Role Model For Women?

Like many of you, I watched the debates last night while eating Hot Pockets. Listening to John McCain defend Sarah Palin made me feel scared and confused. Particularly when he stated as a fact, "Sarah Palin is a role model for women." That is just offensive to women.

Sarah Palin may indeed be a role model to certain women, and that's great. But she's not a role model to me. In fact, in the list of female role models I have I think Sarah Palin is beat by both Crazy Maureen (the cashier at Walgreens on Broadway and Belmont) and Anna Nicole Smith.
This morning I was trying to think about who my female role models are and came up with a lot of women who have been dead a long time...Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson, Jackie-O...who are my modern day female role models? I kept searching through lists of celebrities in all different fields until I realized they are a handful of people I actually know, women I have watched handle situations with grace and class, women who have succeeded and done amazing things with their lives. None of them are Sarah Palin.

I will also thank John McCain to stop using the phrase "pro-abortion". As Barack Obama rightfully corrected him last night, no one is "pro-abortion"...no one thinks, "I hope some day I can have an unwanted pregnancy so I can get one of those super fun abortions." Using this phrase shows that he doesn't even understand that side of the argument. Perhaps he could try the correct "Pro-Choice" which includes the choice NOT to have an abortion, the idea being that the woman decides what is best for herself. Or maybe "Pro-Women's Rights" if he wants to get creative. I like how he backed this up saying "Cindy and I are adoptive parents, we know what it's like" and "We will help those pregnant woman be brave enough to handle adoption." Oh, F-you John McCain...because guess what? After Brangelina and Mia Farrow, I think my family is pretty much the expert on adoption...we have it from every angle...every single angle...and while I agree that it is a wonderful and important thing, it's not just about putting on a brave face. You know, I recently overheard a republican at a party say that democrats are pro-abortion and judge Sarah Palin for not having an abortion when she found out her youngest child had Down's Syndrome. That is completely sick and offensive. Do republicans think that is what we are after? Creating a society of "perfect" babies and weeding out the "inferior" ones? Absurd. What about the twelve year old at the abortion clinic, pregnant with her father's baby? What about the woman who doesn't want to be tied to her abusive boyfriend for the rest of her life through a baby? What about the woman who just made a mistake even though she knew better but can't handle the idea of giving birth and never seeing that child again? What about the millions and millions of other reasons that women thoughtfully and painfully think about and consider carefully before deciding to have an abortion? What about the women who decide they could never have an abortion...at least they got to decide that. It's about protecting the woman's right to decide what she wants to do with her own body and her own life...and any woman who wants to jeopardize that protection is no role model of mine.