This story was printed from TODAYonline 
Weekend • September 6, 2008
chitrarajaram@mediacorp.com.sg
SARAH Palin (pronounced “pay-lin”), the unknown low profile Alaskan governor, has suddenly become the woman in the news. She has piqued the interest of almost every woman — and man, I am sure — since she was named the running mate for Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain.
While critics immediately lashed out at her lack of credibility or experience for the vice-presidency, women all over the world, like me, warmed up to her immediately.
Why? Mrs Palin, 44, is one of us — a wife, a mother (to a brood of five, at that!) and a career woman all in one. All of us 40-something baby-boomer women can identify and bond with her.
So, to all the harsh critics out there, I say give her a break. Sarah Palin is a real woman. In this botoxed, face-lifted world she is a breath of fresh air who adds a dose of reality to America and the rest of the world.
The clear message she is sending is: This is who I am and this is what I am all about. And she makes no bones about it. Her life choices reflect that refreshing non-politically correct side of her. Unlike most people, she did not get married the traditional way. In fact, she shocked even her parents when she eloped with her high school sweetheart at 24. But her mother later said: “While it was a shock, she did it because she knew we couldn’t afford a big white wedding.”
Palin was certainly thinking with her head and her heart. She was pro-family even back then — her son was born eight months after she eloped.
She has remained married to that childhood sweetheart for 20 years. And that is quite something in this day and age of increasing divorce rates and infidelity. Over the years, while she took on political office positions, her husband scaled back his career to help out with the home and the children — something many couples are still struggling to come to terms with even today.
She starts her day at 4.30am every day and stays up late packing lunches. She said in an interview with Newsweek: “To be a mum, you have to have more time management than any CEO.”
But I am not sure all CEOs have the mental stamina and strength that she has. When her amniotic fluid began to leak as she was delivering a speech, she finished the speech anyway, then caught an eight-hour flight back to Alaska and had the baby.
Three days after the baby was born, she was back at work. All mothers know how difficult that must have been, especially since this baby was special — he had been diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome prenatally.
Critics questioned her judgement on leaving a three-day-old baby with special needs and rushing back to work. But the reality is many of us do start working immediately after having a baby. It may not mean being physically back at the office, but let’s be honest, how many of us new mothers are guilty of checking our blackberries or laptops just a few hours after delivery?
I, for one, began grading exam scripts soon after I delivered my son as there really was no one to cover for me.
As a mother, wife and woman, Mrs Palin has done the best she can under the circumstances — difficult as they can be — without pretending everything is, as the Americans say, “hunky dory”.
The recent revelation that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant is another case in point. If Mrs Palin had wanted to hide it, she could have had the baby aborted much earlier and it would not have been an issue today. Instead, she was upfront about it and said her daughter will have the baby and marry the father of the child. While I do not agree with her decision for the young couple to marry, I respect the fact that her decision is based on her own values.
Any mother with teenage kids will know that these things do happen, especially with the numerous working class American families that Mrs Palin personifies.
As a mother of an 18-year-old, I have to confess that every time my daughter talks about a boy she has met or her prom date, my heart skips a beat. We all believe we have instilled the right values in our children and hope for things to pan out the right way. But life is not always so picture perfect.
As for her ability and credibility, let’s not forget that before she was Alaska’s governor, she was the mayor of her hometown, Wassila.
Mrs Palin may not make sweeping “change” speeches like Barack Obama does, nor does she have the pedigree to match that of Hillary Clinton. She is a small-town girl, who has worked hard to get where she is today.
Whether she gets voted in or not, Mrs Palin’s small town values of family, fidelity, honour and responsibility will certainly hold her in good stead.
At the end of the day that’s the backbone of what makes a good man ... or a good woman ... a great leader.