I can think of one other phrase people love to hear:

"God favors America"

And by that way that mommy talk is something women love love love hearing.

God bless Dad and Pecan Pie.

Yes, fathers can only "like" or "be indifferent to" their children. But it takes a (s)mother to truly love their children.

Whenever I see a candidate, I wonder: Who else?

I mean, Bush or Gore? Bush or Kerry? Obama or McCain? Really?

The public is just plain nuts to go for these people.

I have no love for the mormon church after what they put me thru as a teen, but I will hold my nose and vote for Romney because anything is better than Obama. That is the bottom line.

Then, hopefully, the Tea Party will have grown and will have someone truly worth voting for in 2016.

I miss Reagan so hard right now.....

It is inconceivable that the Republicans could run a candidate who wouldn't be far superior to the empty suit/empty chair who currently occupies that office. Obama isn't qualified to run a juice franchise; much less be chief executive officer of the US. In addition, Biden's primary function is to serve as a life insurance policy for Obama. With Romney/Ryan, we have two candidates who are well qualified for the job. Time for a change.

Yes, mommies love their kids. But mommies also love their children so much they beat them when the children are small and defenseless, send their sons off to war, demand payments from adult children to support comfy retirements, ignore them in order to be "happy", etc.

If you are going to play on images involving mothers, play on all of them, I say.

Gawd, I hate mawkish sentimentality in politics.

Well, considering the government wants to be mommy to all of us, this is no surprise.

Coming from the stand point that I am a single father who has fully 50% shared custody with my ex, meaning I have had my son every other week, by myself, since he was 4. I also pick up all the slack when his mother can't either drop him off at school or pick him up(usually for work reasons) and this is a daily occurance. I pay child support voluntarily and If he needs something, I am there with my hands or my wallet as the case may be. And then I read this dreck, and the first thing that comes to mind is, "Fuck you for the insult you shits. Thank you for denigrating my love for and efforts on behalf of my son simply because I am not a girl. I'd rather crawl naked on my belly through a mile of broken glass before I vote for either of you shitheads."

Comedian Bill Burr has a really quick & funny piece on moms and how it's the most difficult job on the planet.

Goddamn, You guys really have to stretch to find something to be offended about if this is any kind of an issue for you.

I miss Reagan so hard right now.....

Reagan would never win the Republican nomination today. He'd be too far left.

Totally agree with @Causticf.

My exception is that PARENTS work harder and love their kids in a completely different manner. It is not just moms, but dads very much too.

To springboard from there...

Having kids makes life harder. It does. If you are a good parent, you put your needs second or third which means lots of lifestyle changes. It is a choice, and while I do agree that parents need to limit their whining about a choice they made, do not insult me by saying it is not rough. I've been single without kids. I know what that is like. People without kids do not know how drastically a child changes things. I know this because 11 years ago I was single with no kids and was rolling my eyes at working parents who griped about their life.

Which leads me to parental love. It IS different than any other love. We are biologically programmed to protect our offspring. Look at animals in nature. There is no relationship like the (normal) relationship between a parent and child. I agree that it may not be "more love", but it is a completely different love than any other. I have a husband I love, and friends and family I love...but that intensity of connection I feel for my boys is a whole other emotion. Maybe calling it "love" isn't correct. But make no mistake - the love for a child by a normal healthy parent is it's own special thing.

Having offspring is still the norm in our society. The majority of voting Americans are parents or grandparents.

Whenever I see a candidate, I wonder: Who else?

I mean, Bush or Gore? Bush or Kerry? Obama or McCain? Really?

The public is just plain nuts to go for these people.

+100.

"Reagan would never win the Republican nomination today. He'd be too far left. "

I am sorry, I have heard this so many times - I can't ignore the echo of propoganda here.... (I've heard this very same phrase now, over and over again.)

You can't just drop this turd and run.

Why do you think he would be too far left? Any specifics?

But make no mistake - the love for a child by a normal healthy parent is it's own special thing. Posted by: UW Girl at September 19, 2012 8:36 AM

Whenever I hear or read this, I always wonder if it simply doesn't just boil down to hormones and chemistry. Nature's way of ensuring homo sapiens don't eat their young...for propagation of the species and whatnot.

