Mrs. Bean, this is a beautiful piece and a joy to read. Thank you.

Sarah Palin is the most impressive of the four candidates the two parties have presented us with. Besides being resourceful, she's bright, tough, and attractive. As you say, mothers needn't categorically excuse themselves from public service.

However, in today's political climate a candidate needs to have more than just a desire for public service. He/She needs a clear vision about navigating the rough waters of Washington. If that vision is absent, the void will be quickly filled by the bag men that inhabit the nation's capital. Will Sarah Palin be able to withstand the enormous pressure to conform to the special interests that are pervasive in the city? Washington isn't Juneau. The stakes are much higher. And the good old boys are slicker.

Thank you again for another brilliant article.

You put so much better than I could why this mom in the political trenches needs the support of other moms in the trenches. Well done!

~<3

If you like her for her politics, that is fine.

But there is no way to honestly say that this campaign and VP job is good for her children, especially the baby.

That doesn't mean I don't think she should take the opportunity to run with McCain. Of course she should. The timing is not perfect in terms of her family, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Honestly, I feel like if she was a Democrat, the Republicans would be crying foul on behalf of her family. And since she is a Republican, the Republicans all of a sudden have turned into feminists.

It's like some bizarro upside-down universe.

If she gets into office, you know what would be great? To see her champion something that would improve mothers' lives.

Maybe a real maternity leave bill, which would allow ALL mothers more time with their newborns, more than the stingy 12 unpaid job-protected weeks that we have now.

This is not some bizarro world, this is the real world, where Republicans are and always have been feminists, despite what the left will try to tell you. They are real feminists --meaning they honor and respect women and their babies. Sarah Palin is a member of Feminists for Life -- she refuses to see her own family and children as enemies to her personal happiness and/or success. She is a terrific role model for women of all walks of life. And yes, I think having her in office will bring about some serious family-friendly reform in corporate America.

Perhaps Steve forgot that the most successful president of modern times was a most assuredly non-workaholic, Ronald Reagan. And lest we be told for the nauseatingly millionth time how much more complicated the world is now, I'd be happy to provide a short list of both the problems RR faced and his startling list of acheivements.

how people who want to support something they otherwise wouldn't cite "God's mysterious ways." Yeah, Danielle, maybe God called Sarah Palin to be a VP candidate and neglect her children, but I doubt it. Probably, she REALLY wants the job and justified it that way.

I think we have to wait and see with Sarah Palin. On the surface, she seems to be the religious, conservative right's dream candidate, but the more I discover, the less I like her and the less I'm inclined to think she's the breath of fresh air she's been packaged as.

She's no stranger to good 'ol boy tactics herself, if half the stories circulating about her are even half true.

Trying to get the head librarian fired because she wasn't receptive to Palin's "hypothetical" conversation about which books she'd personally like to ban sends up a bunch of red flags for me. The "troopergate" situation rubs me the wrong way, too.

I'm not sold yet. I've never been completely sold on McCain, and the addition of Palin to the ticket just might end up sending my vote to the libertarians.

Great article, Danielle. It's as if you've read my mind and summarized my thought process, much more clearly than I could have done myself. Hear hear!

"A woman who has consulted God and her family every step along the way as she sought balance between serving her family and serving her community."

I can't remember the last time that I saw a politician "serving the community." Instead, they confiscate my wealth and transfer it to failing public schools, crazy foreign wars, and all kinds of other boondoggles. Also, I could care less if she "consulted God." I hope she consults the Constitution. It is good to see the feminists of the right show their colors....

Once again, another excellent article! Thank you for your always fresh perspective!

Why is it that the news media is so ready to hang Sarah ? Why do they not report with such vitriol on Biden and his children ? Why do people NOT SEE THIS ? Within God's plan for marriage and family life there is so much diversity ; we must DO WHAT WORKS FOR OUR FAMILY ( Sound familiar, Danielle ? ! ). This offends me as a woman ( with 5 children, 1 with special needs ) and as an Alaskan ( of course Juneau is not Washington, nothing is ; Little Rock isn't either ). I was contemplating explaining about this Trooper or the schedule for working on the North Slope, but that will take up too much time and space and it's really just details to the larger issue. Time will tell if this was a good choice for the Palins, just as it does for all of our decisions. Go Sarah ! We're praying for you and are so proud of you up here at home !

Very nicely written, Danielle. As a pro-life, conservative, mom, I'm rooting for Palin. I'd like to see what she aspires to do, done and done well. I know I'll be praying for her and for whoever ends up in the White House. This is making for a very interesting election.

Danielle, awesome article. Well done. I'll get it linked at http://www.catholics4mccain.org

We are doing a project called "What Catholics Are Saying About Sarah Palin:"

http://catholics4mccain.org/?page_id=126

The news media is ready to hang anyone new to the Washington scene. It's a rite of passage of sorts. If Sarah Palin can't handle this, she doesn't deserve to run with the big dogs.

Biden is old news. Way old news. Any skeletons Biden has in his closet have crumbled to a pile of dust by now.

There was plenty of Obama trashing early on, too, of both Barack and Michelle.

It comes with the territory, and it amazes me that anyone is surprised by it any longer.

I'd rather have a shameless free press, however, than no free press at all.

Also, it's completely unfair to expect the media to treat Sarah Palin with kid gloves just because she's a woman, a mom and has a special-needs child. We ought not shy away from controversy just because we feel sorry for her, or a kinship with her, or whatever. She's just another candidate, is all.

Anyway, she strikes me as being one tough cookie. I'm sure she can handle it.

