There is no way to know if Sarah Palin would be a good or a bad vice-president or pre

[Willow Oak]

I stand by my OP, and follow-up. Most of these responses have been made without giving any thought to what I said: "If I had a Down's Syndrome child and her money ... "

All right. We live in a society where both parents work. I don't agree with it, but that's where we are. And I don't care if every person on the face of this earth disagrees with me. Any woman who has a Down's Syndrome child -- especially if the child is less that one year old -- that could stay at home full-time but would prefer to work full time is not being a good mother.

A bunch of cats with claws! If you have children -- stay home with them, love them and rear them properly! What's wrong with you?

As for the person who suggested that I would never vote for a woman: you've revealed that you have a problem with men. You presume that because I am a man that I wouldn't vote for a woman. You don't have any idea what I would do or for whom I would vote. I could vote for Sarah Palin, but any woman with five children -- one a less than one-year-old Down Sundrome child -- has no business being vice-president or anything else. Go home and take care of that child! Leave it to a nanny? That's what's wrong with this world -- leave the responsibility to someone else.

You talk all concerned, and I may be ignorant, as you say, but you would never do what I do. Phooey on you!

[Pam]

Well I assume that this was all talked out between Sarah and her hubby before she accepted the slot on the ticket. It might involve a move to Washington or lots of travel on her part back and forth. I have no doubt that she can raise this child while being VP if she has a good support system in place which it seems that she does.

The only time I questioned whether someone should run for high office or not was when Sen. Edwards was running since his wife is dealing with terminal cancer. I thought he might want to spend all of the time that she has left with her. Well of course it seems that he had some other ideas about where he should spend some of his time anyway.

[Karen]

Hey, hey - this is till Pet Talk, remember.

I am of the opinion that every family is different. And you know what? Every Down's baby is different as well. Each has a different range of abilities and challenges. And she is not a single parent.

I do not know her youngest child's specifics. I do know, however, that he has four older siblings and a father as well as a mother.

As to your statement that "it only takes 5 minutes to be a father?" We refer to that as being a "sperm donor." Fatherhood takes a lot more time and effort.

Many mothers work two jobs to be able to raise their children, clothe and feed them. So do many fathers. Is this ideal? No. But does it mean their kids will turn out to be less than good citizens? Certainly not.

[Willow Oak]

Hey, hey - this is till Pet Talk, remember.

Are you suggesting that I have violated some rules or code of ethics? If so, please so state and I shall leave Pet Talk to you and yours forever.

[caseysmom]

This is just a very sexist way of thinking, this is 2008 a father can do just as good a job as a mother. The one that can earn the money should go out and do that and the other can parent, doesn't matter the sex of that said person.

[Karen]

Are you suggesting that I have violated some rules or code of ethics? If so, please so state and I shall leave Pet Talk to you and yours forever.

No, you have not violated any rules, not yet. But I wanted to point that out in the thread before it had a chance to get any nastier.

Basically, no name-calling, no disparaging of others', just remember we can talk about different opinions and still remain respectful of each other as human beings.

That's all that meant. Political discussions tend to get nasty fast - in the real world, and sometimes even faster in "cyberspace" - so I wanted to remind everyone, as the rest know I do from time to time, that this is Pet Talk. If you want to engage in nastiness and flames wars and mud-flinging, there are plenty of sites devoted to politics that permit and even welcome that.

This is Pet Talk, where we do sometimes discuss politics, but mainly it is a board about pets!

And I don't even know what or if the Palin household has any pets!

[JenBKR]

As for the person who suggested that I would never vote for a woman: you've revealed that you have a problem with men. You presume that because I am a man that I wouldn't vote for a woman. You don't have any idea what I would do or for whom I would vote. I could vote for Sarah Palin, but any woman with five children -- one a less than one-year-old Down Sundrome child -- has no business being vice-president or anything else. Go home and take care of that child! Leave it to a nanny? That's what's wrong with this world -- leave the responsibility to someone else.

You talk all concerned, and I may be ignorant, as you say, but you would never do what I do. Phooey on you!

No, I presume that you would never vote for a woman because of your statements. It has nothing to do with the fact that you are a man. I am absolutely appalled and disgusted by some of your statements.

I stand by my OP, and follow-up. Most of these responses have been made without giving any thought to what I said: "If I had a Down's Syndrome child and her money ...

No, we all read what you said. Why you would think that would make any difference is beyond me.

There are a lot of working mothers who are fantastic mothers, and for you to imply that a woman can't be both is barbaric. I can think of one wonderful, respected member of this board that is a single mother and is also an attorney. She loves her child more than anything in the world, and she is a wonderful mother. She, and others like her, are not 'passing the responsibility' on to someone else. They work harder, both in their jobs and at home, than you will ever know.

LH, I am glad to see you weighing in on this....if my DH were to read this he would be just as upset. It takes SO MUCH MORE than 5 minutes to be a father, and I am just shocked that anyone would make such a statement.