Amy Siskind: Sarah inspires girls; Obama doesn’t

Amy Siskind, President and Co-Founder of The New Agenda, sees no real inspiration for young girls in the man's world that is the Obama White House. Former Governor Sarah Palin, in contrast, inspires young girls whose mothers [and many fathers as well - JP] try to teach their daughters that they can become whatever they want to be. In an opinion piece for More.com, Ms. Siskind writes:

When Sarah Palin entered the national political scene as John McCain's V.P. candidate, my daughter read that the Alaskan had played point guard on her state-champion high school team. My daughter, who plays point guard on her seventh-grade travel team, proudly cut out a picture of Palin and put it on her locker with the comment, "Palin, You Rock My World!"

The importance of role models. Ugh, yes, role models. The message my daughter got from point-guard Palin was: My possibilities include the chance of running the world. And here's the message all our daughters are getting from watching Obama play hoops with the guys: It's still a man's world. You might get chosen for the Cabinet (25 percent of Obama's Cabinet picks are women) or as one of the czars (though fewer than 10 percent are women). But even if you sit at the table, you'll still be an Obama outsider if you can't dunk the ball.

Ms. Siskind ponders what took President Obama so long to invite a female staffer to join him for a round of golf. The president's golf and basketball outings had previously been all-male games:

Is it that the White House is a man's world (a question that yesterday's New York Times explored on page one)? Or is it simply that you are uncomfortable around women?

The author concludes that American women should expect more from their president. And if they don't get it, perhaps it's time to elect a woman president.  

- JP