Sarah Palin's body language and tone of voice

I had seen stills of a "tender" moment between Sarah Palin and Todd in her reality show and it had always bugged me. I found some interesting footage and noticed that Sarah's words don't go with her body language. Please note the distance she keeps, how her body is at a funny angle:

I also searched for footage where her tone of voice is dismissive or aggressive:

Loving wife and mother? Hmmm...

Sarah Palin's political record will be vetted by the tabloids

Politicians tend to protect their children from media intrusion. Sarah Palin sounds like she would like to do the same. But... who put her children out there? Who took them out of school to campaign around the country? Who did it again to sell books? Who invited the cameras into their lives to record an abysmal "reality" show?

Sarah Palin has a hotline to TMZ and People magazine. Were Sarah Palin's daughters dragged into this shoot kicking and screaming?



Who made her children part of the narrative, each with a particular role? Who are Track the soldier, Bristol the brave, Willow the wise, Piper the cute and Trig the ultimate pro-life prop? Who assigned them these roles?

Who linked her daughters to tales of perversion and rape?

Most people don't know the names of other politicians' children. In some cases, we don't even know whether they have children at all.

Greta didn't say anything about children, but Sarah more or less jumped on her neck when she said they were going to question the candidates aggressively. Again, Sarah herself brought the children into the conversation.


The tabloids have an interest in running explosive stories about celebrities' families, but they don't do political interviews. When was the last time the National Enquirer ran a story about energy issues? When did TMZ run a article about unions or healthcare? Did People magazine discuss the economy recently?

Is Sarah Palin really implying that the tabloids are the important sources of information on candidates' political records?

She only answers pre-screened questions on Fox News and when she spots real journalists, she runs a mile. Failing that, she labels them as perverts who have an unhealthy interest in her... daughters.

Politicians' children should be off-limits, I agree. But it's the parent's job to set these limits. Sarah Palin made her children part of her record. She made them into state officials to justify free travel around the great state of Alaska. She paraded them around the country, used her daughter's pregnancy to squash the rumours about her own strange pregnancy. She encouraged Bristol to become an ambassador for a foundation that uses sexual images as a marketing tool and to stomp, shake her stuff and writhe on the dance floor.




If her children had stayed in Alaska during the 2008 campaign, if Sarah had based her narrative on her record alone, we wouldn't know anything about her precious children.


Sarah Palin won't answer questions about her record and invariably uses her children as shields.

"What do you read?" is a gotcha question. What would she call probing questions about a certain dairy, her church, Alaska Natives, mining, ethics, special needs or any other topic? Would she answer them or somehow bring the children into it as a diversion?

Here are some screenshots of the interview with Greta. Sarah Palin became very excited when she started talking about her children and the media.




Sarah Palin's son Track got married. Who broke the news? The Washington Post? The New York Times? No, it was People magazine.

The Palins are a tabloid family. Sarah Palin is tabloid material. It makes sense that the tabloids will the ones to vet her on her political record...

Sarah Palin elevates the mind of her children

Yesterday I raised a few questions about a reference made to Alexis de Tocqueville in Sarah Palin's book America by Heart. Staying with this theme, I would like to look at a John Adams quote which appeared in her book..

When the book was published, David Frum asked if her ghostwriters were messing with her and wrote a very sarcastic item about it.

“It should be your care, therefore, and mine to elevate the mind of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue.”

[From a letter written by John Adams to Abigail Adams]

Frum's comment: "Yes, truly, if there is anything I associate with Palin more than excellence in every capacity and faculty – more even than her contempt of meanness and abhorrence of injustice – it is her commitment to industry and plain hard work."

Let's take it one step further and look at each statement contained in this paragraph. How do they apply to Sarah Palin and her children?

to elevate the mind of our children and exalt their courage

I'm not sure about elevating the minds of her own children as none of the younger ones appears to attend school on a regular basis and the older two didn't bother with college, but Sarah does exalt Track's courage, albeit to exalt her own feat of being the mother of a combat veteran , something nobody can take away from her!