Ms. Bean nowhere asserted that God called Sarah Palin to neglect her children. It's just not in this article. But Bea's comment does bring to mind this comment I read today in the International Herald Tribune, "You can juggle a BlackBerry and a breast pump in a lot of jobs, but not in the vice presidency," said Christina Henry de Tessan, a mother of two in Portland, Oregon, who supports Obama." I conclude that the unfortunate urge to judge and limit other women to our own capacities and priorities knows no party affiliation - more on that in Susan Estrich's surprisingly well-put opinion piece "Sarah Palin and the Double Standard" over at www.foxnews.com

Lynn writes,

"There was plenty of Obama trashing early on, too, of both Barack and Michelle."

In the conservative press the trashing is and remains relentless. Obama is a secret Muslim/Marxist/Martian, a pawn of George Soros and the anti-Christ (McCain was sending that message with his anti-Obama ads spliced with "Left Behind" scenes and motifs).

His brain was created in a lab in area 51 by Illuminati technicians to be ultimately merged with a plantery artificial intelligence network that will control the world and trap us in the Matrix. Sounds plausible, right?

In spite of all that Obama has won the support of the only people whose opinions matter in a democracy, the voters. Good for them, I say, for rejecting the right-wing propaganda machine.

The same goes for Palin though; this talk about her family is absurd and it needs to stop. Maybe there is some merit to the claim that she cannot be the best possible mother to a disabled infant and a VP at the same time. But you know, that is for her and her family to work out - it is not our concern. There are plenty of GOOD reasons not to vote McCain-Palin, and this isn't one of them.

...that no one mentions Palin's husband here.

Is everyone just so certain he's going to remain full-time employed, too? Or is it just possible that the day-to-day needs of the family can be taken care of by Dad while mom has the full-time job? Yes, women are given gifts of nurturing, but it isn't as if men are completely lacking.

Or are those opposed to her taking the VP job eventhough she's a mom of 5 (1 being a special-needs infant) really saying that a father CANNOT take care of the day-to-day needs of a family?!? If so, women...if you have children...you're not allowed to die or become incapacitated in any way 'cause it's just not possible for a father to really be a father. He's only there to work full-time.

"But there is no way to honestly say that this campaign and VP job is good for her children, especially the baby." - Ann

It will, of course, change them drastically from what they might otherwise have been. But most likely for the better, not the worse. That is as obvious to me as the opposite seems to be for you. I think my view is much more likely to be true. This is a chance for all of them, including the baby, that only comes once in a few billion lifetimes.

Do you think things like this are not part of God's plan?

I am really astonished by the outpouring of support of Sarah Palin, with so little to go on. You'd think she was the embodiment of all that is good and true and beautiful and Catholic. While her family is lovely and I wish them all the best, her qualifications for the role of VP are weak (I for one would not be at all comfortable with her as president) and she is not pro-life in the "seamless garment" sense. Her evangelical views are not at all close to mine as a Catholic woman...the only view we share in common is that we both don't agree that abortion an unacceptable "choice". She supports capital punishment, the war in Iraq, ... I seem to recall Catholic teaching instructs us that both are contrary to Gospel values. She's pro-gun, pro- teaching intelligent design...I've even heard that she's tried to ban books from the library...Those are not my values!

1. Palin stops meetings so she can breastfeed or change diapers. Not so she can pass the baby off to a nanny.

2. The Pope is about to beatify Louis and Zelie Martin, often touted as the ideal Catholic parents. Zelie ran her own business, leaving her husband and a nurse to raise her children. She was so Puritanical that she wouldn't even breastfeed her babies.

3. St. Gianna Barretta Molla was a wife, mother and medical doctor.

I have always had strong feelings of distrust towards John McCain, but I have always said that the pro-life movement will not succeed until we have either a) a truly pro-life first lady or b) a pro-life female president.

We have the chance now for a first lady who is 100% pro-life, no exceptions, who cajoled her husband into adopting children despite his misgivings. We have the chance for a Vice President who is a Feminist for Life who has 2 of the Left's pet "why we need abortion" situations in her own family.

We have a Democrat running for president who says he'd abort his own grandchildren if his daughters became pregnant thorugh teen fornication, and now we have a VP candidate whose daughter *is* pregnant through fornication and is taking responsibility the right way.

And don't tell me it's because she "neglects her family." I've known several "devout Catholic families" with 8 kids and a stay at home mom where one of the kids got pregnant out of wedlock (or worse). It's called fallen human nature.

Some people have a higher calling than others. Their crosses appear bigger or heavier, and we would never want to trade with them.

My husband is an Army officer. His job is risky, and it takes him away from home a lot. Even I often feel that "country" comes before "family." It isn't easy on him, or on me, and certainly not on our children. But God forbid that all the good Christian men stay away from military duty because of the hardships to themselves or the families. We do not want a God-less military.

Nor we do want God-less politicians. I would not want to be VP (I wouldn't want my husband to be VP either). But I won't withhold my vote from someone because I think it her duty to stay home with her children instead. Will her children "suffer"? Possibly.

But I see a little baby with Down's Syndrome being raised in the public spotlight, and I see women being told their child in the womb has Down's and that they should abort that child like 80-90% of the other babies diagnosed with Down's. And I see women thinking that maybe Down's isn't so awful after all.

I wouldn't want my child to be the poster child for giving a handicapped child the right to life, but perhaps that is this little baby's cross. <i>I don't know; nobody knows</i> how God can use this situation for Good.

I just saw Palin's speech for the RNC, and I must say, even though I strongly disagree with her and McCain on many issues, she really knocked it out of the park.

It was an aggressive speech, hitting Barack Obama at all the pressure points. She really let him have it, and I think she said exactly what Republicans have wanted to hear.

Joe, I just want to say that I think she said what every woman (and everyone) needed to hear - and she modeled even more. She's a real person ... a woman who is happy to shine, be pretty and feminine, be strong and committed and resolute. More, she glowed showing off her husband, parents and family like every proud mother does, with all its variations on perfection. My gosh - what a contrast to the role models in politics we've had to offer our daughters until now. She is not ashamed of being a woman, and being a strong, powerful politician. My 17 year old daughter texted me from college in DC and said, "Mom, she's making us feel so happy." A feeling, I noted, not shared by the PBS commentators.

