jerry says:

    Being Governor of a State (and a Mayor of a city prior to that) results in substantially more decision making experience than a Congressman or Senator ever gets. Yesif elected she is only a heartbeat away from being President but she also appreciates and supports the heartbeat in the womb. I’ll take her over either of the two running on the Democratic side and, in fact, if something were to happen to McCain I’d take her over him too.

  53. Felicitas says:

    Mike and others, as I understand it, Palin’s husband Todd takes care of the little one. It’s not like the child is being handed off to strangers.

  54. Jordanes says:

    Tina said: Just heard on Fox News that Palin is pro-life but supports the choice in the case of a mother’s health.

    That would be news to me, and to everyone else I think. Gov. Palin has been pretty forthright and blunt about being “as pro-life as anyone can be.”

  55. Antiquarian says:

    The Vice-President has a very private mansion in DC on the grounds of the Naval Observatory, a very good place to be a kid (I know– I was one back in the Dark Ages when my father was stationed there). Some congressmen and senators commute to their home districts, but for security reasons alone, the VP won’t. She’ll move the family to Washington, I think.

  56. Jim Dorchak says:

    She will be the “Glenda the good Witch” side of the fight in 4 years when Hillary (Wicked witch of the west / broon hilda / what ever….) is back in the dog fight ring. Yes I know there is no such thing as a good witch.

    Jim Dorchak

  57. m.a. says:

    A woman with no experience in foreign affairs is a heartbeat away from the presidency if the repubs win. I don’t feel very comfortable about that in a world like ours… especially with an aging McCain.

  58. Jordanes says:

    But m.a., if McCain doesn’t win, a man with no experience in foreign affairs will be no heartbeats away from the presidency. So whom should we choose? The man with no executive and foreign affairs experience with a running mate with no executive and foreign affairs experience (sorry, that Senate committee doesn’t count), or the man with no executive and foreign adffairs experience with a running mate with some executive and no foreign affairs experience? (Oh, and did we mention that one ticket is ardently pro-abortion and pro-homosexual pseudomarriage, while the other ticket is ardently pro-life and committed to defending natural marriage?)

  59. Anne says:

    m.a. – could you please outline Obama’s foreign affairs experience bearing in mind that he’s in the #1 spot? God forbid but Biden or Obama could keel over tonight – remember Tim Russert?

    Hap, hap, happy she’s a strong pro-lifer for ALL citizens. :)

  60. Anne says:

    Watching the news today I found it ironic that the pro-abortion/pro-infanticide party was concerned about a mother having a career.

  61. Thomas F. Miller says:

    Deusdonot
    I’m getting a little bit tired of your several negative postings over time, although I know you should not care much about that. I understand from one of those previous posts that you believe you know more than any of the other commentators about Catholicism, and you likely know more than me.
    But, I was incensed about your cauterwaling some time back about the Gregorian Mass being held in Marinwood where it is inconvenient for you. Yes, crossing the Golden Gate from San Francisco is a chore, but several people took the bus from San Francisco to Petaluma before the move to Marinwood, and you seem to be happily sitting it out in San Francisco.
    If you aren’t already doing something more important for the Church already, I do wish you’d cease to be as negative as you have been. I can’t forget that people have died for this Mass.

    Try joining us in Marinwood if you can. We’ve actually got the beginnings of a fair Schola, with not less than six and once eight, a couple of whom approach professionalism. Despite the loss of about 25 of the Petaluma group who decided to return there when Gregorian Masses were reinstated August 3, 2008, Holy Rosary is being successful well beyond my expectations. Our initial Mass had 132 congregants (very much our high thus far, curiosity being a fact), but we’ve gone over 100 twice in five months, bot of those on consecutive Sundays about a month ago. Father Young, a brilliant student of St. Thomas Aquinas which shows in his sermons, decided to institute a Holy Day of Obligation Mass for August 15th. I forecast attendance of 6-12, Father Young suggested perhaps 25-30. A colleague thought she would be overjoyed with 35. We had seventy-four. So much for a couple of Math degrees and a half-century history of statistical experience.

