Lipstick Talk

When was the last time you heard so many people talk about lipstick? 

In the past ten days the nation’s attention has turned to Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, a self-proclaimed lipstick wearing, gun toting, hockey mom. Just as Senator Obama’s nomination by the Democrats has given our country an opportunity to openly discuss race, so too does Palin’s nomination provide us with the opportunity to discuss gender and work. 

I sincerely hope those discussions take place. As by now we all know Palin is the mother of five children and has worked professionally as a small town mayor and a state governor. As yet, I’ve neither seen nor heard news reports in which citizens of those locales criticize her effectiveness on the job. That’s important. Elected officials receive performance reviews (they’re called polls) far more frequently than most employees. By all accounts, Palin’s performance meets if not exceeds expectations.

Anyone may question the work-life choices Palin has and continues to make. I think, however, we should remember that each of us decides how we will balance our personal and professional lives, and ultimately, we all live with the consequences of those choices. I know professionals—both men and women—who openly talk about how they pursued their careers, often to the detriment of their family life. I also know professionals who have opted to give up some professional advancement because of the negative impact they feared it might create at home. I’ve known still more professionals who have worked to the hilt and rarely regretted a moment of it. I am unwilling to judge any of these professionals as being right or wrong. They simply made their choices. Palin’s done nothing more and nothing less.

If we judge Palin, let’s judge her performance on the campaign trail and the political positions she has and continues to take. I for one would like to hear from a Wasilla librarian. Some news reports have hinted that Palin may once have attempted to ban books from a public library. If that’s true, and it’s still an if, that act alone tells me much more about the type of potential chief executive she might make than does her decision to mother five children and continue to work.  

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