She did a great job tonight. I can see her being one tough cookie on the campaign trail. She balances out McCain nicely with him having lots of experience and her being young, energetic and smart. I feel she represents the majority of women in this country unlike the shrill liberal feminists who constantly pushed Hillary on us. Her accomplishments are hers alone. Unlike Hillary she didn't ride on the shirt tails of her husband for power.. Plus she's strong on energy. I've no doubt she's a fast learner after pulling off this fantastic speech after only a week of knowing she was selected VP. There are lots of things to admire about this woman. I'm keeping my fingers crossed McCain & her can pull this thing off.

I had a totally different reaction. Yes, her family is beautiful and charming, and yes, she spoke well. I respect her immensely for having the Down Syndrome baby (though there are those who say that, if she sees abortion as in no way an option, then she had no choice but to have the baby ... a view that is too cynical for my taste). I'd probably like Sarah Palin as a person. But.

She took this nomination knowing that her daughter's indiscretion would be global news. That poor seventeen-year-old has absolutely no privacy now; none; not a shred. Am I the only one who sees that as a cruel decision on her mom's part? I really respect her pro-life stance and desire to protect the family that way, but her decision to run seems to go against a parent's responsibility to protect the emotional well-being of their children.

Interesting points about the various saints. But Joan of Arc didn't have kids, and St. Gianna wasn't taking a job in which she might end up having to make national security decisions in which millions of lives hang in the balance. I don't think we can quite put juggling family/doctor's job in the same league as juggling family/being VP and potentially President.

For all these wide-eyed, glowing comparisons to various saints, Sarah Palin has made comments indicating she probably doesn't think Catholics are even true Christians. I wouldn't be surprised if she were an adherent to the Jack Chick school of thought when it comes to Catholics.

She dissed a predecessor by claiming she'd be the first Christian to hold the office because she was a "born again" Chriatian and he was a Lutheran.

If she doesn't think Lutherans are "real" Christians, I'd love to hear her take on Catholics.

Also, her take on the Iraq war is scary. She sounds like she has more in common with the enemy than she does with Catholics.

Excellent, Danielle! She did a press conference wtih a baby sling? Having attended many a meeting with a little one in a sling, I'd LOVE to see that!

Why is no one talking about Dad? Certainly he can take care of the kids while she's VP? I'm a working mother of 5, and my husband pulls a great deal of this load. Much more than our friends with a couple of kids. He makes time for carpools, homework, teacher meetings. This morning he was tracing S's with our 4 year old (who didn't do his homework last night), while holding a sleepy 1 year old and reminding the 14 year old to bring his PE clothes to school.

I think there's no reason a mother of 5 can't be VP, especially if her husband helps with the kids. Remember, a huge number of women in the U.S. drop their kids off at daycare early in the morning and pick them up late, and a third of those kids have no dad at home at all.
I think, from the little I know about here, if anyone can juggle her responsibilities, its Sarah Palin.

I'd like to clarify one thing about Zelie Martin. She was not so Puritanical that she wouldn't breastfeed her own children. She did breastfeed some of them, but with later babies (including St. Therese) seemed to have problems producing sufficient milk. I'm not sure whether this was a true physiological problem or the result of inadequate information about the whole supply and demand system (I knew older women who said their doctors told them to nurse on one breast every four hours and for most women that wouldn't be enough stimulation to build an adequate supply initially)). However, Zelie did not willingly choose to send her babies to a wet nurse even while she did choose to have a maid to do her housework and to engage in a thriving home business.

It really encourages me that Sarah Palin keeps her baby close enough to need to stop a meeting to change a diaper or nurse him (although nursing him while continuing the meeting would be fine as well). If what Trig's father is doing is the other tasks that mothers ordinarily do like the cleaning, the cooking, the laundry, the chauffering of the older kids, even bathing the baby or tending to his needs close by to where Sarah is, then more power to both of them. They aren't choosing bottles and nannies. They aren't putting him in day care. She isn't winging all over the country and leaving the baby at home. She's demonstrating that breastfed babies are very portable.

Are her choices my choices? Nope, I chose to be a stay at home wife and mother. Are her choices valid ones? Well for most of human history at least some mothers have been mothers who worked at something besides child care and housework. The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 makes things to sell for example, yet her children rise up and call her blessed. The problem in our society is that we have made it difficult for mothers to have their babies with them while they were working. We have created a whole job system that separates mothers from their babies. It doesn't have to be that way. I even know cases where it isn't that way. I've seen a young mom take her baby (and now older toddler) to the office with her. The little one now even has small tasks that she does to help. Now granted this is an unusual sort of office, but perhaps it shouldn't be so unusual. Perhaps if things were all on this small a scale there would be more of a possibility for mothers to bring in income while still nurturing their babies.

Now obviously if you have several small children this becomes a much more challenging situation. I'm sure that Danielle can't imagine taking her 4 youngest into an office or any other job situation out of the home every day. Yet Danielle is a successful writer and speaker even with a very large and mostly still young family.

Many young moms are doing a delicate balancing act in large part because of our economy. They are working part time evenings after their children are in bed and leaving he kids with dad. They are working part-time days and having grandma or grandpa babysit for the few hours they are gone. They are operating home businesses and nursing the baby while working at the computer. Sarah Palin understands the choices they are making far better than someone who has never had to deal with the issues at all. In the movie "Baby Boom," Diane Keaton's character tells her boss that no one should have to make the choice between babies and careers, not men or women. I'm more in favor of (when possible) having it all sequentially (babies when you're young careers later on. For me that particular dream got sidetracked by 10 years of elder care after my kids were finally "older." However, now I'm back on track and working towards my "third" career. Sarah Palin is demonstrating her own flexibility in mothering, bully for her.

