Sunday, August 31, 2008
Alan Colmes beclowns himself
The Palin nomination really is doing a great job of detecting the rank sexists disguised as "progressives." For example, we now know exactly where Alan Colmes stands on one important topic. He believes that it is just fine to judge a woman's effectiveness in her professional life based on her strict adherence to medical advice in prenatal care.
Can you imagine the reaction if a conservative journalist -- say, Sean Hannity -- had written such a thing about a Democratic politician?
Thers at lefty blog Whiskeyfire mounts a defense of Colmes, which is all very interesting as an attack on conservatives for being hypocrites but which does not get to the basic question: Is it really cricket to inquire into a female politician's management of her pregnancy when we all know that male politicians, who presumably at least influence the prenatal care of their children, are subject to no such scrutiny? Do Alan Colmes and Thers and the people who agree with them actually believe that this is a character issue for women only, or should we voters have a chance to inquire into the obstetrical history of Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain? That, and Thers does not explain why Colmes took his post down if it was so darn reasonable.
MORE: Cassandra is pissed. Which really should come as no surprise at all.
CWCID: Glenn Reynolds.
21 Comments:
By 
Joanne, at
Sun Aug 31, 05:58:00 PM:
Wow, you are back blogging - good show.
By Thers, at
Sun Aug 31, 06:42:00 PM:
I called Colmes a "tool" for taking the post down.
The point is that getting on a plane for 8 hours after leaking amniotic fluid and the onset of "different" contractions in the 8th month of pregnancy is irresponsible. There's a serious risk of infection, for openers, and labor could begin at any moment -- and when you're in a plane you can't quickly get to a hospital if there are complications. That this was a high risk pregnancy makes this all the more bizarre.
Stuff about "why aren't male politicians subject to such scrutiny" is a straw man. This is getting attention because Palin's story is from a medical perspective very, very strange. Make your own decision as to what you think it says about her character. But the basic medical facts of the story as she has herself presented them are what they are, and she dis not act responsibly.
By TigerHawk, at
Sun Aug 31, 07:04:00 PM:
Not sure you are right on the risks -- I've already seen argument con (sadly, I cannot remember where just now and I'm cooking dinner). But I also think that veteran mothers have an almost mystical judgment about when labor is likely to arrived and what risks are worth taking.
But suppose you are right, that it is a silly medical risk. Is Barack Obama's judgment defective because he is taking the silly medical risk of smoking? Is he acting responsibly, either for himself or his family? It seems to me that smoking is less defensible on virtually every level than Sarah Palin's snap judgment, and yet I see no "judgment" attacks on Obama for that.
By 
, at
Sun Aug 31, 07:29:00 PM:
Wow I cannot believe how many OB/GYN's are around the internet today to tell US conservatives what an awful mother Gov Palin is for taking a plane home to have her 5TH CHILD.....I mean it's not as if she had 4 others or that her DOCTOR was advising her....oh no the INTERNET DOCTORS know so much more.....my advice to the internet doctors and oh especially if you are male SHUT UP!
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 08:01:00 PM:
Gov. Palin is a woman. She has no zone of privacy. Only men have that when it comes to their private parts. So by all means, let's all weigh in on the Governor's birthing practices with our own judgments on just how good a child bearer she's really been.
Alan Colmes couldn't care less about Gov. Palin and her pregnancy. This is just another way for him to make the point that people with vaginas (also known as women) are flighty and scatter-brained and irresponsible. No way can a woman be trusted in the White House with something really important.
By Dawnfire82, at
Sun Aug 31, 08:05:00 PM:
I think that Anonymous 7:29 hit upon a valid point.
She had birthed 4 children by that point. Alan Colmes has birthed, as far as I know, none.
And, in the end, her judgment turned out to be correct. Which is more than one can say about Obama on the surge...
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 08:27:00 PM:
Thanks Sally and having birthed two of my own.....I think I would know better than Alan Colmes and all the internet OB/GYN's what is best for me ;-)
Jaded
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 08:28:00 PM:
actually dawnfire82 made that comment that I thanked Sally for but great comments as well Sally...
I hate Google comments really I do!
Jaded
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 09:36:00 PM:
I'm with Thers on this.
Why would a woman 8 months pregnant CHOOSE to get on a plane for a TWELVE hour plane ride (with a layover in Seattle!) when
1) her "water" had already broken prematurely (she wasn't due for another month) thus subjecting her to risk of bacterial infection or the possibility of cord prolapse (when cord drops through the cervix after the water breaks), and
2) she would have no immediate access to medical care for her premature downs baby if she went into labor en route and he was in distress, and
3) she would have no immediate access to medical care for herself if she went into labor en route and experienced complications because of her age. Mothers who give birth when they are in the their 40s are considered high-risk.
None of it makes sense. Not even the timeline: She flies from Dallas to Anchorage on Thursday night, gives birth on Friday morning, and returns to work on Monday morning. Good Grief, that doesn't even leave time for jet lag.