    Archbishop Niederauer has been a pleasant surprise in approving our Mass, and his cooperation and graciousness has been exemplary, as has that of his Chancellor, Father Padazewski. I expect a move into a San Francisco Parish might not be so successful. My own experience is that Father Tom Daly, our host at Holy Rosary as its Chaplain, has been supportive, as has the staff at St. Isabella’s Parish, of which our Mass is a Mission. There is clearly resistance in other areas, surprisingly perhaps from a layman who chose to throw his considerable political and fundraising weight around, but that can be overcome, perhaps due to the Archbishops support. I cannot say enough for the Archbishop, who has asked for cooperation from all concerned, and it seems to be present. I confidently expect an average of 100-110 per Sunday by year-end. We have a beautiful Church, a fine Priest who deserves our prayers and support (he too lives in San Francisco and very inconveniently for him commutes for the Mass to Marin) whose sermons are absolutely and solidly orthodox, an improving Schola Cantorum with a professional Music Director and a once a month organist when our Director cannot be present. We plan on a monthly Catechism after the 12:15 Mass on either the second or third Sunday; hold confessions between 11:30 and 12:00 before Mass; the congregants say the Rosary before Mass. Our ongoing plans conssider the possibility of a daily Mass; the Chapel is almost always unused between our Mass on Sundays and a Novus Ordo held there the following Sunday at 9:30.
    If anybody wishes, you might look up the Marin newspaper article of July 13th, 2008 about our operation. They had it on the front page (about two full columns) with most of two columns of the second page, with color pictures. The web site is marinij.com. It of course helped us greatly.

  62. Phil Steinacker says:

    Sarah Palin has more executive experience than the other three top-tier candidates combined. Eight years as mayor (yes, of a very small town) and nearly two years as governor.

    The other three have zero years experience in ANY executive capacity.

    Obama has zero years experience in foreign policy, and that has to be compared
    against the slot opposite his – McCain, who does have some foreign policy
    experience, but only in a military and legislative context.

    Biden has 35 years on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, but before Democrats (or any one else) get all excited about that, please remember the U.S. Senate is a place where a perennial officeholder from a small state like Delaware can slowly move upwards to the top slot of ANY committee just by virtue of showing up every day for 35 years. It does NOT connote deep, valuable experience of the sort we’d all like to see on the job.

    Anyone who has followed Slow Joe’s career knows he’s of only average intelligence, with a marked tendency to run his mouth. The result is a career-long trail of verbal faux paux that offers McCain the opportunity to release one embarrassing quote each day until Nov. 4. Besides, Biden’s FP experience is only slightly less thin than McCain’s or Obama’s since Senatorial experience in ANY area remains only legislative.

    That context hardly constitutes hands-on experience in any area. Sarah Palin, as
    governor of Alaska, has had to deal with the reality of the Russian bear right
    across the water. She probably has more hands on foreign policy experience in that context than the other three combined.

    Didn’t I just describe in similar terms the contrast between her executive
    experience compared to the other three?

    Yeah. She’ll be ready to serve as pres in 2012..she’ll still have more experience than Hilary, then.

  63. Lori Ehrman says:

    For the above poster, Mike, who doesn’t understand that good holy moms come in many different packages here is a link to the Vatican on St. Gianna Molla [url]http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20040516_beretta-molla_en.html[/url]

    [quote]With simplicity and equilibrium she harmonized the demands of mother, wife, doctor and her passion for life.[/quote]

  64. Lori Ehrman says:

    Sorry about the above link dilemma. I couldn’t figure it out.

  65. RBrown says:

    A woman with no experience in foreign affairs is a heartbeat away from the presidency if the repubs win. I don’t feel very comfortable about that in a world like ours… especially with an aging McCain.
    Comment by m.a.

    I am more concerned that for the 3rd time in US history, a sitting Senator will take over the White House. The previous two–Harding and Kennedy–had average or below average Presidencies. Interesting that both died in office.

    Despite the music from the still-playing Kennedy PR machine, JFK made major mistakes. Khrushchev cleaned his clock at the Vienna Conference. And then there was the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam.

    Neither TR, FDR, nor Ike ever were members of the Senate.

  66. malta says:

    I don’t think we should pick on Mike; he posits a very good point: What happened to the Traditional Family?

    I support Pallin, but today the norm is for the mom to work, and for the “Village,” ala Hilary Clinton to take over in raising our children. Is that what we want? The Dems are all into hyper-ventilated child-“care” programs. The degeneration of the Family only takes little steps to effectuate….

