Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Next week Oklahomans will elect the state's very first female governor. But will Oklahoma's next governor be a wife and mother, or will she be a single, childless career woman?
Mary Fallin, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, emphasized this question in a recent debate when she described what most distinguishes her from Democratic opponent Jari Askins:
I think my experience is one of the things that sets me apart as a candidate for governor. First of all, being a mother, having children, raising a family.
Many female commentators have decried Fallin's statement as a mean-spirited cheap shot against her 57-year old never-married, childless opponent. Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus thinks that marital and family status should be off-limits when two women are on the ballot.
The unstated premise of Fallin's comment is: "I'm a mom and she's not." And the unstated but barely disguised conclusion is: "And that makes me better and leaves her lacking in a material way."
This put-down packs a far more powerful punch in a woman-on-woman race. If Fallin were running against an unmarried man, the I'm-a-parent-and-you're-not card wouldn't be quite so loaded: A "childless" female candidate tends to be perceived as lacking in an essential way that a man without children is not. And if Askins's opponent were a married father, he would probably be smarter than to bring up her marital and maternal status for fear of the ensuing backlash.
Low blow or fair game? I'm inclined to accept Fallin's remarks as fair game if she genuinely believes that her experience as a mother is pertinent information for the electorate. But if nothing else, it's unfortunate that Fallin squandered an opportunity to emphasize her distinguishing governing philosophy and first principles.
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May '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
If the Democratic candidate has ever used the phrase "Working for (insert state's name here)'s Families" and has never raised one herself - fair game.
Aug '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Any salvos across the Janet Reno / Janet Napolitano bow are welcome. Both those womyn have wrecked their respective departments with PC and good ol'fashioned bad management. Their hubristic arrogance has cost lives, weakened our laws, and politicized important safeguards we once enjoyed.
Is it because they were without the benefit of the experience of creating and maintaining a family ? Not sure, but their attitudes certainly synched.
I think a family, it's creation, succor, and maintenance is wonderful training for government. You learn the limits of your own power, the importance of always protecting the things you hold dear , and understand the difference between a battle and a war.
70% of unmarried women voted for Obama. Are they looking for a big brother, a father, or a husband ? What a horrible place to look.
I'd say the 70% figure is all we need to know.
Edited on Oct 28, 2010 at 12:31pmSep '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Just to pour fuel on the fire, I've had female direct reports, female peers, and female bosses. I like women and respect them and worked with enough of them to see them as individuals and while its not a general sample, my worst female bosses were married with no children and in their late 40s, early 50s. Not saying all are like that, but I could definitely see control freak tendencies that would have been curbed by a few kids running around. The same argument could be applied to males too, but I haven't yet had any childless males as bosses.
Oct '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
One of the first principles of good governance is a firm grasp on economic realites. A woman who, as a mother has greater experience in stewarding a households "scarse rescources with alternate uses" (to steal a phrase from Thomas Sowell) would, in my opinion, be more qualified than a single man or woman who has had only to look out for their own personal needs.
Edited on Oct 28, 2010 at 12:40pmAug '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
If you're a feminist, you're likely to find this offensive. If you're not, you probably won't. It's nothing more than feminists complaining about gender roles again.
May '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
If a woman can drive manual, then she can be a good politician.
May '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Important positive asset; tacky negative way to draw attention to it. I would hope that the "first of all" attribute would relate more to issues, and philosophies of governance. I would also note that there is a world of difference between being a parent (which is quite easy) and being a good parent (which is quite difficult.) Being a mother can make her a better governor, but hardly qualify her to be governor, despite homilies about juggling and family finances.
Jun '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
So, per Ruth Marcus, in today's political environment, the less we know about a candidate the better (heaven forbid we know about a candidate's religion or marital status)?
Male candidates have been dragging their families into the political area since Cain ran against Abel--but it's not OK for a woman to let the electorate know she's a mom. Sigh!
Edited on Oct 28, 2010 at 1:21pmAug '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Nothing is off-limits. It's up to the voters to decide what is important. It's condescending for any media outlet to declare what is "off-limits" and what isn't.
