Chi Sun-Times Michael Sneed Takes On Feminists Against Palin

September 16th, 2008 4:05 AM

You don't see this in the media every day. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed offers a counter argument to those that use the mainstream media pulpit to attack Sarah Palin from the feminist mantle. While peers like Mary Mitchell display their disdain for Sarah Palin with emotional editorial outbursts Michael Sneed is lending Palin some support in her column headlined "Revoke my feminist card -- I like Palin".

Hmmm. Maybe . . . I am not a feminist after all.

Maybe . . . working in a man's world for 42 years and busting my butt to beat them up the ladder deletes me from the feminist category.

Perhaps . . . struggling to be a good single mom in a very married world -- yet meeting my five-day-a-week column deadline -- doesn't earn me a feminist handle either.

Certainly . . . because I'm not appalled or sickened or shocked by Sarah Palin's stealing the thunder from Obama the orator, I am not a feminist.

Give me a break.

Using tongue in cheek sarcasm Sneed shoots down many of the baseless criticisms that have been leveled against Palin in this third week of media driven hysteria.

So what if she's a Republican? I tend to vote for Republican presidents.

So what if she didn't know the definition of the Bush Doctrine
? Her performance was a Western draw. Bravery in tact. But no one shot.

So I asked myself -- what fault is there in admiring a woman who is against abortion -- even though I believe in freedom of choice?

What's wrong with huge respect for a woman who chose to give birth to a Down syndrome child knowing full well what was in store for her and her family?

And if appreciating a woman who chose a husband who supports her ladder-climbing skill puts me in the non-feminist category, well maybe that's where I belong.

To be blunt, Palin is like a zephyr blowing across the prairie with a retro hairdo tied back like a sheaf of wheat.

She is real. She is rural. She may not be a brilliant tactician, but she's got street sense. Palin is so unlike the very controlled Hillary Clinton, who would never be caught dead in red heels.

Thus, it now appears Palin has emerged as "everywoman" to a huge portion of our female population; a woman never really identified with what we thought was our quintessential role model -- a highly educated woman who wears tailored suits, whose voice is never shrill and who has a husband who makes more than she does.

Ouch. Perhaps the joke is on me. I'll have to check back in the morning to see if the column is still up or perhaps check the calendar to see if I have been whisked back in time to April 1st. I am not used to reading this sort of non-deranged commentary about Sarah Palin in any newspaper let alone the Chicago Sun-Times.

I'll even let the Bush doctrine line pass. Some narratives seep in no matter how many times you shoot them down. 

But give credit where credit is due. It takes a brave woman to admit that she likes Sarah Palin in today's shark infested mainstream media waters. This too shall pass.

Terry Trippany is the publisher of Webloggin and holds the post as The Watcher at Watcher of Weasels. You can read more about Sarah Palin's Apepazza Musa patent leather peep toe pumps here. All emphasis mine throughout.