Danielle,
Thank you for this article. As the son of the most amazing, dynamic woman, who raised eight children and still works to this day (with handicapped children by the way), I can say that women definitely are capable of tackling such challenges as Sarah Palin now takes on. Two things that the liberal hacks are missing: 1. in a large family the kids help raise each other. But then what would they know about that? 2. The most important thing a parent can do for a child is to model behavior. What a role model Sarah Palin is. Would her family be better off if she was barefoot and in the kitchen? I doubt it. But the liberal media would sure sleep easier. And five of my siblings are sisters, all of them following in our mother's footsteps in greatness. And like Sarah Palin, no one can tell them to sit down. This is a new day for Conservatism, and liberals are scared stiff.

1. I don't think anyone's comparing Palin to a saint; just giving examples of saints who did the sorts of things that people are saying she can't do as vice president. THe charge was made that she's neglecting her kids to have such a time-demanding job. Being a medical doctor is a hugely time-demanding job. How about a queen? We have plenty of Blesseds and Saints who were reigning queens with kids. Then people like Frances of Rome and Rita of Cascia.

2. As far as the Martins go, there are several versions circulating as exactly what went on in given situations. My point is that many of the same people who exalt them as "ideal Catholic parents" would, if they encountered them today, criticize the model they followed. Obviously, they were great successes as parents, so I certainly have no problem with them. But the point is that they were not following the 1950s "perfect family" model, either.

3. The ideal of the "stay at home mom" and "working dad" is mostly an invention of the post-Industrial Revolution, and, even then, it's mostly only been found among the middle classes, who can afford for the wife to stay at home yet can't afford FT housekeeping like the rich.

When we were hunter-gatherers, the men hunted, and the women gathered. WHen we became agricultural, the women would till the fields just as much as the men. In Greco-Roman culture, the men were always going off to war, and women conducted business all the time.

The Biblical commendations of perfect wives always refer to them, in some way, as "working" and providing for their families. Many articles and books have been written on how much more power and influence women had in Medieval Catholic Europe than they did after the Protestant Reformation.

Laila: "But Joan of Arc didn't have kids, and St. Gianna wasn't taking a job in which she might end up having to make national security decisions in which millions of lives hang in the balance"

Yes BUT: St. Joan did make national security decisions in which millions of lives hung in the balance. And St. Gianna had kids. Now think: Who, exactly, did THEY have to point to before they lived their saintly and scandalous lives? Is it possible that you would have been one to criticize St. Gianna because she did things like work while pregnant with her 4th child? Who was taking care of her other three? Why wasn't her husband around? Couldn't she have spent more time at home, instead of increasing her private practice to include countless hours of medical care to the poor? Some must have been completely shocked and utterly disproving.

Who was the youngest person, in all of human history, to lead a country's army to victory? With very little hair, a suit of armor and a sword thrust out before her? Can you just imagine what they must have said about that 19 year old girl? (Almost like a witch-hunt, that must've been...oh, wait...never mind the "almost".)

But God - and the church - thought differently. They are saints. Saints!

I know now that something amazing is happening in US politics now. I am thrilled to be a witness to it!

Oona,

Please don't make assumptions about my post and my personal views. I admire both saints tremendously.

My point is that to compare Palin to either saint only goes so far. Neither one of them balanced both children AND national security decisions as Palin will have to. That's why we can't compare her to other working moms and say, "She's just doing what plenty of other working moms do."

She isn't.

Hi Lynn. Do you have actual references to the above alleged comments? I'd like to see her words. Because if she does feel that way about other Christian faiths, then that bothers me.

I believe I read it in the NY Times -- they either reported an interview with her predecessor or interviewed him themselves, and that's where the "first Christian in office" came from.

Her religious background is interesting, but I couldn't find any hard sources.

She claims she was baptized Catholic as an infant. Whether both her parents were Catholics, or just her father isn't clear. Her mother, however, is the one who brought her children to non-denom "Bible churches". She was a member of a Pentecostal church for a time (not sure which flavor -- trinitarian or the...the not trinitarian brand -- I am SO not familiar with the whole fundie/non-denom/biblical-literalist scene, sorry), and I believe she's currently a member of an Assemblies of God church, although she refers to it as "non-denominational".

She was also the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at her high school, another strong non-denom-type organization.

According to what few interviews/articles I could dig up (that weren't written during the last week or so), it appears she played the Biblical fundie card big time early on in her political career, but toned it down over time. She was given to the "Babykiller!!!" style pro-life rhetoric when it came to her political opponents, and drew a lot of criticism for bringing that tone to what was otherwise a fairly mellow community.

Anyways, I'm not so quick to jump on the rah-rah Sarah bandwagon just yet. Her record isn't exactly spotless, and her political style isn't exactly Mrs. Smith Goes To Washington, either. She can play dirty and hard just like any good ol' boy inside the Beltway.

I don't know who said it, but there's nothing "amazing" about this choice -- McCain was acting from purely political motivation when he chose Sarah Palin, but after the novelty wears off and the hubbub dies down, it's still McCain v. Obama, and I'm not seein' it. I'm not seeing McCain winning this thing. I think Obama is going to walk away with it, and I think he may do that because of Sarah Palin. Hillary supporters are one mean bunch of hormonally-challenged chicas. I wouldn't count on a bunch of menopausal, sour old women rallying around Sarah Palin. I think this choice will solidify the Dems even more than the DNC did.

Plus, he looks old and creepy, awkward and uncomfortable next to Palin. She doesn't balance his shortcomings -- she shows them up in a particularly startling way. They're just...weird.