“say whatcha want about me but I raised a combat vet and you can’t take that away from me.”

to accelerate and animate their industry and activity

This one applies to Bristol, she's the embodiment of industry and activity. She worked full time as the manager (ahem) of a dermatologist's practice, got up at some ungodly hour to bathe Tripp and change his diapers, became an ambassador for a foundation that uses soft porn images to promote abstinence, danced (ahem) animatedly with the stars, delivers some riveting speeches about the big mistake she made because she misunderstood the meaning of sexual abstinence and recently she has committed to write (ahem) a book about her industrious life. Yes, Bristol is a very accelerated, animated and active girl.


to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity

Willow provides the best example of how her mother excited in her a contempt of meanness. Willows charm and generosity when commenting on one of her peer's Facebook wall made the headlines...


Bristol was not mean to a teacher in Homer and did not address the peaceful protester in a disrespectful manner.



Little Piper learned this lesson well from the example set by her virtuous mother. Their attitudes to Lyda Green were not mean, they were just and humane...





and an an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue

Sarah Palin's reality show about her Alaska made it very clear that all her children are potential scholars, never unwilling to excel in anything (unless they're bored out of their skulls) and are very virtuous indeed, although their mother resents the fact that their virtues tend to be exposed in the pages of the National Enquirer.



[I apologize if the footage above doesn't show enough of Sarah Palin's children. I noticed that immediately after being filmed with her family, Sarah had a very strange reaction. ]

Despite the sarcastic tone of this post, there are some serious considerations here. The values Sarah Palin passed on to her children appear to have taken root in some of them. Track seems to have distanced himself from his mother and there might be some hope for him. Bristol is following in Sarah's footsteps, with the added advantage of having become an overnight celebrity when her mother paraded her pregnant belly to the world in order to dispel certain rumours. Willow seems to be as reactive as Sarah and hasn't learned yet to pretend to be as charming as her mother. We hear how people find Sarah Palin friendly and approachable when in public. Willow will soon learn a few more lessons from Sarah and turn out to be as industrious as her older sister. Piper doesn't have much of a chance of escaping the Palin influence, not with her mother and two older sisters setting the example. Let's hope Trig will be able to acquire better values from whoever is providing him with care and guidance.

The letter from John Adams had an extra sentence: "If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives."

I suppose the Palins have enough money now and their children will never need to grovel, but it's a shame that their young minds won't have the opportunity to expand and that they won't seek fulfillment in areas other than the acquisition of monetary riches. If they follow in their mother's footsteps, their minds will not be elevated, but condemned to continuing poverty instead...

(H/T to Trigmund Freud)

Two years in the lives of Sarah Palin's political props

I wrote a post about Sarah Palin's large, loving family on March 9, 2009. They have changed a lot since then, but are still being used as props.

The Palins then:

Todd's nativeness is constantly exaggerated. The stories get more and more embroidered and outrageous. Todd is an example to all natives, his lyfestyle should be copied by all those whining natives. They should seize opportunities upon the North Slope, the mines, anything that doesn't involve preserving their way of life. Todd did it and still returns to his village, still embraces all things native, still lives in rural Alaska when he has the chance. Yes, Todd spends one season doing real work and the rest of the time he indulges in the quaint native lifestyle in his village and all its pleasures. It's a win win situation!

Track made the sacrifice of not pursuing higher education in order to serve his country in Iraq. We all heard it at the rallies. Track is risking his life so the people of America can have freedom of speech. He's also obeying God's will. After all, the war in Iraq is a task from God.

Bristol served more than one purpose. She was paraded before the nation and the world as a pregnant teen to prove that Sarah was Trig's mother. Now Bristol is the poster girl for planned, unplanned, accidental, whatnot teenage pregnancy. Abstinence is good, is bad, it works, it doesn't work, it's not realistic, whatever. Sarah is the ultimate supportive parent, the living proof that these things can happen in any family, but they are blessed to have a strong, loving family and so on.

Willow should be renamed Wisdom. She was the first one to notice that Trig had Down's Syndrome, giving Sarah another opportunity for an emotional platitude. "If he does, you know you will still love him, Willow. It'll be okay." Then Willow made an incredible remark when she heard on the radio that 95 % of the people in America would benefit from tax cuts, according to campaign promises made by Barack Obama. She turned to her mom and asked "What about the other 5%?" Mom explained that those were the ones who had worked hard to make America great, but they were rich. "Why should they be punished for their success?", said Willow. Oh, the wisdom of a child!

