Katharine DeBrecht: Are fathers not important?

Op-ed by Katharine DeBrecht

Since the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate, the liberal left has been in a tizzy. After years of championing women’s rights, liberals and feminists are now attacking the one woman who shattered one of the highest glass ceilings in our nation.

Liberal pundits and pols alike are questioning how this mother of five (one with special needs) will be able handle the job of vice president and role of mother at the same time. Washington Post columnist Sally Quinn complained “Her first priority has to be her children”. Reporters Katty Kay and Claire Shipman wrote, “It’s not because she’s a woman with children trying to do a man’s job. It’s because she’s actually pushing the combination of professional and personal ambitions beyond the sensibilities of this generation of working moms.”

News flash: Sarah Palin is not a single mom, and her husband, Todd Palin, will be tending to the children. A production operator on the oil fields in the North Slope of Alaska, Palin quit his job when his wife was elected governor to help take care of the children, working part time for the United Steel Workers Union. Mr. Palin is not unlike many fathers. This generation of working moms has supportive husbands. The number of stay-at-home dads has risen 83 percent since 1996.

Liberal feminists refuse to acknowledge this because men are supposed to be abusers and oppressors, rather than supporters and partners. Liberal feminists are still clinging to Gloria Steinem’s outdated remarks that “a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” They refuse to accept that fathers are important, and yes, competent.

Studies have shown that children of involved fathers have higher I.Q.s, fare better in school, are more emotionally secure, and are less likely to get into trouble at home, school and their community. Instead of being bumbling idiots, as portrayed by liberals in Hollywood, fathers have a positive and deep impact on their children.

To liberal feminists, fathers are merely there to earn more money than women, take out the trash and cut the grass. Todd Palin just shattered the grass ceiling.

Katharine DeBrecht is a freelance writer and the author of the popular Help! Mom! children’s book series.