  67. Regarding experience….

    Bill Clinton, former Governor of Arkansas, had no problems taking on the presidency at 46 years of age.

    I don’t think a 44 year old Governor from Alaska will have any problems either, should something happen to McCain.

    She certainly didn’t go to the little governor’s school to get experience with that, and at an 80% approval rating, and with all her accomplishments, I think she is showing that she learns very fast.

    Gov. Mike Huckabee was interviewed tonight on Fox and said that one month in a Governor’s chair is like years of experience. Decisions are being made throughout the day at an intense level. If something goes wrong, you learn to take the blame. If something goes good, he said you stand by and watch the legislators take the credit. Being a senator is not the same. You get to pick your issues, hang out, vote a few times, etc. The decision making is just not there at the senate level, to the degree that it is for a state governor.

  68. Deusdonat says:

    Thomas F. Miller your comments were un-Christian, uncharitable and in fact lies. It’s really sad you choose to stoop to such a personal level here. God help you.

  69. Deusdonat says:

    Malta and Mike – once again, the concept of some “traditional” family was an invention of the 1950’s. For most of human civilisation, both men and women worked (albeit in different tasks). Children would work too, and did so up til the begining of the 20th century in most industrialised nations. If you were upper or middle class, you had servants; foremost of which would be the cook and the nannie/nurse. It has only been extremely recently on the human scale that the so-called “traditional family” as you term it emerged, which in effect makes it a misnomer. This is not feminism, but reality.

    Incidentally, among royals and aristocracy even today, it is unheard of for the parents, especially the mothers, to do the domestic chores pertaining to their children. And I am not defending this model, as I believe it is an incalculable benefit for the mother to be the primary caretaker of her children. It’s just not reality in the majority of cases. And it never was.

  70. malta says:

    dear deusdonat,

    aristocracy aside, women have most decidedly been beside their babes, much more than men. We don’t birth them (not yet) and we don’t pap them. God created the woman to care for the babe; spin that anyway you want, but you can’t escape that fact.

    Great Queens, Vice-President-elects aside, I do agree with mike that we should foster moms caring for their babies….

    A woman carries a baby in her womb for nine months; that is a fact that political-correctness can’t circumvent. If God wanted a woman to be a man, he would have created two men with the ability to procreate; instead, He created a Man and a Woman. I’m preaching to the choir, maybe, but I think Mike’s point is being lost.

    I think the point is this: Women should care for their babies first, and look to their careers second….

  71. Deusdonat says:

    Malta – aristocracy aside, women have most decidedly been beside their babes, much more than men.

    Um…not in dispute. But often “beside their babes” meant taking them to the fields to play along side them while they worked, until they too were old enough to work.

    God created the woman to care for the babe; spin that anyway you want, but you can’t escape that fact.

    Not in dispute at all. But you seem to leave out that Men have an equal role in raising their children. Not an identical role, but an equal one.

    Great Queens, Vice-President-elects aside,

    No…you don’t get to back-track your way out now. This whole discussion started regarding the SPECIFIC case of Palin, who is the contender for Vice President. So you can’t sahy, “Vice-president-elects aside”.

    I’m preaching to the choir, maybe, but I think Mike’s point is being lost.

    Mike made a very insensitive and unsubstantiated insult/accusation about Palin, saying he doubts she is “pro-family” and that her candidacy is “feminism gone mad.” Given she is a mother, and ESPECIALLY a mother of a special needs child, I’m guessing she is no stranger to sacrifice. And if she is indeed a champion for the pro-life cause, maybe she sees this as a step towards reversing the wrongs commited in the last 3 decades. And maybe she AND her family feels this is worth yet more sacrifice.

    There seem to be a lot of snipers in here tonite. And apparently some closet liberals too. Do people simply not want the Republican pro-life candidates to win??? If you do, then leave the sniping about her personal family situation alone and get on board.

  72. techno_aesthete says:

    “Neither TR, FDR, nor Ike ever were members of the Senate.”

    Nor RWR.