Piper is Sarah's favourite sidekick. She goes everywhere with Sarah, she appears in every interview, whenever possible. Of all the members of the family, Piper is the busiest state official, clocking more airmiles in the service of the state than all the others. We saw Piper standing next to Sarah at the 50th year of Alaska Statehood gala, in January this year, wearing a lovely summer dress and high-heeled sandals. When Matt Lauer interviewed the Palins at their home, there was Piper in high heels again, so cute! Piper gives radio interviews as well. I wonder when she manages to find a gap in her busy schedule to attend school!

Trig doesn't rank as high as Piper in Sarah's preferences, but he'll do as a valuable prop. Trig was the vice presidential campaign mascot. He was passed to everybody who cared to hold him, was dressed like a cute elephant for Halloween, had his hair smoothed with Piper's spit (that cute Piper again!). He worked tirelessly during the campaign, staying up late, braving the noise, the bright lights and all the commotion of the rallies. Trig does a great job humanizing Sarah Palin.

There are no photos of the whole family from March 2009. This will have to do, just delete Levi

The Palins now:

Todd is not so native anymore. I suppose it isn't a very hot selling point for Sarah's new image. She made some passing references to it on Sarah Palin's Alaska, but the show was all about HER, after all. These days Todd doesn't work for a living anymore. Now he's a combination of enforcer, handbag carrier, supermom to the children, still doing the Iron Dog thing and appears to be the only adult from the clan who has a proper relationship with Trig. According to the tabloids, gossip websites and various bloggers, he's not too keen on "hot" Sarah and has strayed a bit. Who's going to carry Sarah's purse now?

Track is still the token army guy in the family. Now he's a veteran and nobody can take it away from Sarah. The last time we saw him, he showed utter disinterest in the family business he was about to inherit. We didn't really buy that story line from Sarah Palin's Alaska. Track is not a willing prop and Sarah can't use him much, apart from wearing bracelets and hanging stars around the place to show she has a son in active service. Is he still active? Never mind...

Bristol has changed the most and is now a mini-Sarah, complete with her own prop. Bristol does speeches (as opposed to screeches, but still...), is dilligently writing her memoirs and has hinted at a political career. Bristol changed diapers, couldn't get a decent night's sleep, got up at 4 or 5 am to bathe Tripp, bought a condo, sold the condo, posed for magazine spreads, "danced" her way into American hearts, then packed her stuff and her prop, bought herself a new chin and moved to Maricopa. The mother/daughter bonding on Sarah Palin's Alaska was truly moving: Clay pigeon shooting and whacking halibut, such tender moments...

Willow's image has changed also, too. Once a child wise beyond her years, she transformed into a rebellious young woman, sneaking boyfriends into her bedroom, pulling faces at inappropriate moments and smashing her younger sister's face into cakes. Apparently, she also acquired a taste for some breaking and entering. As a prop, she serves as an illustration of Sarah's magnanimous attitude to dealing with teenagers. She let's them make their own mistakes and find their own way, but laments their mistakes being on the cover of the National Enquirer. Hey, they don't need the NE, Willow and Bristol can display all their charm on Facebook, where they use well constructed sentences, full of beautiful words.

Piper... the cute kid from the campaign now looks deeply unhappy. Piper was OK on the first book tour, but the child we saw on the second looked sullen and distant. On Sarah's show she sported a bumpit under her highlighted hair and the cuteness was a thing of the past. We also noticed that Piper wears make up on occasions. On Sarah Palin's Alaska, Piper's mother/daughter moments were very awkward. Trig is now too heavy for Piper to carry around and she appears to have lost her babysitter role.

Trig is still his lovely self. He doesn't seem to be a very useful prop these days, at least not in person. Sarah still talks about what a blessing he is and how incredibly brave she was to have chosen to have him, but on Sarah's show he didn't seem to like her very much and showed his displeasure on more than one occasion. She took him to some Tea Party rallies, but the lack of chemistry between them is showing more and more. Trig was the underdressed star of the first book tour, but he was smaller and more compliant then (and never felt cold or uncomfortable, a real trooper!). I expect we'll see less and less of Trig in future. I didn't watch all the Sarah Palin's Alaska episodes. I gather all Sarah's children had their turn, with a dedicated episode each. Even Sarah's daddy and her brother had their moment of glory. Did Trig have a special episode? Unless we count the one with cousin Matthew, a freshly discovered cousin/ nephew/whatever with Down syndrome, where Sarah teared up spouting her usual platitudes, there was no episode for Trig. There was nothing about his daily routine, the therapies and programs to help him reach his full potential. Trig is a blessing, pity he was not blessed with a decent mother.


