(HOST) The nomination of Sarah Palin for Vice President has sparked a new round of lively debate about women in politics – and it’s one that reminds commentator and former Vermont governor Madeine Kunin of her early days as a candidate.
(KUNIN) When I first ran for office in the 1970’s women politicians debated whether or not to include a photo of their families in their campaign brochures. It was considered risky because people would inevitably ask, "Who’s taking care of your children?"
How times have changed.
Republican Vice Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin did what no old-fashioned Democratic feminist could do. She brought her baby up to the podium with her to share the spotlight at the Republican National Convention. And she issued a press release announcing that her seventeen year old daughter was five months pregnant. She and her eighteen year old boy friend were featured in the front row.
Proud to be a mom and not the least bit embarrassed to have a teen-aged, unmarried daughter about to be a mom.
It took a woman with solid conservative credentials to break the mommy barrier for women running for office, and for women in leadership elsewhere. Not too many years ago, I met with a group of women in top positions at the State Department. They recalled how they had to pretend they didn’t have children.
One woman related how her co-workers thought she had terrible dental problems, because each time a child was in a play or home sick she said she had a dentist appointment.
Many women, myself included, disagree with Palin on the issues, whether it’s the right to choose, or the acknowledgement of global warming. But few would disagree that she has brought feminism – whether it stems from the left, right, or center – to a new stage.
It is somewhat ironic, that arch-conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly, who now embrace Palin, have excoriated feminism for over forty years, and now are the unwitting beneficiaries of feminists’ basic demands – to achieve full equality in the work place, in government and in society. It is equally ironic that the early feminists are now the beneficiaries of a conservative feminist like Palin. One thing is certain: today a woman running for office will not have to hide her children, whether it’s on a campaign brochure or center-stage at a national political convention.