"She was given to the "Babykiller!!!" style pro-life rhetoric when it came to her political opponents,"
Statements like this always sadden me. They kill babies. It's not just "empty rhetoric"; it's a description.
If people who claim to be pro-life really, really acknowldged the evil of abortion, then it would be over in a year or two. But they don't. They compromise. They want to avoid "harsh worse". They want to "get along." They look at a candidate like Sarah Palin and try to find every fault they can, just like the feminists, because, deep in their hearts, they are afraid of abortion being outlawed, because they fear the "social turmoil" that will result from feminists if and when abortion is outlawed, just as they won't even think about trying to outlaw contraception because of fear of society's reaction.

This is all covered in _Evangelium Vitae_.

It's the tone -- plus, hurling "Babykiller!" at someone because they're pro-choice isn't necnessarily accurate. People use rhetoric like that and other people tune out the message. It's counterproductive. Which is why she backed off the overly-religious rhetoric as she became more politically savvy.

Although she did recently say she believes the war in Iraq is God's plan.

That is decidedly not Catholic thinking on the matter, or representative of most mainstream Protestant thinking.

We are all of us going on too little information (yes, I put myself in that category).

Some are worried that Palin might be anti-Catholic. We don't know. I don't know. She might be.

But let me tell you why I think it's improbable, to the point of laughable:

I think it's a long shot because in most of rural America, the Catholic church represents a tiny percentage of actual visible churches. (An advantage of the old protestant fissibility is you get a church on every streetcorner whose theology scarcely differs from that of the church on the opposite corner.) I grew up Baptist in Marietta, Georgia -- a neither distant nor small suburb of Atlanta -- and knew one Catholic, and one Orthodox, in my whole upbringing (I probably knew more but didn't know that they were anything other than a typical Baptist).

During my upbringing, my church never taught anything against Catholicism (why bring up a non-issue?). At some point I picked up the notion that Catholic and Orthodox were just another couple of denominations, their service styles differing from "American" services by being, respectively, more European, and more Greek.

I had nothing against Catholics. How could I? They weren't HERE.

I don't think I'm projecting too much to say that this, in all likelihood, is pretty close to Palin's view of Catholics. Like it or not, evangelicals are largely post-denominational, and consider Catholic and Orthodox to be among the various denominations that they're "post." The fastest-growing churches in America are non-denominational, and (surprise!) that's how Palin describes her church.

It's likely that she figures folks raised Catholic stop in at her church if they like the style; she might muse about attending a "Catholic service" if she were ever curious a more "old-world" style of service (ditto "high-church Anglican") but figures it wouldn't really suit her. After all, they're all Christians right? They couldn't differ much except in perhaps how often you have to stand up, sit down, or kneel, right? Oh, and they differ in whether the preacher wears a robe, a tie, or a golf shirt, and whether the music has organ or drums.

So, time will tell, and I could always be wrong. But I wouldn't worry overmuch about Sarah Palin being Jack Chick in drag.

In my preceding post, I hope everyone understands I trying to exhibit the point-of-view of most evangelicals when I said, "They couldn't differ much except in perhaps how often you have to stand up, sit down, or kneel, right? Oh, and they differ in whether the preacher wears a robe, a tie, or a golf shirt, and whether the music has organ or drums."

In other words, I wasn't saying what I thought (not anymore) but rather what the average evangelical thinks.

Sarah Palin is not unusual at all if she was baptized Catholic and is now a member of the Assemblies of God. She's about the right age for that to have happened to her. After Vatican II loads of Catholics got involved in the charismatic movement and ended up leaving the Catholic Church for the Assemblies of God. Some of them ultimately came back, many did not. Some of them are rabidly anti-Catholic, others are not. So it's difficult to know just where Sarah stands on that issue. The Assemblies of God itself used to be pretty anti-Catholic Church, but not necessarily anti-Catholic people, but even there it seems to depend on the particular congregation, my own pastor was pretty ecumenical and I knew others who regularly fellowshipped with Catholic priests.

I moved the other direction. I was born into the Assemblies of God, baptized AG as a pre-teen and became Catholic in my forties. At Sarah's age I wasn't Catholic either. I figure God isn't finished with her yet and the way Catholics behave towards her now may have an impact on where she finishes. I'm not saying you have to vote for her (I don't even know if I will), but it is going to be important what sort of rhetoric comes out of the mouths of orthodox Catholics.

My son-in-law was baptized Catholic as a baby, raised Protestant and received the rest of the Sacraments of Initiation in his early twenties. He's one of the most fervent Catholics I know. The graces of his baptism obviously helped somewhere along the way. Figure that at the very least Sarah also has that going for her. She's living out those baptismal graces in a way that Joe Biden, who's still technically Catholic is not.

Liz, the impression I got from the interview in which she claims to have been baptized Catholic as an infant is that that was pretty much her first and last experience with the Catholic Church.

She goes on to say her mother was a strong influence in her faith, and her mother was the one who brought the kids to church services (not Catholic).

Sounds like perhaps her father was Catholic and she was baptized to appease his family, but he wasn't particularly religious in nature and her mother raised the kids according to her beliefs. Pure speculation, but that wouldn't be all that unusual.

I don't think she "hates" Catholics. I just find it amusing that so many Catholic women are ready to jump on the bandwagon because she's prolife and has a Downs' kid. I will never understand why people vote based on factors such as this -- and then get all upset when our economy has been reduced to a joke and we've sent hundreds of young people to their death in an immoral war we never should have begun.

Prolife and anti-abortion are two different stances AFAIC. You can't be "prolife" and think the war in Iraq is part of God's plan.