In the past two years we have seen many changes in the Palin family. All for the worse, I would say.

We would love to leave them alone, but Sarah Palin keeps shoving them in our faces to market her Christian/real American family values...

Sarah Palin, The Great Divider

Sarah Palin has the knack to upset and alienate several different groups of people.

Women

Sarah Palin appeals mainly to white middle-aged men, flaunting her sexuality as a weapon. Older_Wiser summed it up very well when she commented on the NRA thread:

"And if it seemed $P was in her element, I have a theory. This event was probably 75-80% male, all of them more than likely considering themselves "alpha males"--the kind of man Daddy was, the person she always talks about and was taught to emulate, the person who tried to raise her like a boy, with not much input from her mother, a seemingly weak person who went along to get along, deferring to Chuckles in all things, really. $P connects more with men because she caters to them, wants to be one of them. She is what we feminists used to call a "male identified" woman, not one who relates easily to other women, nor who understands the female perspective, nor has much empathy with women, just gives women's lives lip service at best. To her, most women are "weak" because they don't emulate men; she will tolerate women but only if they don't compete with her, only complement her. She has no real women friends, only the hired help. She really does see women as the "weaker sex"--except herself, of course. Caring for children is weak--even though you're too ignorant to use birth control (and use "religion" as an excuse--but I question her maternal history), you can birth a few but let others take care of them or let them raise themselves--no TLC for those kids or much interaction.

Her goals have always been much larger. Her persona is carefully crafted--the "sexy" image which insinuates hard f*cking, not tender lovemaking. Is there any wonder how easily she was mocked in a porn film? She never really talks about her kids in a normal mother's voice; there's no protective instinct there, for chrissakes, she uses them as props for her own agenda.

During my working career, I met a few women executives who she reminds me of, the kind who loved it up there with the power males and who treated the female "help" like shit. They also wore those male-inspired "power suits" except with the short skirts just like she does (face it, pants just are not sexy enough, they make you seem less open to sexual contact; in fact, I worked for one attorney who forbade us to wear pants and he engaged often in sexual harassment and taken to court for it--all the younger women were game). Those women used sexual promise as one of their tools in their climb, aggressive and negative in their approach to women, using their power over others no less than men do.

Notice her speeches to groups with lots of women and on issues women really care about--special needs kids, reproduction, etc. She simply repeats rightwing talking points in a canned way, tells inappropriate jokes or talks about herself, no real preparation, just there to collect the money because she disdains her own sex. Of course, she does this with predominantly male groups, too, but they are more easily tricked by her complicatedly constructed persona which flatters them. Even though she may not have been paid directly for this NRA gig, she was in her element--as twisted as it might seem.

I know this may seem pretty simplistic to some, but this is the way I see her--she's no friend of women, and the polls themselves reflect this, with much fewer women admiring her than men, and I would venture that those women don't really think for themselves but just follow the male lead."

Sarah Palin, the beauty queen, is a feminist in name only and had the nerve to criticize Hilary Clinton for whining.

Environmentalists

Sarah Palin loves to call the studies on climate change "snake oil science". Her "Drill Baby Drill" mantra is well known and although she loves blowing her own trumpet about regulating the oil industry in Alaska, the reality is very different. She taxed them, yes, but the oil companies simply saw it as paying it forward. It was a good investment, as they had the governor of the state fighting their dirty battles with the "Feds", as she affectionately calls the federal government. The state of Alaska initiated law suits against the government regarding the listing of polar bears and Beluga whales as endangered species. Regulations and safety measures were routinely ignored or cheating in the tests went on, before during and after her half-term as governor.

She took her governor's hat off to make a mockery of the Clean Water Act when Pebble Mine paid millions of dollars in bribes to corrupt the outcome of a ballot that, if won by the environmentalists, would have prevented them from polluting Bristol Bay and threatening the livelihood of salmon fishermen in the region.

Sarah Palin rejoiced when the Supreme Court sided with Kensington Mine in another mockery of the Clean Water Act, risking the delicate eco-system of Berners Bay.

Animal lovers

Sarah Palin's stance regarding endangered species was already covered above. Which leaves her predator control programs...

