Working Moms

I find it fascinating that we can rip on working Moms but no one seems to have the same conversations about working Dads.

Working women start asking questions about Palin's ability to help them. The Los Angeles Times Sunday carried a story out of Uniontown, PA, in which reporters talked to working women, who are listening closely to Gov. Sarah Palin's rhetoric. Under the headline, "Sarah Palin's appeal to working-class women may be limited," readers heard from the likes of Trish Heckman, a 49-year-old restaurant cook.
But when it came down to an issue Heckman really cares about -- sending a daughter to college on $10.50 an hour -- her desire to see a woman reach the White House took a back seat to her depleted savings account.
"I wanted Hillary to win so bad, but I saw Sarah, and it just didn't work for me," said Heckman, taking a break in the empty courtyard of J. Paul's restaurant in a downtown struggling to revive. "I have no retirement. Obama understands it's the economy. He knows how we live."
Interviews with some two dozen women here after Palin's convention speech found that these voters were not swayed by the fiery dramatic speeches or compelling personal biographies that marked both the Republican and Democratic conventions. Instead, they were thinking about the price of milk -- nearly $5 a gallon -- or the healthcare coverage that many working families here cannot afford.
Waitress Judy Artice, "Miss Judy," as she is known at Glisan's roadside diner, declared Palin "the perfect candidate" after watching her Wednesday speech. That said, Artice had already decided that her vote would go to the first candidate who mentioned gasoline prices.
"And -- I'll be danged -- it was Obama," Artice, 46, said between servings of liver and onions during the lunch rush.

Baltimore Sun columnist Susan Reimer writes today that it's "Hard to choose sides in the Mommy Wars." Meanwhile, the working mothers whose maternity leaves might not have lasted as long as a beach vacation -- and who know how crazy Palin's life is because it is the same life they are living -- are wondering why the woman isn't over the edge.

When you have female Republican surrogates out there saying that it is sexist to wonder if Palin can do it all when Barack Obama has never been asked who is minding his kids, you know the world has been turned on its head.

It is clear that we, as a country, still aren't sure how we feel about working mothers.