  73. Mike says:

    Deusdonat –

    Thanks for your interesting contrary views. The traditional family may not have always been in vogue, but it has until recently often been seen as the *ideal*. It’s interesting to note that GK Chesterton didn’t think women should get involved in government, not because he didn’t want them to have more power but because they already have supreme power in society: as mothers and natural rulers of the household. He believed men run off and make governments which are never quite as important as we men claim they are. For centuries women realised this; feminists haven’t.

    And you seem to agree with me when you refer to queens and aristocracy that such a situation of working mums is not the best. That is exactly my point. I speak from experience having looked after children whose mothers were too busy and wealthy to look after them during their formative years. I’ve seen it also in my own family. The children suffer unnecessarily, often so that the parents can fulfil their ambitions or live an extravagant life. That is not to say mothers shouldn’t work at all, but there are limits, and politics at this high level is exceptionally demanding.

    Lori Ehrman –

    I don’t doubt St Gianna Molla could balance motherhood with being a good doctor. But she didn’t have five children.

    In spite of Palin’s radical feminism, from what I’ve seen of her she has my vote – she seems a remarkable woman and above all a pro-lifer. I didn’t mean to snipe at all, but did want to provoke a discussion about the value of the traditional family which rarely gets mentioned today. Society is so converted to the cause of radical feminism that even us Catholics have lost all common sense on this issue. Kids need their mothers!

  74. Robin says:

    As a career professional and mother (whose children are now grown), I have to agree with Mike. Being a Vice President of the United States is nothing like working a flexible schedule and telecommuting while the kids are in the house with you (modern mode), having a nanny with the kids in the next room of your house (royalty mode), or having your kids playing beside you in the fields while you plow(pioneer mode).

    I have frankly been surprised to see the “voice of reason” on this point come primarily from the liberal side rather than the traditional Catholic side.

    I liked Gov. Palin very much on the clip I watched yesterday, but I didn’t like (1) her homage to Sen. Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro, or (2) her reference to the “glass ceiling,” or (3) most importantly, the fact that she is taking this on with a four-month-old baby with Down’s.

    PS-I am not an Obama supporter!

  75. Ah, but does her vocabulary include words like “ineffable” and “gibbet”? As in, “Will Gov. Palin be able to endure the ineffably fierce pressure of presidential campaign scrutiny, which makes one feel as if she is hanging in a gibbet?”

  76. Carolina Geo says:

    I think Mike brings up some very important points. The first article I read about Gov. Palin was from Fox News, which mentioned – in a praiseworthy tone – that after the birth of her fifth child she was back to work within three days. What dedication to her job! But what about her dedication to her family? Perhaps there was more to the story that Fox News did not mention, but on the surface it is troubling.

    Make no mistake, I obviously think her pro-life views are wonderful, and the fact that her fifth child has Down’s Syndrome trumps any kind of rhetoric that Obama, Biden, or Pelosi may spew. And from what I have read about her other social and political views, I think that it’s great that there’s at least one conservative on the GOP ticket. But I am worried about what kind of message her job dedication sends – primarily, that it’s OK for mothers to shirk their primary responsibilities to their families.

    This is a victory for working mothers everywhere.

  77. Jerry says:

    Let’s give the lady a break. Some leaders, and I suspect she is one, are very adept at balancing responsibilities of office and family. Given her performance as governor and the fact that she has a husband who clearly is involved in the care of their children I seriously doubt that their family will suffer if she and McCain are elected. She is obviously one with the correct priorities and I suspect that the hunting trips, family outings and otheraspects of her life to this point will not be abandoned if she becomes the VP.

  78. Andrew says:

    Carolina

    I couldn’t agree with you more. It is marvelous that Governor Palin (with her prolife views) is on the Republican presidential ticket as VP.

    But even now as a Governor, and with a special needs child who is still a baby, how can such a woman devote the right kind of attention to her family?

    Part of the problem with the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s was that it encouraged them to put their own goals (such as career satisfaction) ahead of the duties they had to others, following the Marxist line that it was the duty of the government to raise children, not parents, with their push for 24 hour childcare, and to have this supported by government taxes.

    I am sure Governor Palin does not share these views at all, but if the practical result is spending as much time away from your family, as the hardest nose feminist, I agree it is difficult to reconcile such a scenario with a pro-family philosophy.

    But perhaps she is lucky and has a house husband. If this is the case, it is not for me to say how the duties are divided in a marriage.

