In June when I said of Cookie magazine
"...I was originally sold on a magazine that was a little more intellectual. I fret my favorite alternative parenting magazine is loosing its substance and turning into Good Housekeeping mashed up with Cosmopolitan. If next month, a mear six months from a presidential election, I get a magazine filled with diets and quick tips for vacuuming I'm cancelling it and ordering Bitch..."
I feel it's my duty to say, I was happy to find a story on page 132 "Elective Memory: Looking for Parenting Principles (and presidential potential) in the McCain and Obama Memoirs" by Nell Casey. Nell outlines both men's family and upbringing citing their books and while I read it and think it leans towards Obama, I'm sure another would read it and think it leans towards McCain, so I think it was balanced. However, I'm still wondering about the merit of the overall article. Do women make decisions about candidates based on the candidate's relationship with their family? Nell even says:
"It is moving to see how the parents of these men still reside within them. And though it may seem grasping to turn these candidates' descriptions of their families in order to know them better, such details are a good bit more telling that stump speeches."
I disagree; a stump speech will inform where a candidate stands on childcare, equal pay, insurance, war, home loans, and school testing. I think these issues are far more important to families than knowing how much a candidate loves his mom. I felt talked down to after reading this article. Does this article suggest women are so sensitive and full of silly ol' feelings that this is truly what can sway us? So thank you Cookie Magazine for giving us some talk of this very important election, kind of. I look forward to reading a meatier article about the candidates and their stance on real parenting issues in the next issue.
What do you think? Do you vote with your brain or your heart or both?
2 comments:
I would have to say I vote with both. I look at a candidate's stand on the issues that are important to me and my family. For instance, when it came time for me to choose a party when I turned 18, I chose Republican. Why? My father was in the military and at the time Bill Clinton was closing a lot of military bases. So this issue hit home with me.
Both, though I am usually led more by feelings than logic. Even when I am trying to be logical, I tend, in the end to go with my gut.
That said, however, I wouldn't vote for a candidate just he loves his mother. Seriously, even a serial killer can love his mother.
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