So a couple of ball-bustin' reporters from the Chicago Sun-Times cornered a local politician at the Democratic National Convention and started firin' off the tough questions:
[Illinois Attorney General Lisa] Madigan and her husband, Pat Byrnes, have two young children, ages 7 and 4. She was asked whether she could serve as governor and still raise her kids the way she wants to.Does it matter that two of the three reporters were themselves women? Or that the Illinois governor's primary duty is collecting bribes, an activity that anyway, is best done at night, after the kids are asleep?"Wow. Does anybody ever ask that question?" she said. "I'm very lucky to have the support of my family. My husband helps take care of our kids. But, I think more people should ask that of men running for office as well."
Pressed further on whether she could simultaneously hold both jobs -- governor and mom -- she said, "I can be the attorney general and do that. There are plenty of women who juggle."
Reminded that being governor is a lot more demanding than attorney general, she said, "All of these jobs are very demanding. And people who, unfortunately, have to work three jobs and don't necessarily have health-care coverage -- they're even in a worse situation. So nobody needs to give any pity on what elected officials have to endure."
I swear, I tried to make sense of the dynamics and meaning of this politics/media/work/sexism cluster#$*% of a story, but after after a hard morning of parenting, my brain is completely fried. All I want to do is curl up on a shabby chic chair and eat a yogurt.
Chicago Sun Times asks whether a woman can be a parent AND a candidate [nameitchangeit.org via washpost]
