Is it just me, or does it seem like Americans are getting the run around lately, with stories that just don't seem to add up? Naturally, one or two oddities don't make a case for lies and deception. However, a critical mass of irregularities calls for some intelligent investigation and explanation.
After 9-11, the Republicans showed how skillful they are at manipulating smokescreens around sensitive subjects and then attacking questioners for being "un-American." The controversy around Sarah Palin's pregnancy and birth has the same sort of aroma. All tied up into a neat package, no questions allowed, and all the while getting "curiouser and curiouser."
It seems that we have only been thrown a few scraps of half-truths regarding Sarah Palin's very unusual circumstances regarding the labor and birth of little Trig. And there's been some mighty peculiar behavior, some which could be considered to be quite dangerous to a child. So, this is not just a private family issue, this exemplifies how the American people might expect Sarah Palin to act on our behalf, and, importantly, on our children's.
Until we know which half of those scraps is the truth, we can look at the different pieces, and wonder how they all add up in the mind and heart of one who hopes to represent us as vice president - and who could become president. How a mother treats her own children, or conducts herself in a situation where an unborn child might be at risk, reveals a lot about how she might cast a deciding vote where all of America's children are concerned.
So ascertaining an understanding of her personal standards and sense of ethics, and how that might affect us and our children, is our privilege and our responsibility, as American citizens.
If I were Palin, and a series of quirky circumstances combined in some bizarre way to shed doubt on my admittedly unusual story, I would be glad to prove that my words have been truthful, beyond a shadow of a doubt, believing that I owe that, at least, to the country I want to serve. And, as a mother, I would consider it my duty to protect my daughter from idle rumors - particularly those that were in any way related to my own actions or career- in every way possible, and I don't care how many pelvic exams that would require of me.
Young Bristol certainly appears to be a very sweet girl, who loves and cares for baby Trig in a deep and genuine way. If she is pregnant by five (or however many) months, that is her own business, and I certainly do not condemn her for that. It happens. But I do not want to see her sacrificed on the altar of her mother's political career, which seems to be happening, even now, no matter what the truth is. And, if all Sarah says is true, she is the one who can easily change that.
When Palin accepted the offer to run for vice president, her life -at least the part of it that can affect American citizens -became an open book. If she has nothing to hide, then all she has to do is turn the pages to reveal the truth. Simple, quick, and it deftly nips the whole ruckus in the bud.
If I were Sarah Palin, and Trig were my own baby, I would be mad as hell about having my daughter dragged through this. And I would be on a protective mother's wild rampage to prove the truth to vindicate her. I'd throw all my solidly supporting evidence on the table and say, "You're all wrong, and there's the PROOF!"
And, on the table would be:
* Records of my OB-GYN appointments and procedures, including amniocentesis;
