Both Palin (who had already carried four other children to term) and her obstetrician thought her good-to-go. Not only that, she was induced when she arrived home, indicating she was no where near labor.
Not quite. There's more to it than what you found in a few minutes of googling. The doctor she called (Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who also ended up delivering the baby) was her GP, not an obstetrician. That was part of the reason the rumor grew wings. Once Palin landed in Anchorage, which had a NICU, she drove 45 minutes to
this place, which doesn't, because she was more comfortable having her GP deliver the baby (she'd also delivered one of Palin's previous babies).
Palin was 44. That's well into high-risk territory. Combined with the Down syndrome diagnosis, the fact that she had leaked amniotic fluid and felt contractions (Palin differentiated them from fake contractions she'd been experiencing previously), do you really think you can find an obstetrician who recommends getting on a plane in that situation? It seems to me like her GP was in over her head, and let Palin do whatever she wanted.
The fact that her labor was induced only seems to confirm that whatever happened in Texas was medically significant. Palin was just under 8 months pregnant. Why would they induce labor that early without a good reason?
Funny hearing the strident "pro-choice" side all of a sudden becoming champions vis-a-vi (sic) "prenatal responsibiity"
How is that relevant? If you decide to have a baby, you should do everything possible to protect it.
Palin had the right to handle her pregnancy and delivery any way she wanted, but for someone so determined to bring a Down syndrome baby into the world, I would think she would be a little (okay, a lot) more cautious. I wouldn't want a Vice President who was known to take risks like that with her own baby. Would you? It almost seems like she wanted to tempt fate.
What does Palin's resignation have to do with lack of experience? You mean if she were experienced she'd have stayed on? Is that what it says in the oh so successful Republican playbook?
If she had the political experience necessary to be a viable VP, she wouldn't be quitting halfway through a stint as Governor because of media attention and some unfounded (or so she claims) accusations of corruption. Part of political experience is learning to deal with increased scrutiny. I would expect a VP candidate to be able to weather this kind of storm. Suppose McCain/Palin had won and McCain died after two years. In that situation, media inquiry into every facet of Palin's life would be much worse than it is now. What would she do? Quit? I'm sure Nancy Pelosi would make a wonderful president.
A candidate without enough political experience means there's no way to predict how they'll react under intense pressure and media attention. Evidently 2 years as Governor was not enough to weed her out.
So, I ask: since some of you are so infatuated with her (as a political candidate), do you still think she would have been a good VP choice, and if not, how do you propose to catch future politicians like Palin who seem to be a bright and fresh face but can't really hack it? Since you don't like my gut instinct that she's got psychological problems, what hard evidence would you look for to avoid supporting someone like Palin on a presidential ticket in the future?
I've started looking through lists of governors from a few states, and I've found two that resigned for reasons other than health, scandals, or moving to D.C.: one was broke and the job wasn't paying enough (Thomas Drew - AR - 1849), and the other was from Alaska back before it became a state, and didn't like the job and wasn't likely to be re-elected (Benjamin Heintzleman - 1957). They both faded into political obscurity.
So if she wanted to resign like this, there's at least some precedent for it, but there's no precedent I've found yet for quitting while remaining politically active. Not to mention that none of those other quitters will have run for Vice President.
And Obama walked away from his first Senatorial job... So?
Quitting in order to move up in politics is completely different than saying "screw this" and walking away.
Carl Rove was on TV tonight saying this. Quitting her job as Governor in this manner is close to political suicide. The first question anyone's going to ask her if she starts a national campaign is, "How are you cut out for federal office when you couldn't even serve a full term as governor of
Alaska?"