Oct '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Her comment on being a wife and mother is very similar to someone who is a businessperson siting their experience as being a vital qualification. Is someone who has run a business more qualified to speak on the challenges that face many businesspeople than someone who hasn't operated a business? Yes! Just as she is more qualified to speak on the challenges that face American families, than is her 57year-old, never married, childless opponent. Come on she knows nothing of what the majority of American face. Only in today's PC society is this even a question.
May '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
I agree again with Trace.
And I'll add another point. To me, it makes a big difference why a childless woman is childless. Is it because she put her own career ambition above raising a family? Or would she have loved to have children, but couldn't--either because of infertility or because she never met the right man? The former would be a negative asset in my book, but the latter not at all. That kind of human suffering is its own valuable experience.
And of course, unless it's almost impossible to judge from the outside which is the case. Another reason for the mother-candidate to refrain from raising the issue.
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
I was born in Oklahoma and spent most of my life there. Mary Fallin's statement was a knock-out blow -- not that her opponent needed knocking out this year . . . not at least in Oklahoma.
May '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
This strikes as being similar to O'Donnell's "I'm you" ads. Especially in a conservative state like Oklahoma, most people make starting and raising a family a focus in their lives. Someone who prioritizes business or similar interests ahead of family goals is outside the mainstream and is likely to have different values in general. In fact, the more conservative a person, the more likely he or she is to have kids. Sure, there are exceptions, but there's nothing wrong with playing the odds.
I think most voters right now are looking more for common sense and common experience than for expertise and great accomplishments. We want politicians who are humble and really approach the role as a service, rather than a job.
Aug '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
A tangential thought: I recall reading in Robert Kaplan's The Arabists about April Glaspie and her inability to stop Saddam Hussein, cure cancer, kick locomotives off the tracks, etc. Well, maybe just one of those. Anyway, an anonymous colleague was quoted as saying this part of the world was no place for a woman. I do not think Ambassador Glaspie's failure - if it was that - had anything to do with her not being a man; but I do think that her not being a mother could've been a serious shortcoming. I feel certain that a mom could easily browbeat any Middle Eastern male. I have a feeling Middle Eastern moms do it all the time.
Sep '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
This is a little bit of a low blow, but surely not on par with the wise latina crack by Sotomeyer and a hundred stories higher than the idol worship claim by Conway in WV senate race.
Politics aint beanbag, but this objection seems pretty thin skinned.
Jul '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Personally, I thought it was a grotesque statement.
Why bring that into a candidate's debate? It makes Fallin seem like a very petty and mean-spirited individual.
If I lived in Oklahoma, I'd be voting Libertarian.
Sep '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Hey, interesting question. I think that being a mother and raising kids is indeed worthy of note and certainly more valuable than some qualifications mentioned by some recent woman candidates and certainly some men candidates. Here's a few examples:
On a more serious note, I think that having kids gives someone an important perspective and level of empathy for other parents/families that you will never get without children. It tends to limit your self-absorption because you start to realize you're not the most important person in the world. At least that's been my experience.
Oct '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
I think it was a bit of a low blow, but not much of one.
I do think it's a reverse of the usual feminist double standard that we complain about, though. Women who stay home and have kids complain that "feminists" look down upon them. That motherhood is a choice.
And rightfully so.
But putting your career ahead of having a family is a choice too. Why should making *that* choice be any worse than making the motherhood one?
The problem is in the attitude toward other people's choices. And it applies to both sides.
Jul '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
In this day and age, in Our current cultural climate? Fair game. Welcome to the Big Leagues.
If Askins cared about "the children," she could of responded by talking about divorce.
Jul '10
Re: Motherhood: A Qualification for High Office?
Fair Game.
As long as we accept the populist premise that a politician needs to "understand" the travails of the average voter, then this is a perfectly valid position. Mothers raising kids represents a huge chunk of the electorate.
I'm not at all sure that I buy that premise. But is is a primary piece in our political culture. So, use it.