    All that matters to me is that somebody (and preferably a parent as they are the only ones who can bestow love) is looking after the children. Too many of them are neglected these days, causing drug use, depression, and suicide.

    I once knew a teenage girl who had been an alcoholic, and felt one of her problems was that she always had a working, career oriented mother.

    But that it isn’t to say all career women who have families do a bad job at it. But it would be mighty hard.

  79. Donna V. says:

    Alas, I can already hear Biden dusting off Reagan’s: “I refuse to take advantage, for political gain, of my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

    And I can hear Palin’s reply: “Plagarizing again, Sen. Biden?”

    (Confession – I stole that from NRO.)

    I know a female OB/GYN who is a devout Catholic and very strongly pro-life.
    She is 40, married, has 5 children and a busy practice. She gets called into the hospital at all hours of the night. I wish I had a 10th of her energy. She’s managing it, with the help of her husband. I don’t know how they do it, but they do and my hat is off to them.

  80. avecrux says:

    I think it is worth raising the question about the compatibility of being a VP of the US and a mother of young children because the issue of work and family is a question most women have to consider at some point. In this case, the work is somewhat extraordinary! For such extraordinary work, men should consider the burden too, by the way. Public service is a huge sacrifice for any family. It is precisely that – service – like serving in the military – and we all benefit from noble people who take up that burden out of a true desire to protect the common good. I think public service is a call and generalizations always need to leave room for the fact that, at certain times, God may call people to do things outside the norm. (For example – should Joan of Arc really have been leading an army?) There is so much that is right about this candidate – and the timing is incredible… a woman who welcomes and loves her child with Downs vs. a man who wouldn’t have protected him from infanticide, had it been Gov. Palin’s choice. Remarkable.

  81. Deusdonat says:

    Avecrux – I agree with everything you said there. I also think it is simply distasteful, pretentious and outright dishonest to call Palin a radical feminist, especially with her pro-life views whic are contrary to the radical feminist agenda to say the least.

  82. Mike says:

    I didn’t call Palin a radical feminist, only that trying to combine this exceptionally demanding career choice with raising a family of five was a radical feminist position. I don’t see anything distasteful, pretentious or dishonest about that, it’s just an objective observation. And no one doubts her pro-life credentials which are, of course, highly laudable.

  83. Andrew says:

    Which is what I was trying to say as well.

    To give a practical example. There was once a strong profamily activist in the US known as Connie Marshner, the wife of Professor Bill Marshner, Professor of Theology at Christendom College.

    Connie gave lectures all over the US about the decline of the family, and twice visited my country Australia.

    However, a number of year ago she did an examination of conscience. She discovered that while she was going around telling the nation that the family was in peril, she was in effect neglecting her own children.

    So she stopped the high profile work she was doing, and returned to being an ordinary homemaker.

    Even John Paul II was once quoted saying, “Women, in trying to solve the problems of the family, don’t in the process neglect your own one”.

    I reiterate once again, I am saying nothing against a career woman who has a family.

    But as many a lady will tell you, “A mother’s job is never done”.

    It is mighty hard to do that role, when you have a demanding job at the same time as Governor Palin has and anticipates.

    But compared to what we are facing on the other side of US politics, I do hope she becomes the Vice-President.

  84. Indra says:

    Looks like she was baptized a Catholic as a newborn, but her family started going to non-denominational churches when she grew up:

    http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1837536,00.html

    Given that she was born in 1964, I wonder whether her family got disenfranchised by the changes that were happening in the Catholic Church around that time (Vatican II, liturgical changes).

  85. johnny says:

    Pro-life Republicans have families, careers, wit, intelligence and style. Who knew?

    Sarah will be great.

  86. Carolina Geo says:

    I’m sure there are plenty of people who will tell me to mind my own business, but I can’t help but wonder…

    In light of what was bantered about above regarding working mothers, and in light of the recent news about Mrs. Palin’s daughter, perhaps it’s the case that had Mrs. Palin been home with her family instead of working at the state capitol, she might have prevented her daughter from going around fornicating with her boyfriend.

    I’m not saying for certain. I’m just pondering. I haven’t seen any statistics on the matter, but I’d be inclined to guess that families with stay-at-home moms have a lower rate of teenagers engaging in troubling behaviors.

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