Sen. Blanche Lincoln has no sympathy for the Republican talking point that tough handling should be off-limits for Miss Caribou 2008.
Sarah Palin should face tough questions about parenting and family issues just like female politicians now in Washington, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said Thursday.
Such questioning has been labeled “sexist” by some Republicans in the two weeks since Palin, the Alaska governor, was named the GOP vice presidential nominee.
Lincoln said she’s accustomed to inquiries about being a working mother and longtime lawmaker. Palin should get used to them, too, the state’s senior senator told reporters on a conference call.
“I think she’s got to answer the questions just like everybody else does,” Lincoln said. “I’ve certainly answered them. Many of my female colleagues have.
“I don’t know why all of a sudden that standard changes in terms of having to answer plausible questions. I’ve heard all she’s hearing before, and I’m still here.”
And here’s another woman, Ellen Goodman, with a sharp take on the inexplicable lure Palin has created among many women for a party that is historically — and certainly at its grassroots — resolutely anti-feminist.