She offered a bounty of $150 for each wolf's left paw when she was in office. In the NRA speech, she said that there is no aerial hunting of wolves. That's correct, it's not hunting, it's extermination, pure and simple. She joked about smoking a pack. She attacked Hollywood little starlets and wildlife groups, saying that they don't respect people and put the lives on Alaska Natives at risk. Sarah Palin played the race card in the most cynical way. She doesn't want to preserve moose and caribou herds for the natives, she wants to protect the interests of commercial trophy hunters.

On a less political note, there are stories about how she hates cats and how her family couldn't control a dog gifted to them by the Menards so they had to return the dog Agia to the Menards. Now she's talking about her dad and her own family getting Labrador dogs to find antlers or something like that. Poor dogs!

Over half a million people took the time to sign a petition protesting Discovery's decision to buy her Sarah Palin's Alaska series.

Special needs community

Sarah Palin addressed a special needs event in Alabama, where she offered the usual platitudes about how Trig was a blessing from God and the best thing that ever happened to them. She couldn't find anything meaningful to say about how they're investing in Trig's future independence through early intervention programs or how much faith she has in the work of advocates for people with special needs. She chose instead to bash what she calls "Obamacare" and repeat her death panels negative message.

We all saw how Trig was paraded during the book tour, at all hours, poorly attired for the weather conditions, rarely wearing his glasses. We saw her "reading" him a book during an interview and how she quickly got rid of him when he became fractious with her flicking the pages in front of his nose. The prop misbehaved, get him out of here! Grandma Sally and auntie Kate attempted to force feed him solids, Piper helped him take a stroll for the delight of the fans, Trig was carted out to pose with other children with Down syndrome, was passed like a sack of potatoes to Franklin Graham, Jason Recher or anybody who would take him off Sarah's hands when she needed to yield a microphone to address the adoring crowds.






We had the Family Guy incident, when Sarah Palin used Bristol to issue a Facebook rant, showing this family's ignorance about special needs. Andrea Friedman, the actress who voiced the character in that episode of Family Guy, showed the Palins what people with Down syndrome can achieve when their families are truly supportive and provide them with the necessary nurturing (instead of carrying them around like a loaf of French bread). Many parents of children with special needs commented or contacted us to say that Sarah Palin doesn't speak for them.

Christians and non-Christians

People who follow the real teachings of Jesus Christ are absolutely appalled by Sarah Palin's version of Christianism. God speaks to her and through her. She's not charitable, not forgiving, not anything that could be found in the hearts of a true Christian.

Jewish people can only laugh at her tales of Queen Esther and are very suspicious of her praise of Israel. When she said the Jews would flock to Israel in the coming weeks and months (to Barbara Walters), defending the expansion of Israeli territory, sensible Jews heard alarm bells. What was she on about? It seems to be related to the Rapture, when all Jews who don't convert to Christianism will be destroyed.

Sarah Palin's interpretation of the Constitution is just as skewed as her interpretation of the bible. She believes America is a Christian nation and that the governement should follow Judeo-Christian tenets. That's where the non-Christians come in. They should be patted on the head and tolerated by the "real" American believers.

She seems to have a close association with Franklin Graham, an opportunistic Evangelist who, in a role reversal, appears to use his father as a prop...


Parents

Oh, Mama Grizzly really upsets committed parents. All her children have been used relentlessly since Sarah Palin hit the national scene. Track the brave, fighting for the First Amendment in Iraq. Bristol the knocked-up teenager, campaigning for revirgination and other BS, Willow the statutorily raped, desperately trying to keep a low profile, Piper the cute, the babysitter who should be at school and finally Trig the prop, as explained above.

Bristol, the retroactive virgin, has already jumped on the grifting bandwagon. Speaking engagements and a book are in the pipeline and she has a more manageable prop, poor Tripp. Sarah Palin loves to ram her "family values" down our throats and we can only shake our heads in disbelief... where is the CPS?

Immigrants, ethnic minorities

Sarah Palin's record regarding Alaska Natives is absolutely terrible. From taking cookies and the Evangelical circus, led by the ubiquitous Franklin Graham, to starving, poverty stricken communitites to appointing Wayne Anthony Ross to the office of Attorney General.

She married a token native and exploits it every step of the way.

She sided with the governor of Arizona on the unconstitutional law against Hispanics or any other minority the local police decides to target. Not content with that, she's now meddling in the affairs of a school in Illinois.

