Anyone Can Become President

When my five-year-old kept talking about what he would do when he became president I always ended the conversation saying, "all you have to do is study hard and if you want it, anyone can become president." Of course I never believed that. I knew a week later he would want to be an actor or a scientist so I thought that was the easiest way to go on to another conversation. But Sarah Palin proved me wrong. ANYONE can now be president.

I like Sarah Palin's public speaking ability. I think she is fun to look at, certainly the hottest vice presidential candidate in history. But I looked up some facts. The United States has 10,000 nuclear weapons, 100 aircraft carriers, 3,000,000 people in the armed forces, and ten trillion dollars of debt.

I am now hearing from the Karl Roves of the world that having a 17-year-old daughter pregnant out of wedlock will make Palin sympathetic to millions of Americans who know the pain of that situation. But my question is WHERE WAS THE ADVICE? Do we want a president who cannot communicate to their own child that possibly having a baby a year after you get your driver's license is not the smartest thing to do? Is this the new way for women to break the glass ceiling? To have their daughters throw their babies at it? I want my president to control their children, then they can tell the Navy what to do.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate

Comments

[humandoubles]

"I want my president to control their children, then they can tell the Navy what to do." Maybe this would read better as "I want my president and members of the government to control their OWN children, not mine." Actually, this would be great advice for former vice president Al Gore. I believe his son is/was really out of control.

[zphi]

Humandoubles said: "I want my president to control their children, then they can tell the Navy what to do." Maybe this would read better as "I want my president and members of the government to control their OWN children, not mine."

I agree! Its funny, Barracuda Barbie was so smugly harsh and staunch in her criticism of Barack on Wed that after all was said and done, I wondered where was all-a-that- with her daughter? Was she the "Barracuda" when talking to Bristol about teen pregnancy? (since she doesn't believe strangers (like teachers) should be a part of talking to her kids about the birds and the bees. I realize that some people are better at handling their careers than their personal life. Heck, that situation could happen to anyone, but my concern has been, how then do you say its a "private" matter and then you flaunt your teen with her "private" issue on stage with the shocked and lost looking man-child fiance with the pompous belief that NO ONE should say "hey lady, your PRIVACY" is showing?....
somebody...help me understand....

[gardnbear]

I don't know about you folks, but the original post here is so hot it burnt my eyeballs. Loved it.

[darker]

Palin has zero qualifications for US Presidency should she need to take it over.
Palin's biggest qualification is a big mouth for LIES. No thanks!

Maybe a moose packin' a rifle will be run as candidate by SENSATIONALIST PUBLICISTS for the Republicans next.

[parryisle]

We can expect a double standard concerning the teen-ager's pregnancy as I doubt if the Republicans will ever criticize any wayward conduct by one of their own Thanks to YOU Tube there is some comment from Bill O"Reilly condemning the failing of the mother of Britiney Spears sister for her pregnancy.

[miladyfair]

Yes. Bill-O calls those girls "pinheads" for their pregnancies, but supports Palin on her "decision".

[truthbrigade]

Whether the GOP wins or loses this election, this country has been reduced to a laughing stock around the world. Having these two (Dumb and Dumber) heading the ticket of a major political party, and after two terms of one of the most disrespected occupants of the W/H, is the biggest indictment of the people of this country.

[GretaR]

I have 2 college degrees (1 from a "public ivy"), and 20 years of well-rounded experience in multimedia. I thought those many job rejections for being "over qualified" were an excuse, now I see that they reflect a trend.

I am definitely qualified to be Vice President of the U.S.A. Heck, I think that I will just go ahead and write myself in for President. (Sorry, Mr. Gore, you'll have to wait.)

[Sportswoman]

Hold the phone--so Jim Webb doing his job was a bad thing? Having a strong navy is bad? As oppoosed to what--Bush-Cheney-McCain thinning our ranks into oblivion, thus preventing the US, through their failed and misguided foreign policy blunderings, of actually accomplishing what all Americans thought after 9-11 was the real goal --of finding Bin Laden?
Jim Webb disagreed on Iraq's handling and co-authored the GI Bill of Rights that Bush- McCain opposed. Webb has stood up for the soldiers and McCain has not. Don't fault Webb for doing his job 25 years ago. That's ridiculous.

[miladyfair]

Are you sure you posted to the right blog?

[heronimous]

"Is this the new way for women to break the glass ceiling? To have their daughters throw their babies at it?"

bwah ha ha ha ha.. great line mr brooks.. i salute you..

[BigSid]

UTTERLY AMAZING!

It truly is amazing that someone would attribute a teenage pregnancy solely to the idea that the parents never warned the teen about the consequences of having sex and getting pregnant.