As a stay at home mother to three, I relish the idea of a Vice President who can truly understand women in America the way no male politician ever could. It saddens me that as women, when so much is at stake for us and our families in this election, that we would attack Sarah for even considering this position. Here is a potential ally and advocate for families, women, and special needs children and you want her to stay out of the race? It doesn't make sense. Mothers who work outside the home and stay at home mothers shouldn't be warring against each other. And Sarah Palin's nominations seems to have drawn up the old battle lines between these two camps. We should be rejoicing that there is one of us up there, and rejoicing that we live in a day and age where this is possible for us and our daughters! Hooray for the moms who stay at home! Hooray for the moms who have a job outside the home! Go Sarah go!

Who wants her to stay out of the race?

Not me. Nor do I think the fact she's a mother or has a special-needs kid should be a factor.

I want her to stay in and I want her to be investigated and criticized just the way any male candidate would. I want her to have to account for troopergate and her words about the war in Iraq. I want to see if her record matches her rhetoric.

Or is that not allowed because, golly-gosh-gee-whiz, she's a mom! She has a Downs' kid!

Liz, I loved your post, and have high hopes for Palin to discover the beauty, richness and fullness of truth in the Catholic Church (as did Clarence Thomas, Bernard Nathanson, Jane Roe, etc.). It certainly is exciting to watch the Holy Spirit at work in her life, in the life of all politicians, and in each and every one of ours as well.

I look forward to watching the Palin/Biden debates and her interviews by the press. As a pro-life, conservative mother and aunt of children with autism, I am energized by her presence and feel God is truly up to something by bringing such a wonderful woman and family onto the national stage. The sanctity of human life, the sacredness of family values, and the destructive evil of abortion is forced into a limelight like never before. May God bless the Palin family and may God bless America!

"Nor do I think the fact she's a mother or has a special-needs kid should be a factor. "
As a person with a genetic disorder, I think that's the most important factor, far beyond abortion. Palin is not a member of the "whitewashed" elitist, "look good at all costs" school of politics, like Obama--or even McCain, whose seven children hardly get shown or mentioned.

Catholic teaching says that governemnt exists to protect and support *families*. Certainly most presidents and vice presidents have had "families," but how close knit? How big?

Palin clearly *loves* her family. The family exhude happiness and love. Heck, one of the criticisms of Santorum was how depressed his children looked when he'd bring them out in public. Most politicians' kids look like they're scared to death, or like they're just Junior Politicians, when they come out for photo ops. Palin's kids look happy for their mom.

Palin (and Cindy McCain, who clearly pushes her husband to go against his WASP inclinations) will give the White House a voice it has *never* had: a voice that is truly child-centered and a voice of love for the disabled and the deformed.

This disabled and deformed father of five (four here and one in heaven), one of whom is also disabled and deformed, sees Palin as the antidote to everything that Obama standa for.

I'm not naive enough to think that somehow radical social reforms will come on a McCain/Palin administration, but we can at least expect some serious progress and, hopefully, an attitude shift among the American public.

First of all, special interest voting is what has turned this country into the big mess it is. This me-first, country-second attitude is EXACTLY what McCain claims he'll fight against. So don't hold your breath waiting for government to be all about the lame, the halt and the blind all of a sudden.

Secondly, Palin isn't running for anything. As VP, she'll have a less visible role than Cindy McCain. Y'all act like she unilaterally got up and decided to run for VP in some separate election. Unless McCain dies, she'll be relegated to attending B-list events for the next four years.

Other elected officials love their families, too. Just because they don't pimp them out for political gain doesn't mean they're not close or don't love them. It does mean, however, that they understand the tremendous burden their position places on their families and want to protect them and respect their privacy. That certainly can't be said for Sarah Palin.

If her kids look "happy" for her now, it's because they're caught up in the excitement of the moment and haven't really had time to absorb it all, unlike the children of elected officials who've been in the public arena for quite some time. Besides, they didn't really look all that cheery in Deighton. Bristol looked positively deer-caught-in-the-headlights, and it was painfully obvious some campaign official had draped Trig across her burgeoning abdomen as a last ditch effort to hide the pregnancy until they could figure out how to handle the story. No one holds a baby like that, and she never passed the baby off to any other family member, including her parents, during the whole press conference. Talk about throwing your own kid under the bus!

What "attitude shift" among the American public? These people have problems of their own, and they pay taxes and they vote. This election is about the economy and the war, first and foremomst. It's not about "attitude shifts".

Thanks, Lynn, you summarized my thoughts exactly. The way people have reacted to Palin, you have to wonder about their senses. This is like buying the engagement ring on the first date. I hope the silent majority will hold its judgment until we know her better (but I fear that they won't).

The article says: "In Sarah Palin, I see a politician who not only represents my values with regard to human life, but for the first time ever, a politician who is one of us -- a mom in the trenches. " Really? How can one know that so soon? For all we know she could be a serial murderer! It seems almost disreputable to throw reasonable skepticism out the window so quickly.

"For the first time ever" implies that there has never been one like her. She is unique and apart from the entirety of American political history. I can't buy that, at least not so soon. How 'bout we wait just a little bit to see who she is, instead of abandoning the fort to this new savior.

Lynn's condescending sarcasm to fellow posters and mean-spirited description of Hillary Clinton's sour menopausal supporters, John McCain's creepy looks, and now Sarah Palin's abominable motherhood is hardly befitting of this Christian website. Also, citing the NYT as a credible source about anyone (particularly a conservative pro-life Christian) is ridiculous. But we can see where Lynn is on the issues: anti-war, "amused" that we want pro-lfe candidates in the race, "it's the economy, you stupid baby-loving morons", etc. The NYT leftist views may very well be her only "gospel".

I suspect this is the same "Lynn" that has posted several anti-Catholic and vicious entries in response to other articles on this website. She has an agenda that could be described as "sour" and "creepy" indeed! She is not here to dialogue, she is here to attack our Christian faith, our love of conservative family values, and of course --which I saw coming like a freight train -- Sarah Palin's as well. Lynn needs our prayers.