I guess mothers and babies up yonder don't have need for much bonding, huh?
Developing....
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 09:44:00 PM:
and back to work on Monday....shows a strong woman but being weak yourself you would never understand....liberalism has made a lot of soft people in the world but AK frontier women still do like its been done for 1000's of years putz.
Jaded
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 10:29:00 PM:
I beg to differ Jaded (fitting moniker).
Weakness had nothing to do with my desire to stay home with my two babies for the first 6 months of their new lives. You see, I thought it was more important to be home with them to provide them with my milk, and my arms and my heart, rather than placing them in someone's else arms to drink from a bottle of my pumped milk three days after they were born.
Women having been staying at home with their newborns for 1000s of years. Deciding to go back to work days after you give birth is the new frontier. More's the pity.
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 10:34:00 PM:
Well there you are Tress you CHOSE to stay home and in your choice you feel you are in a position to sit in judgement of another woman's choice.....that is sad!
There are many women in farming communities across this great country who have children and immediately go back to farming...they must it's how they feed their entire family.
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 10:38:00 PM:
Thanks, Jaded, just what I wanted to say. It's amazing, this fascination with the Governor's pregnancy. She flew on a plane! And she went to the office just a few days after giving birth! My goodness, whatever did come over her?
This criticism is so 19th century. Maybe we need to go back to the practice of "lying in" when women would take to bed weeks ahead of time. And everybody else will move around the house talking in hushed whispers while Grandma boils up buckets of hot water in the kitchen.
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 10:49:00 PM:
It's unfair to cite one's own decision to stay home for a whole 6 months as evidence of some kind of superior motherhood. Many women choose differently or don't have the choice at all. They have to go back to work. This doesn't make them bad mothers or mean their children aren't as well nurtured. And of course there are those who would say 6 months is really insufficient. Why not 6 years?
By , at
Sun Aug 31, 10:51:00 PM:
and really how wonderful for Tress to have a husband who makes enough money for her to stay home for 6 months.....MOST women do not have that pleasure and most women cannot because they are the breadwinner in this day and age....or did you not consider that Tress?
A new day has dawned and men can stay home and take care of the children oh and if you argument is about your breast milk might I remind you that more and more babies are Vitamin D deficient because of ONLY breast milk....not everything in life is black and white there are consistantly shades of gray and that is why conservatives make better leaders.
Thanks Sally for appreciating the silliness of people's arguments against Palin...HELL if that's all they got the next 60+ days will be a cakewalk....WOMEN make up 49% of the electorate and the bulk of us LOVE a strong independent woman with a great family.
By Georg Felis, at
Mon Sep 01, 12:05:00 AM:
Definition of Hypocrisy: Pretending to be oh so concerned about the welfare of a middle-aged woman's 5th child and the decisions she makes during her pregnancy while supporting the right of a 16 year old to end her pregnancy by killing the child at any point right up to birth.
By Thers, at
Mon Sep 01, 12:42:00 AM:
Look, I get that this is politicized and so on, but you all cannot possibly be telling me that a woman about a month away from her due date should get on a plane for a long trip after leaking amniotic fluid. It's dangerous for her, it's dangerous for the child, it creates a terrible possible scenario for the flight crew and every other passenger.
Yes, Obama should not smoke, but unless he did it in front of his kids repeatedly in an enclosed space, he was only risking himself. Show me that he did so and I'll duly question his judgment.
But gang, get a grip. Palin's account of her behavior regarding the birth sounds very strange. Feel free to deny it, but you know, this really is not a right/left thing, it's just how it is.
By , at
Mon Sep 01, 01:07:00 AM:
It's politicized because the only reason the Governor's pregnancy is being examined so closely is to create doubt as to her fitness for public office. Since the child was born healthy there is no issue here, I agree. Instead, certain people want to talk about what could have happened maybe possibly as proof that the Governor is either lying about the pregnancy or acting foolishly while pregnant.
It's a left/right issue because the left has continually told us that certain behavior is personal and private, such as sexual misconduct in the White House with an intern. But other behavior, such as the Governor of Alaska's pregnancy and how she chose to handle it, is public and fair game for speculation, innuendo and gossip.
By , at
Mon Sep 01, 01:36:00 AM:
It's unfair to cite one's own decision to stay home for a whole 6 months as evidence of some kind of superior motherhood.
Just as it was unfair of Jaded to suggest that a "strong" woman would go back to work less than a week after having a baby. As my reply states it was not weakness (nor strength) that led me to stay home with my new born, it was my choice. And yes, I'm thankful I had the choice to afford to stay home for the two extra months beyond my firm's 16 week maternity leave policy, although with the cost of daycare for infants we about broke even once I did go back to work.
By TigerHawk, at
Mon Sep 01, 06:55:00 AM:
Sally, good comment. And I'm not just sucking up because your mad about the other post...
By davod, at
Mon Sep 01, 07:25:00 PM:
"while supporting the right of a 16 year old to end her pregnancy by killing the child at any point right up to birth." without the parents knowing.