Isn't it possible that a pro-life parent would by definition be making a more credible case against getting pregant to their child than a pro-choice parent would be?

The teen in the pro-choice house would know they could always get an abortion...one afternoon to solve their problem. But, the teen in a pro-life house would know that getting pregant is at minimum an 18-year commitment.

How many of the people here denouncing this 17 year old are the children of teenage mothers? Even your hero, Obama, is the child of a teenage mother (possibly 17 when she got pregnant) and you'd say he turned out alright. I don't see anybody knocking his mom.

[BannedInBoston]

When you press your children too hard in one direction (abstinence), they often rebel by going too far in the other direction (promiscuity). This is the whole problem with a lot of fundamentalist so-called "morality." End of discussion.

[lisaintexas]

As Obama himself pointed out. The whole thing is dumb. The woman is unqualified. I doubt her leadership skills and her knowledge of anything much is not that great. Not a terrible thing if you're living in your community, supporting your family and your constituents are happy with the way you do things as Governor. She has too little knowledge about a lot of things for my comfort level. The whole RNC played like a bad soap opera. But as the McCain campaign pointed out 'it's not about the issues - it's about the personalities.' American Idol here we come.

[gage]

"I doubt her leadership skills and her knowledge of anything much is not that great."

You really don't know anything about her.

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/09/02/the-case-against-the-case-against-palin.aspx

[BigSid]

Dude, I catch your drift...I hard a hard time watching the RNC. I'm not a Republican...but most likely voting for McCain this election.

But the DNC wasn't much more than a soap opera either...didn't really hear a lot of talk about issues from that side either. Constant discussion of how we should unite the party and support Obama ain't much of a discussion of issues.

[zoozey]

Yes, and let's just hear your outrage if it was Obama's daughter (if she was 17), and her baby daddy was the Black equivalent of Palin's daughter's baby daddy. Care to read about him in his own words--check out his MYSPACE bio (if it hasn't been scrubbed from the site yet).

So I can see it right now: all of you having a group hug with Obama's preggers daughter and a baby daddy from the hood (the way your side sees these guys) standing up on the stage with the Obama family. Guess you'd be ok with that?

No, your side would have rather made fun of Chelsea Clinton's looks when she was a little girl. View your guy, McCain, using her as the punchline of a joke.

And are you ok with Palin risking her baby's life on that 8 hr. flight after her water had broken hours before? What if that had been Michelle Obama who knowingly boarded an 8 hour flight in labor, risking her baby's life?

Spare us your sanctimonious bulls$%t and go view what Bill O'Reilly had to say about the pregnancy of Jamie Lynn Spears ("it is the PARENTS' fault, he railed"), but before you do, see him making all sorts of excuses about Palin's grandbaby

Deliver me from a Mom of an 18 year old, who is going off to Iraq, saying, "I really haven't kept up
/don't know too much about Iraq."

[BigSid]

I'm black...there would be no outrage on my part.

I also have my own mind...I don't look to Bill O'Reilly for my answers.

I can't guess what Palin meant when she supposedlt said she doesn't keep up with Iraq...but I bet you don't know quite as much about Iraq as you would like to think you do.

[macwin1956]

I think Obama himself pointed this out when it first hit the news.Hes not ashamed of his Mom or his heritage that isnt the point.Obama also stated that children of the candidates should be off limits

[BigSid]

Obama did point that out, but it appears his followers aren't following his lead.

[Live4literacy]

Funny, but my 12 year old is well aware of the consequences of having unsafe sex and not using birth control and came to the conclusion during the "talk" that the only way not to get pregnant is not to have sex. She also was told that it is a great idea to wait until you love someone and when that happens, making sure every one is disease free and then using birth control will keep you from getting sick or pregnant, because despite what all Republicans like to believe, humans have sex because it feels good, not just to make babies. And while I am pro-choice, because my parents educated me, when the "time" was right, I took all precautions and never had to consider an abortion. ANd no, I wasn't promiscuous, waited until my 20s and have been married for 18 years, so that bullshit argument about educating kids will then make them want to have sex earlier is ridiculous. It's all about EDUCATION about all aspects of sex, not just abstinence-look around you- apparently people are doing it.

[GretaR]

Hey, maybe the kid's condom broke. Where was that condom made, anyway? In the USA by proud union workers, or perhaps by another country that most likely hates us.

[cyndie1030]

No condom, I'm sure. Mum doesn't believe in birth control either. She proposes we teach our young abstinence instead. Only abstinence.

[gage]

False. She is in favor of contraceptives and sex-ed.

[gage]

"Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella said the governor stands by her 2006 statement, supporting sex education that covers both abstinence and contraception."

