Quote:
HARRY SMITH: Coming up, the mommy wars. Should a woman with five children run for the nation's second highest office? We'll hear from all sides of that debate...
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Governor Sarah Palin is a hot topic for many women. The question, can a mother of five, including an infant with Downs Syndrome, be an effective vice president? We're joined by 'Washington Post' columnist Sally Quinn, who's in Washington this morning, and here with me, I have Congresswoman Kathy McMorris Rogers from Washington State and Sarah Huckabee, who worked on the presidential campaign of her father, Mike Huckabee. Good morning to the three of you...
RODRIGUEZ: Let me start with the ladies I have here and pose a question that Rudy Giuliani posed to me this morning. Is it fair to even have this discussion about whether a woman can juggle five kids and be vice president? What do you think, Sarah?
SARAH HUCKABEE: I think it's a disgrace that the question's even being asked. I think as -- not only as a woman, but as somebody who's grown up in politics, I think that Sarah Palin – Governor Palin has proven herself time and again that she has the capacity to lead. And I want to know why no one's asking you know, Barack Obama's got two kids. No body's asking him is he a good parent because he's running for president. That question hasn't come up and simply because of the fact that she's a woman, I think that, you know, the media should take the step that the rest of America has on both sides of the political aisle. We've seen Republicans and Democrats unite behind two fantastic women over this political season. And I think it's time that the media stops asking the question and follow America's lead and get behind the rest of the country in moving forward and seeing that women are capable to lead this country.
RODRIGUEZ: She has five children. One has Downs Syndrome. You have a child with Downs Syndrome, right Congresswoman?
ROGERS: Yes, yes.
RODRIGUEZ: That -- special needs requires more attention. Does that factor into this at all?
KATHY MCMORRIS ROGERS: She's proven that it can be done. She's currently the governor of a very important state in this country and at the time that we've been celebrating the fact that we have more women serving in Congress than ever. We have the first woman Speaker of the House, we had Senator Clinton running for president. I am excited about the candidacy of Sarah Palin for vice president. And I think she brings a valuable perspective as a wife, as a mother of five. As someone that does have a special needs child. I'm excited to think that she could be in this position and really be a champion for millions of women and families across this country that face the everyday challenges of trying to balance work and be a mom and provide for her family.
RODRIGUEZ: Sally, do you agree with these ladies?
SALLY QUINN: Well, you know, I think the whole issue of whether working mothers is a good idea is so long past for all of us. Everybody I know is a working mother, I've been a working mother for 26 years. That's not the issue. But I do think that every single woman knows in her heart, a mother, that mothers and fathers are different and mother's roles and father's roles are different. And I -- it's interesting that here I am, supposedly part of you know, the -- what one would call the liberal elite media. That's what we've been all -- the critics of Sarah Palin have been called. And yet, taking the position that a woman with five children, including one with special needs, and a daughter who is a 17-year-old child who is pregnant and about to have a baby, probably has got to rethink her priorities. It seems to me that there is a tipping point, and I think that she's crossed the tipping point. I believe that it's going to be very difficult for her. And let me say that she is not unlikely -- it is not unlikely that she could be President of the United States. With these, in effect, six children to deal with, one with special needs, I have a learning disabled child, one son. And that's taken an enormous amount of time and effort on my part. My husband was editor of 'The Washington Post.' I had to leave my job because he was in and out of the hospital. I worked part time. But I know the pressures, and I know the problems that just caring for one special needs child takes out of you. And it seems to me that-
RODRIGUEZ: Sally, let me interrupt you-
QUINN: -for someone who's President of the United States, which she could well be, that there are going to be enormous conflicts. Which we all have conflicts and guilt. But I think this is -- this is too much.
I guess you forgot that, too.
