Sarah Palin controversy stokes Mommy War

By Andrea Hopkins

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - In America, where teenage pregnancy is a political issue and working moms subject to moral debate, the choice of Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential pick has ignited a Mommy War.

Questions about Palin's qualifications were raised almost as soon as presidential candidate John McCain shocked the political world by picking the relatively unknown Alaska governor to be his running mate last week.

The emergence of personal details has fueled the debate.

News that Palin, a conservative Christian, is running for the country's No. 2 office while parenting both an infant son with Down Syndrome and a 17-year-old pregnant daughter has sparked both condemnation and commendation.

Should a 44-year-old mother of five, including a newborn with special needs and a pregnant teenager, take on a job that will keep her away from her home for much of the next two months to eight years?

Nearly two-thirds of American mothers with preschool-aged children were in the labor force in 2003, according to the latest government figures. Women rich and poor, famous or not, grapple with the same issues and public perceptions.

The Republican Party's conservative base, having worked to co-opt moral issues for their political cause, so far has rallied around Palin and her daughter despite its promotion of abstinence education and traditional families.

The daughter will have the child and marry the father.

"I can't get past the part of the scripture that says it is the responsibility of the parents to raise the child. But I do believe that some parents can raise their children well and not stay home all the time," said Lindsay Matlock, an anti-abortion volunteer at this week's Republican convention in Minnesota.

"My only reservation would be that her son has Down Syndrome and ... her being away so much," said Matlock, 21.

Dr. Bill Maier, vice president and psychologist in residence for the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, came to the candidate's defense, saying: "Gov. Palin seems to have been able to maintain a balance between work and family."

SEXISM?

The very fact that Americans are debating whether a woman with a new baby should be in a demanding job galls Carol Evans, president and chief executive of Working Mother Media, which publishes Working Mother magazine.

"The fact that the United States is the only developed country without paid maternity leave should be front and center, not whether (Palin) can go back to work with a four-month old," said Evans, noting that the average American working mother returns to work 11 weeks after giving birth.

A question that emerges for Americans of all political stripes is: Would any of this be asked if Palin was a man?