With Romney/Ryan, we have two candidates who are well qualified for the job.

I'd rather Ryan had some actual executive experience (whether private or public).

However, with his role and leadership in the budgetary process the past few years, he has shown some ability to think like an executive running a large organization.

@ UW Girl

"Having offspring is still the norm in our society. The majority of voting Americans are parents or grandparents"

And this is why the GOP focusing on parents will be so effective. Especially taking into account the mind-boggling erosion of our economic freedoms....

Careful attention @ 2:00 in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRpEV2tmYz4

Just the way it is folks - sorry. Families do well, societies do well.

I am reminded of Nancy Pelosi, newly chosen Speaker of the House, bringing her grandchildren onto the podium so they could play with the gavel. You were the f-ing Speaker of the House, lady, not the nation's G'ammy.

so... politicians' pandering to a specific segment of the electorate.

Shocked, I AM SHOCKED, I say! :eyeroll:

"When everybody is SPECIAL, no-one is."

They's always making points about how this group is special or that one, and it has always been that way. Which make reading my old Bloom County's from the 80's so amusing. Becasue nothing has changed, at all. Wimp or Shrimp. Codger or Dodger?

Bill 'n Opus in '12
"one's a dead cat and the other is a penguin. what do we have to lose?"

There's no poin in getting upset, because this is like a trainwreck sitcom, you just can't look away.

I'm with Cousin Dave; I thought the article was going to be about how gov't wants to BE our mommies.

I would argue that the nature of parents' feelings for their children is different than other relationships. I also think there is likely some chemical cause to it. I can't say it is different for men than for women - I have no way of knowing.

I CAN say that - given the vast amount of work and discomfort involved in producing a baby - moms probably have a psychological investment that is different from a dad's.

I know parents who tell their kids they can "always make another just like you," but just the thought of being pregnant again makes my stomach turn (mind, my last one was over 10#).

Yep being a parent/mom is sooooo hard. Well, maybe it is. It must be a very difficult job, because so many of the children I see are such useless shits. Their parents must be failing at the job because of the difficulty.

Really the job has got so hard now a days. It went from that a two parent household could easily handle 2 to 4 children. Now a days, parents struggle with one child. Hmm... maybe children have got more complicated? Child 2.0. And the mom model has been stuck in 1.5 beta development model for the last 50 years.

Honestly being a parent is not an easy job, but it is not the that hard. If it was there would not be over 6 billion on this planet. Time to get of the cross people, we need the wood.

As to the mommey centered-ness, I have hated that since high school. Me the dweeb but smart had to shut up and let two dumb teen moms spill all their wisdom concerning things from politics, life, opinions. Mine did not matter, I was not a mother. Yep I was not stupid enough to get knocked up.

Giving birth, yea that hurts, well it sure as hell looks like it hurts. So that is difficult, well painful. The first year, hmm ok two years are pretty tiring. Then the next 4 or 5, hmm some running around and some emotional times. Nothing that most people can not handle or learn to handle. Then the kid goes off the school and things start to get pretty easy and stable there. Likely some hiccups in the later teen years, but once again things can be dealt with.

Ok OK, true the job is one for life. But it comes with perks. The hours well can be long and sporadic, but those hours are not a constant back breaking time.

Now on the next victicrat please, being a _______ so difficult. women, African American, man in modern society, just gruadated college student, elderly, single men, ...

I'll third Cousin Dave's comment - the government wants to be the mother of us all!

Pay attention to none of it. They're trying to make themselves seem warm, fuzzy, and easy to relate with. Its a ploy to reach a target voting group.

Neither is running for anything. It's only news because nobody gets to hear their husbands' answers to the real questions - because they aren't being asked:

What are you going to to cut to balance the budget, or are we just going to emulate post-WWI Germany? Hint: tax the rich isn't an answer - they can't cover a trillion a year hole. What specifically gets taken and from whom?

What makes you think we have any ability to make peace between israel and Palestine? How's that going to work, now since it hasn't for the last few decades?

Ditto War on Drugs.

Ditto illegal immigration.

Whither Afganistan? How about Iraq? Iran?