I await her affront - she will be quick to point out my hypocrises, my wretchedness, my holier-than-thou attitude, my ignorance of the real world, etc., and her paramount disgust with all Catholics (save the liberal ones). This will all be done with arrogant authority. She should save herself the typing time and just "copy and paste" instead - she's said it all before. Lynn is becoming a big yawn, and is to be ignored (just like the NYT).

I've never tried to hide the fact that I'm the same Lynn that replied on two other threads -- Simcha Fischer's thread on NFP and Jennifer Fulwiler's thread on Christians behaving badly (oops -- that would be anyone BUT Christians behaving badly!). So what?

Hillary's supporters are a cranky lot, and I've seen that same sentiment expressed by many conservatives, Catholic and otherwise. Again, so what?

McCain DOES look old and creepy next to Sarah Palin. Again, I am not the first to express this sentiment, and I think they make a very weird couple. Your point?

I'm not attacking Sarah Palin, nor have I attacked anyone's Christian values. I'm treating Sarah Palin like I'd treat any other candidate, which is infinitely less sexist and condescending than the blind hero-worship I've seen expressed here. That someone is a mom and has a special-needs kid should not be the only factors a serious voter will base a vote on. She's a mom, has a special-needs kid, supports book-banning, believes in Creationism, has abused her political power for personal reasons, has misrepresented her record, and has engaged in some pretty snarky and condescending language of her own in the few short days she's been McCain's running mate. Those are factors that really matter.

So...did you want to actually discuss the issues here re Sarah Palin, or did you just come here to attack me personally? And would this off-topic tirade about how much you despise me be part of these Christian values you speak of...?

Compared to what I've heard some of the right-wingers here saying about Obama, I'd say Lynn has been pretty civil. People here have been complaining about the "rules" the far left plays by; supposedly they believe the end justifies the means, that lies are ok if they lead to victory of a more righteous cause, etc.

All I can say is, based on what I've seen here, that philosophy can put on "Christian" clothes and walk across the political isle.

You're just mad because not everyone here is a Catholic who acts like a far-right evangelical with respect to politics. Welcome to the universal, international, Church; you do know what "Catholic" means, right? You do know that outside of the US, where more than 93% of the world's Catholics live (thats outside, not inside), most of those Catholics support political parties and ideologies that are further to the left than the Democratic Party or what passes today for "liberalism"?

I wish more American Catholics on the left took the teaching about contraception, abortion and other life issues more seriously, and American Catholics on the right bothered to read the social doctrine of the Church.

BTW, for the record -- I'm a registered Republican, have no intention of voting for Obama, and will most likely vote Libertarian in this election (a fact I already stated...so where the stuff about my leftist views come from, I don't know).

I cited the NY Times as where I'd read a reprint of an interview not conducted by the NY Times -- it was conducted years ago, before Palin ever hit the national scene, actually, and was conducted by a small, local paper.

Given that I live just outside the city and that I grew up in the city, yeah, I read the NY Times. And the Journal. And the Post. And the Star-Ledger. And the Christian-Science Monitor. And Newseek and Time. Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly frivolous, I actually crack open the complimentary copy of The American Spectator I get.

So, there you go -- full disclosure on my political leanings and my reading material.

BTW -- if being against the war in Iraq makes me a leftist, what does that say about the Pope?

Dear Joe H,

I am not mad at all! I completely understand and cherish the "Catholic world", and the vast, diverse parts of His One Body. For example, I read a lot of your posts on this website with interest and respect. Whether I agree or disagree, I read with respect. That is the truth. But what I don't like (and have never seen you do, even when you disagree with other posters)is be nasty, uncharitable and condescending. Calling Hillary fans old hags, John McCain ugly, mocking those who may be excited that Sarah can help special needs children/adults if in the White House, etc. - do these kind of things have a place in our "Catholic world" discussion? Just yesterday, Lynn was oh, so open to getting to know Sarah Palin (ha ha) and then today: Boom! Frontline attack. It just is not geniune - she has her agenda, and it's bitter and uncalled for. I no longer read her posts - I sincerely believe she is here to destroy, not dialogue.

As a Catholic mother of three (two with special needs), I certainly am happy that Sarah Palin appears to be a wonderful, conservative, pro-life Christian woman married for 20 years with a really beautiful family! But I am not going to stupidly and blindly pull the lever for John McCain just because of that. I certainly love what she has brought to the national arena, and I want to learn more. From reliable sources. From objective sources. And I come to a Catholic website to discuss this welcomed surprise (well, welcomed to some of our "Catholic world" anyway). I definitely expected to read posts of caution, curiousity and disagreement. But I didn't expect acidity and anger. Does that make me so terrible? Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us! God bless.

Oh, Ann, stop exaggerating!

I have no agenda, I'm not bitter, and discussion of candidates is most certainly called for.

If Sarah Palin had said the same things I'd said about Hillary supporters, you'd be putting her up for canonization. Please.
Sarah Palin's negativity and snarkiness doesn't seem to bother you, her being such a sterling example of Christian womanhood and all -- oh, wait -- that's because her snarkiness was directed towards Barack Obama. That makes it okay, then, right?

I never called John McCain ugly. If you want to quote me, scroll up and quote me, but don't say I said things I didn't.

You know, you just looooove to personally attack me -- what is it Thatcher said about people who make personal attacks -- they've run out of valid arguments?

See, I can hold Palin accountable for her record, but all you can do is personally attack me.

Guess you haven't bothered to follow what's coming out about her record -- therefore just rip down anyone who might actually have enough personal integrity to bother to find out what really matters about a NATIONAL candidate before they jump in and cast their vote.

But thank you SO much for all your shining, glowing, charitable Christian comments -- I almost thought I might have had it wrong about the Cat'liks, but you sure set me straight.