Her references to "Real Americans" are simply an underhanded way of implying that the president is not a real American. He's black, a Muslim and god knows what else...

***

Intelligent, peace loving, sensible people are all disgusted with Sarah Palin's hypocrisy, divisiveness and vindictiveness. Her shallow statements, repeated platitudes and word salad may make us laugh, but deep down we're all horrified.

Sarah Palin is loved and admired by people who can't see beyond a pretty face or a shapely body, by people too ignorant to seek information, too racist to be objective. She's in a comfortable relationship with ruthless Neocons and large corporations. They see each other as useful tools to achieve their own ends. And she gets a pass from the media because she means big bucks for them.

Hopefully the intelligent, sensible people are in the majority and will continue to see through Sarah Palin's lies, continue to be outraged by her ill advised statements and will show their power when the mid-term elections take place later this year and again in 2012.

BONUS PICTURE

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Sarah Palin's very old habit: Using her children as political props

The video above is a tribute to Sarah Palin and her family, made by a loyal fan.

Sarah Palin is very fond of saying "Leave my children alone." And yet, she seems to place her children in the spotlight at any available opportunity, using them to gain sympathy, to add the cuteness factor to her political campaigns and also as poster children for various other campaigns.

In Going Rogue, we learn that she would take her children with her while campaigning for a seat on the Wasilla City Council:

"Track and Bristol were still tiny, so I went door-to-door asking for people's votes, pulling the kids through the snow on a sled."

By the time she ran for mayor of Wasilla, Willow had joined her brood.

"And when it was time to knock on every door in the city again, I pulled Track and Bristol in a little red wagon, and this time I toted Willow in a toddler backpack."

The children helped her again, when Sarah Palin ran for a second term.

In 2002, Sarah decided to run for lieutenant governor and Piper joined in the fun.

By December 2005, Sarah was campaigning for governor.

Here's an example of  one of Sarah Palin's TV-ads used during her run for Governor in 2006:



"Now here I was headed home from Valdez, still toting kids on campaign trails, except this time (with longer distances to cover) using a Jetta instead of a sled."

As an infant, Piper became the poster child for the Alaska Right to Life.

"Ahead, on my right, I saw the Alaska Right to Life (RTL) booth, where a poster caught my eye, taking my breath away. It featured the sweetest baby girl swathed in pink, pretend angel wings fastened to her soft shoulders.

"That's you, baby," I whispered to Piper, as I have every year since she smiled for the picture as an infant."







The campaign trail when Sarah Palin ran for vice president is very well documented. All her children played a role, but Track and Bristol were absent as the campaign progressed. Willow, Piper and Trig were there for the duration.

Piper had been the hardest working Palin child until Trig took center stage, proving to be a much more powerful image in reinforcing Sarah Palin's right to life, anti-abortion credentials. None of the high profile organizations for Down syndrome or special needs adopted Trig as their poster child and Sarah Palin has paid lip service to any campaigns to raise funds or awareness in the challenges the children and their parents face on a daily basis. No, Trig seems to be used to promote Sarah Palin alone. He worked very hard during the vice presidential campaign and again on the book tour. Piper still plays a large role in her mother's ambitions, but now she has to share the stage with Trig.










Bristol is the poster child for abstinence, with some pro-life thrown into the mix. Magazine spreads, ambassador for the Candies Foundation and now she's going to play herself on the ABC show "The Secret Life of the American Teenager". Tripp is the prop of choice for helping Bristol with her credentials.





Track has to play a more distant role as the military son, but the blue star and his name on a bracelet have been milked for all they're worth.

Sarah Palin doesn't seem to have found any specific use for Willow, apart from the statutory rape/Dave Letterman's fiasco.

This mixing of family and work would be OK if they were something like the Partridge Family, which is not the case here.

Sarah Palin is not the first or the only working mother in the world. Millions of women all over the world have to juggle their domestic and working lives every single day. She always had choices regarding childcare. In the earlier years, she could count on a large, close-knit extended family. More recently, she could have used her considerable wealth to provide the best childcare for the younger members of the Palin clan. The thing with Sarah Palin is that she doesn't have any boundaries between work and family, so her children play very prominent roles in her ambitious career in an obviously deliberate way.

How can Sarah expect the media to leave her children alone?