Giving birth, yea that hurts, well it sure as hell looks like it hurts. So that is difficult, well painful. The first year, hmm ok two years are pretty tiring. Then the next 4 or 5, hmm some running around and some emotional times. Nothing that most people can not handle or learn to handle. Then the kid goes off the school and things start to get pretty easy and stable there. Likely some hiccups in the later teen years, but once again things can be dealt with.

In other words, it's like most jobs.

Geting the job means baring yourself to others, pain (rejection), and a long period of up and down emotions.

The first year [or two] are pretty exhausting as you learn the ropes, meet new people, acclimate yourself to a new company, learn to deal with subordinates who seem unable to manage their rather minimal workloads, yearn for the people you used to talk to at your old job, and suffer the slings and arrows of office politics.

The third and fourth years are hectic, but some parts of the job you can now do on autopilot. You've gained some new contacts, learned who you can count on, and built up some authority and politcal capital with your subordinates that you can use to get your way.

By the fifth year, you've automated some parts of the job, so you no longer have to be so hands-on. Your subordinates are now doing some things for themselves. They still require supervision, but the panic button is getting a little dusty.

By the sixth year, you trust your subordinates to work under another's supervision, although periodic progress reports are appreciated.

Going forward, you actually trust your subordinates to make some of their own decisions; your input and approval will still be required for a while.

By the time you've been on the job for fifteen years, your subordinates are now able to make many major decisions themselves. You've begun training them for more advanced roles requiring a greater level and variety of skills. You're even looking to your next role and have begun making plans for that role.

@Febie and Monica P
Had the same argument with aother, but I countered with. No we are so far to the left thst JFK would be considered an extreme right wing religious crazy.

1. Can't ask what his opinion on Roe v Wade was since he predated it. However, he was Catholic.

2. "Ask not what your country can do for you"? There goes half of the Democratic talking points.

3.From JFKs speeches,"“It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now … Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.”
There goes the rest of the Democratic platform.

Well...fuck her too.

When the Titanic was sinking, men put as many of their wives and children onto the lifeboats as possible, and died. In such numbers that only 1 in 5 men lived, yet 3 out of every 4 women...this on a boat that could only hold 1/3 of the total number of passengers even if every boat were filled to capacity. This was the ultimate expression of duty and devotion and love for their women and children. I spit in the direction of anyone who suggest men do not love their children as much as mothers do.

Not enough?

Before safety regulations were enacted and couples married in great numbers and women stayed at home out of factories, railroads, and mines, men went to work, and came home maimed in the thousands upon thousands every year, when they came home at all. It was said that you could tell how long a man worked on the railroads by how many fingers he had on his hands. Deaths in mines and other dangerous jobs were in the 5 figure range yearly, yet again and again men ventured out, to feed their families.

The list of men who died fighting to protect their wives and children is so long that if you could raise them from the dead, you could not find a country large enough to hold them all.

I spit on the notion that a father could not possibly know the deep love of his children that a woman does.

Romney's wife can fuck off, if I were not already turned off by that overstuffed tool, this latest "message" sure as fuck was the nail in the coffin. I'm not away from my children because I don't love them. I'm not away from my children because I want to be. I don't know anyone that is, and frankly, I wouldn't want to know them.

...Going to stop ranting now before I give myself a fucking aneurysm.

Of course, the GOP could start pandering to pirates....

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/statuses/248501257055121409?tw_i=248501257055121409&tw_e=details&tw_p=tweetembed

(I really, really, really, really dislike this man - and at this point, I could careless if the new target demographic for the GOP is gerbils. It would be worth it - if nothing else, then to not have to wake up to see his smug-ass mug plastered on every news outlet publication).

We aren't electing Michelle Obama or Ann Romney -- we're electing the substandard candidates for president they're married to.

Wishful thinking, I'm afraid.

I saw someone (who I know in other contexts to not be the drooling imbecile this comment might bring to mind, and indeed to generally be quite intelligent and not a fool... in other contexts) on Facebook say, with no apparent sarcasm, that it was important to reelect Michelle as First Lady.

I fear for the Republic... not that that's new.

