politics

I decided to add this as a separate post, rather than commenting on the one on Palin. Well, as more comes out I am liking her less. It seems that the image of her, who she seemed to be, is the appealing part. She was portrayed as a strong woman, someone who overcame many odds to successfully conquer the work/family battle and was making a difference in her community, possibly in her country. She has 5 kids in an age where anything over two begins to cause comments. She seemed like a tough no-nonsense woman who wouldn't play the I'm female card to get ahead. That is impressive.
But I'm ashamed to admit that the articles I read on her that made her sound so great were focusing on the personal, not her political views. A few days ago I read that she cut funding for pregnant teens and didn't support the FMLA (family medical leave act). I had assumed that a woman with a family to take care of, one who'd dealt with issues like those, would support family causes. I thought she would represent a change from the usual good-ol-boy network. CHANGE. Key word there. But it seems that she's really not that different. You'd think raising 5 kids would teach her tolerance. However, from what I've read she believes everyone should follow her own beliefs. She's the type who says, I struggled to make it so everyone else should have to struggle too. I really wanted to believe in someone. Politics can be so disheartening.

PS. my views aren't written in stone. Overwhelmingly what I'm hearing and reading about her right now suggests that this woman isn't family-friendly, a factor that is very important to me. But more could come out that could change this, who knows?