Have a lovely day, dear. BTW -- HRT -- try it sometime. You're starting to sound like one of those Hillary supporters...

I apologize for my tone with you, for my harsh words.

I think we all need to step back for a second and look at what we are doing here. I snapped at you, and everyone has been snapping at everyone. I was just discussing with my fiancee over lunch how all the arguments over Palin have really brought out the worst in us, and we are all falling way short of the standard Christ calls us to live up to.

I do think you over-stated the case against Lynn, but I could have just said that instead of going off on you. I've been a pill all week since this Palin thing began. So I am going to be praying for myself, and for everyone else, that we not get swept into political frenzies.

Apology accepted - and regarding getting too heated up, I couldn't agree with you more (now, doesn't that sound nice!?) As I say to my children every night - may you sleep in Mary's mantle of peace and love. I certainly hope to do so as well. You (and your fiance) will be in my prayers. God bless.

What a soup we Catholics make when we get together sometimes... Best take all this energy and turn it into prayers for our country, folks.

Personally, Danielle, I think this was an excellent article; all your points were well taken and I agree with you. If for no other reason, this ticket may well provide us the opportunity for Supreme Court Justices to be appointed by a pro-life executive. Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance, as Obama's camp well knows.

...a gentleman.

Thanks :)

Great work! Thanks for giving me some language to express my gut-feeling about her.

The whole reason that Washington is the sewer that it has become is because people like Sarah Palin have failed to step up to the plate. She has taken the initiative to serve her country and to take her family along with her. She's a living example of what every American should be -- a citizen patriot!

So there! Crucify me because I refuse to be a woman who thinks that family and patriotic duty cannot walk hand in hand -- and should!

"McCain DOES look old and creepy next to Sarah Palin"
Read John McCain's book about his captivity and you will understand why he can't stand in a certain way, or hold his arms in a certain position, etc. I think he looks like a patriot. It's not a Chippendale calendar he's aspiring to. Thanks, John, for your service to our great country, and thank you for selecting Sara Palin as your running mate.

Much has been said and written about Sarah Palin and her nomination, her politics, her family, etc. You may love her or not. You may doubt her sincerity or if she can do the job. But the bottom line is, there only 2 choices. I do believe in a providential God and in God-ordained circumstances and plans. We can never forget that God is totally in control. And He just asks that we do what we are supposed to do. Our role in this election is simple. According to our Catholic Church teaching there are five non-negotiables when it comes to deciding which candidate to vote for. These are: abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning and homosexual marriage. And we know Obama supports all of these! And we know what McCain/Palin stand for. A quote from Linda Richardson, director of Family Life/Respect for Life for the diocese of Trenton, NJ: "You can be a Catholic who's a Democrat, or a Catholic who's a Republican, but be a Catholic first." And as Archbishop Chaput of Denver, CO says: "Being Catholic is more foundational to one's identity than anything else." And, my favorite quote from Arch. Chaput about these issues: "If you are Catholic and you disagree with your Church, what do you do? You change your mind!"
So, we can talk about Sarah Palin all day long and it makes great blogging and allows us to participate in the process in a very intense way, but what is the bottom line? To me it's quite clear. There is no way I can vote for Obama/Biden. I do like Palin, though, and as the questions, lies, cynicism, innuendo, etc. continues, those of us who have already decided what we must do, there is a certain peace--no matter what anyone else says about it. God bless all the candidates and their families and our country!

You might see yourself in Sarah Palin, but that is no reason to vote for her. I, too, am a working mother of 5, but I am not someone I would want to see as VP. I think she was put on the ticket just because she has a lot of similarities with white suburban soccer moms, the part of our population that is going to determine this election. Good political move for McCain, but bad for our country if something happens to him.

I am a Catholic, working mother with children and I find it appalling that Todd Palin's contribution to the family is so overlooked. In a society that so frequently dismisses the value and importance of men to a family, I think we should be cheering this man's dedication to his children. Todd and Sarah's balancing act of jobs and family is one that many of us experience. They do it beautifully.

My husband has worked the last three years from home so that he could be with our children while I worked. He shops, cooks, disciplines, plays taxi-cab driver and monitors homework and everything else that comes with being a parent. I am so thrilled to see a man come to national focus that has no problem doing the same thing!

I have a son who is almost old enough to join the military. I am terrified that a man who speaks like a Marxist, and has strong terrorist ties (William Ayers) could be my son's commander in chief. I have no idea what she feels about her own son in the military, but if someone had given me a once in a life time opportunity to ensure that my son had a wise, honorable, man as commander in chief...you bet I would take it.

To correct some of the mis-stated facts I've read - Sarah Palin did not say that the war in Iraq was God's plan. Her statement was misrepresented by the press. She said she PRAYED that we were on the side of God. Praying in hope that one's choices are in line with God's will is a much different thing than declaring knowledge of God's will!

She hasn't banned any books and done any of the other horrible things being reported about her. The supposed list of banned books contains books that weren't even in existance at the time of supposed banning.

Troopergate is misrepresented incident. The trooper in question is still a trooper. Sarah stated in an interview that I saw on TV that the trooper made threats against her father when she was Govenor (security of the Govenor anyone!?). The trooper admitted to using a taser on his nephew. Seems to me that behavior like this ought to disquality him for being a trooper - wouldn't you think? I certainly wouldn't want him patrolling in my neighborhood around my kids!
http://tinyurl.com/6eyyte

And finally, in this race, I am pretty sure you can't vote for Obama as a Catholic:
http://tinyurl.com/6lyvpd

I believe Sarah Palin's Church she was baptised called Assemblies of God believes in the local church system and there could be some Anti-Catholic Ministers. The election is almost over. Besides wasn't Al Sharpton a former Pentecostal Minister who became a baptist.