Sidebar: I've been reading a lot of match profiles lately since Amy hasn't entered the market yet and I'm going to have to write my own. I'm really sick of the boiler plate first sentence of the second paragraph: I am a mom first and my kids are very important to me.

a) I'm all like, duh.
b) That better not be an excuse for not calling back

I'm a parent too. My life is busy and hectic. Too busy to get around to unloading the dishwasher, not too busy that I can't go split a flight of wine.

Both parties are trying to enchant the female vote. Repubs are having a harder time of it due to their platform and Demos are trying to ignore the fact that most people do not feel better off now than 4 years ago. Both sides are trying to woo and everyone out there is holding their noses and picking their poison.

(Here they are.)

(Amy can delete this without shame or penalty.)

*****People without kids do not know how drastically a child changes things. I know this because 11 years ago I was single with no kids and was rolling my eyes at working parents who griped about their life.*****

Oh, bullshit. I know exactly how hard it is. That's why I don't have any. You made a choice. No one put a gun to your head and forced you to reproduce. Stop whining. I don't need to walk a mile in your shoes to know your laces are untied.

And Conan's post is the best thing I've read all week.

I have to respectfully disagree with Conan.

Yes, there ARE similarities between having kids and having a job (as mentioned above). However, there are also some very big differences. Most (not all) jobs aren't 24/7.

Yes, there are jobs where you will work obnoxious shifts and not get to sleep like a normal person (I know of surgeons who did 14 hour surgeries on a pretty regular basis, for example). There are jobs where you are on call lots of the time. HOWEVER, that is not most jobs - and even these give you days off!

One of the hardest things about being a parent - and the hardest to fully understand until you are one (in my opinion) is that there is no "off" time. Even if you are puking your guts out with the flu your kid had last week (and now is all better and bouncing around like crazy) - you STILL have to go work all day... even at 2 AM when your other kid spikes a 103 fever.

I don't say this to denigrate the work other people do. Nor do I think all parents deserve some special recognition for this. I just think that saying it's the same as a typical paid job... Just the same as I would argue that working on a submarine has a few difficulties that are not exactly standard.

If one were to compare childcare to any single job - the one that pops to mind as probably the most similar is elder-care (the sort where you move in with your parents because they can't take care of themselves anymore).

Care-giving of ANY variety that is full-time & live-in is demanding work. In all cases, it is a labor of love (and occasional hidden stashes of chocolate).

So, yes, there are similarities - but differences too... and that flu thing did happen.

>>Romney's wife can fuck off, if I were not already turned off by that overstuffed tool, this latest "message" sure as fuck was the nail in the coffin...
...Going to stop ranting now before I give myself a fucking aneurysm.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Otherwise, I would have.

>>I am a mom first and my kids are very important to me.

Automatic deal breaker in a profile. My kid comes first when he needs to come first, and at other times someone else comes first. That's called life.

Really? I can glean author Gale Holland's point, but the examples she chose are beyond weak. Yes Ann Romney's speech is cliched and tiresome but so is the self-righteous, overly PC response. Does anyone really think that Romney's message is "fuck you, fathers"? Does every single accolade to motherhood also have to acknowledge fathers and grandparents and foster parents and lesbian co-parents and transgender mother-fathers and whatever 0.0001% of the population might possibly feel left out and have their feelings hurt? Please. All Romney is doing is tailoring her speech to her target audience--it's nothing more than good marketing and common sense.

As for Michelle Obama's comment that her most important job is being a mother--this is offensive how? Perhaps this sentiment would be troubling coming from an actual presidential candidate, but Michelle Obama is not in fact running for office; she is in fact raising preteen daughters; and it's hardly surprising or inappropriate that she prioritizes this role over that of "First Lady" which is not in fact a career. If this is the best example of "mommy pandering" the author can find with then she's really clutching at straws here.

Um, Shannon M., my comment was done with tongue firmly in cheek.

">>I am a mom first and my kids are very important to me.

Automatic deal breaker in a profile. My kid comes first when he needs to come first, and at other times someone else comes first. That's called life."

Writing "I am a mom/dad first" on your online dating profile seems like the bare minimum way to acknowledge that yes, you have kids, and no, you're not a neglectful and irresponsible parent. Personally I couldn't imagine dating a parent who DIDN'T put their role as a parent first--that hardly reflects well on their morals and character.

