Letter to the Editor Draft

To the Editor:
The subject matter of the article ‘Palin Hits the Motherload’ from September 10 greatly disappointed me. During the 21st century in the United States of America, how can people still be questioning whether women can maintain a full-time, consuming job while still maintaining a fulfilling relationship with their family? Just because a woman decides that she loves her work and continues her successful career, even if it means less time spent with her family, does not mean that she does not still value and love her husband and children just as much. The fact that people feel that Sarah Palin is not committed to her family because she is running for vice president worries me greatly. The worst part is that even women, including working mothers, also share the sentiment that Palin is not committed to her family. Why do women have to endure one of the worst double standards? The public never questions the commitment of working fathers to their families. The Democratic candidate for president, yes president, not vice president, has two young children of his own. No one has ever raised the question of Obama’s dedication to his family. Everyone just assumes that his wife will take care of the children while Barack runs the country. So why does this assumption not carry over to working women? Sarah Palin has a perfectly capable husband that can take care of their children while Palin does her job, just as I am sure he has been doing while Palin has held the position of Alaska’s governor. Todd Palin once said something along the idea of “men can change diapers too.”
Ruth Marcus questions why Palin would choose to try to juggle the consuming job of vice president while taking care of her children, but I say why not? Many people enjoy the challenge of trying to do seemingly impossible tasks. Palin is obviously one of these people. The fact that she is even willing to try this task proves to me that she is more than qualified and capable to be second in command of this country as well as being a wonderful mother. In my eyes, choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate shows that John McCain is willing and ready to create the many changes that Obama preaches he will bring to office. I thought that we had made giant steps forward with Hillary Clinton as a possible candidate for president, but it seems that those steps have now been erased since people are wondering if Palin can handle the pressure. I think that the citizens of America should realize that we are living in a time that women are capable of working at a full-time job and caring for their family. People always say that women are just as equal as men are, but they show through their concerns about Palin that we are still not at a time that everyone actually believes this. Stereotypes about women are still very prevalent and are shown through the public’s uneasiness of Sarah Palin’s selection as McCain’s running mate.