Sarah, the Barracuda

In the way that all political discussions morph into brawls, the nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate has brought new nastiness to the election this year.

The newly minted candidate, the Governor of Alaska, is a member in good standing of the National Rifle Association and shoots moose. She's a Right to Life mother of five, including a four month old baby with special needs. A conservative's conservative, a gifted speaker and an attractive women as well. Those who admire her are already wondering how she manages to do it all.

Opponents to her nomination are too numerous to count so I just picked a few. The Democratic Party in general terms, feminist women like Gloria Steinem who called her an anti-feminist right winger in a recent op-ed. Conservative women like former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan who was caught off-mike saying that Palin was not the most qualified candidate and was chosen for the sake of "political bulls(tuff) about narratives." And finally, the entire assorted collection of media pundits who call themselves unbiased, but are never held accountable when they cross the line.

Palin's credentials are a legitimate target for inspection. Going from the mayor and member of the town council of Wasilla, Alaska to the Governor of the state for the past 20 months is a big leap, but it is legitimate experience. I will leave it to readers to decide if it is enough to qualify her for the Vice Presidency.

What is shocking is the smarmy criticism from the media about Bristol Palin, the 17 year old and pregnant daughter of the Governor. Bloggers began the rumor that Palin's daughter was the real mother of baby Trig. It did not take long for them to question whether Governor Palin could be faulted for lack of oversight of her daughter; whether she could actually handle the responsibility of the job she was seeking as Vice President with such a large family and her obvious failure to prevent a teen pregnancy.

This is outrageous prejudice toward a successful woman and the questions that arise from it sting. Watching CNN's Soledad O'Brien try to explain why having the Palin children on stage during mom's speech created a confusing signal; as though their mere presence near their mother during the convention opened them up to scrutiny and even criticism. If Ms. O'Brien actually believes this is a plausible explanation, it is time for her to turn in her press pass.

Women in the Democratic Party must feel betrayed by the Palin nomination too. Their candidate, Hillary Clinton, was marginalized and swept aside for the "change" that Democratic candidate Barak Obama would bring.

Still smarting from the defeat along comes Sarah Palin who sweeps the stage, tips her hat to Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro and, smiling all the while, becomes the woman who may enter the history books as the first female Vice Chief Executive of the United States of America. That must really hurt.

Ladies of the left don't take it out on Sarah because she stole your thunder. The animus is misplaced. Hillary campaigned to the last and all that hard work opened the door for Palin. Take heart, at least the door is now open.

Jane Norris is a former fed and current host of the Federal Drive. You can reach her at jnorris@federalnewsradio.com