Of course, this might mean very different things to different people: ie "We can't get freaky on the dining room table while the kids are eating dinner" vs "I will cheerfully bail on dates to watch the kid's soccer practice." Just as "I like the outdoors" can mean anything from "I scaled Mt Everest" to "I ate a picnic once." It shouldn't be hard to figure where the person falls based on the rest of their profile, their pictures, and about 10 minutes of conversation. But putting so much weight on a generic statement seems a little silly.

Yes Shannon, you CAN compliment one group without somehow insulting another.

However when you announce that one group loves those dearest to them more than another...you've done a bad job of trying.

Good marketing it was not. Good marketing will touch one group, without slapping another. This was brining a hand back, slapping one group, then bringing it in to pat the other on the head and tell them they're special.

If they'd said, "As mothers you face unique challenges, that we understand, and respect, and XYZ is how we'll make sure you can meet those challenges more effectively..." No sane father would have felt insulted.

But they basically said, "Father's can't care as much as you do."

So as such, I say...Fuck OFF.

Yes Shannon, you CAN compliment one group without somehow insulting another.

However when you announce that one group loves those dearest to them more than another...you've done a bad job of trying.

Good marketing it was not. Good marketing will touch one group, without slapping another. This was brining a hand back, slapping one group, then bringing it in to pat the other on the head and tell them they're special.

If they'd said, "As mothers you face unique challenges, that we understand, and respect, and XYZ is how we'll make sure you can meet those challenges more effectively..." No sane father would have felt insulted.

But they basically said, "Father's can't care as much as you do."

So as such, I say...Fuck OFF.

They're just throwing a bone to SAHMs like me so that we'll get the warm fuzzies, feel special, and vote for them. I wouldn't read more into that.

"When the Titanic was sinking, men put as many of their wives and children onto the lifeboats as possible, and died."

Yeah, and several more people could have been saved if that bitch Rose didn't keep getting into a lifeboat and then jumping out at the last minute when it was too late for someone else to get in.

Conan,

Sorry I missed it. Apparently, I'm not good at getting that tongue-in-cheek tone via text. Or maybe there are so many people who very seriously mean things that are ridiculous that I've started assuming everyone is serious all the time...

Hey Robert, we get it. You really, really, really, really care about your kids and this one line in a speech was just the final straw. I mean she didn't give you credit as a father for how much you really, really, really, really love your kids and take care of them and sacrifice for them and....wait, give me a moment to shed a tear about how much you fucking really, really, really, really just love your kids, man. Get a life, you sorry fuck, and find an actual issue to have an aneurysm over. Let me reiterate as a father who doesn't need Anne Romney's validation and wasn't mortally offended....Fuck Off!

Damn, that felt good. I couldn't take anymore of that whining jackass.

Robert,

Were you replying to me or the other Shannon?

I need a more unique name.

I think the mommy and by proxy the parent centeredness is a exclusionary move.

From the....
As an African American, you can not understand the unfairness that happens to me in society and life.

Men, will never understand the wonder and joy of giving birth. (Plus pain)

To my life is more complete with finding the Word of Allah (or whatever deity)

Well in some cases things will be different. I might not understand exactly, but using these exclusionary responses does not mean I can empathize or come to an understanding. It does not make any point or my position completely void or invalid. The same for me.

Plus Conan, I loved the comparisons Did you write that yourself of did you find it somewhere.

Robert; Ya I love that the classic "One group loves/understands something better then another groups" logic. Heard of Korean moms saying they love their children more then any other race! Yep let's ignore the high teen suicide rate, over extended school life, a somewhat free rein to beat children. Yep that logic works. Sorry people sometimes groups does not matter, it is the individual circumstance.

Yep, that mom who has one child and stays at home, while husband provides for family has a difficult job. Just a hard as that single mom with 3 children and two jobs.

Or that mom in Scandinavia with social safety network has just a hard job as that mother in Sahara Africa.

Logic a slowly disappearing commodity.

It's creepy.

http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/obama-calls-for-democracy-with-a-small-d/

Wrote it myself.

Thanks.

"Personally I couldn't imagine dating a parent who DIDN'T put their role as a parent first"

xactly. It's automato, unconditional. That's what makes it so trite. It needs some sauce.