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-sexed6-2008sep06,0,3119305.story

[gotborked]

How do you jump to the conclusion that Governor Palin didn't give her child advice?

Every teenager who ever lived has gone against their parents' advice even when they knew it was right.

[trollsbwild]

Shield your rocket or leave it in your pocket.

[DRaymond]

Because she is against telling any children at all about birth control maybe? The public schools should only teach 'just say no'. Well we all know how well that works.

[gage]

That's false. She is not against contraceptives and education about them.

[DASChicago]

The McCain and GOP's moral compass is off the radar. Any votes for this McBush ticket will keep us trying to catch up to history, as McCain has stated. How ridiculous is that? Who do they think they are talking to, I can't live in his POW days with him or 8 more years of rape, corruption and deception. And, for his VP pick who has fallen right in line with this group is saddening... this is a true sign of cerebral hemorrhage on McBush/Rove part.
The character assassination of the media is a pathetic scheme the republicans has used to stall inquiries about this woman's background. The American People deserve better. The American People deserve transparency. The American People deserve open Government and Progress.



I'm personally outraged at this type of attack on the media.

[marinva]

i don't think i could agree more.

[Daps]

"I can't live in his POW days with him or 8 more years of rape, corruption and deception"

Let alone our detainees, guantanamo nearing five years of rape, corruption, and deception.

[darker]

I agree that "The American People deserve better."

Better than Republican LIARS who've mastered and USED MEDIA to spread their
lies GALORE! And now they HYPOCRITICALLY "blame" media.

REPUBLICANS and their
corporations' advertisers INVENTED MEDIA! this makes their "pretend claim"
TOTALLY RIDICULOUS lies.

[cassamandra]

This is absurd. Anybody who has teenagers (or toddlers) at home knows that some kids listen some of the time and no kid listens all of the time. I'm especially put off by the authoritarian implications of this crap; kids aren't soldiers, their parents aren't generals, and life does, indeed, happen. Bristol's pregnancy is a non-issue; its manipulation by the right wing, however is. Can we have some political thought here, please?

[marinva]

um, no. parents need to take more responsibility of their children. in minority families it is ONLY the parents who keep their kids on a short leash and intimidate and challenge them away from careless, immature trouble. these are the children that not only survive and get knocked up way too young and repeat the cycle, but the ones who stay focused and go on to do incredible things.

clearly ms. palin was not home enough to keep this girl in line. period. i never got pregnant at 17 because my mom made sure i knew the facts of life and i had no interest in having a baby before i got a college education. people need to stop acting like this is a blessing. chances are this chick bristol's life is ruined now (particularly when she's divorced in her 20's with a 10 year old). bigger chances are that this kid is already on strike two with no body on and two outs.

[chitown8]

Actually it is a issue. Teen pregnancy is at it highest among miniorities. It has been expected in some case. Yet when white teens get pregnant it is the best thing since slice bread. This country need to stop making moral issues the focus of our way or governing. These teens need help it is ashame that this country does not get this.

[Bramptonian]

Chitown8, I couldn't agree more!

[Bitsko]

Don't forget folks that Jim Webb, Democrat, gave us the unneeded wasteful expensive 200 ship navy when he was Reagan's undersecretary for the navy. There's plenty o' blame to go around.

[marinva]

yes but it was reagan's trickle-down tax policies that maintained the imbalance in the budget while the military overspent

[LemonMeringue]

Sarah Palin is a bad mother for refusing to teach her daughters about birth control.

[ProudNeoCon]

How do you know she refused?

[MoeJava]

She "refused" simply by staying true to her beliefs, and staying silent.
Her belief? That no one should use birth control. Not for rape, not for incest.

Only people who believe in that are determined to see "proof of sex" and be able to denigrate those people who have unprotected, pre-marital sex.

Awful thing is, with incest, your tormentor has full view of your advancing pregnancy and ever-advancing dependence on them.

Thats why they don't like Gays because there is never that "proof" of wrong doing (in their eyes Sex is wrong)

I see her getting all riled up because they wont include creationism in public schools.

If she is truly wanting BOTH versions of creation/evolution being taught, then why draw the line at sex ed and birth control? That is just another opinion in modern life.

If she is so pro-life, why does she agree with ANY war?

[momforbetterworld]

Agree ... as a mother in a committed marriage raising a beautiful boy with my PH.D. husband and as a business executive with real world responsibilities, I am telling you that her Palin-Christian-values taught to her own kids in her own home were a proof that she is NOT QUALIFIED to be a VP of our racially and culturally diverse country. I know for a fact that a Jesus Christ, the community organizer, was pro-choice - read the Bible please.

[gage]

She didn't refuse to teach her daughters about that. Don't make stuff up.