We Like Your Style

            The families of politicians, especially women politicians, are at one point or another going to be under the scrutiny of the media. Many voters believe that a person’s ability to manage their home life extends to their capability in as a leader. The home lives of Women politicians are typically under greater inquiry because critics are often put a lot of importance on women’s role as a mother, wife and general homemaker. They seem to be under the impression that parents have complete control over the actions of their children (because children never disobeyed his or her parents…).

Flashback to Sarah Palin. We all remember many of the “misinformed” statements she made during her 2008 with John McCain. One of the most ironic points of their campaign was her daughters unwed, teenage pregnancy. This delegitimized her stance against sex education in which she promised to fund only pro-abstinence in 2006 (Stein, 2008). Did Bristol’s teen pregnancy show the gaps in Palin’s policies? Many say yes. This is an extreme case that shows how a politician’s family life can determine the way the general public views them as a leader or potential leader. Most people know that while parents can push their ideologies on their children day in and day out but they will still most likely rebel.

In contrast with Bristol Palin, McCaskill’s daughters are a blessing to her image. McCaskill has actually gartered more support because of her daughters, their perceived sophistication paints McCaskill as a great mother which many transfer to her ability as a Senator.

There has been a lot of positive media surrounding McCaskill’s family, more so than Todd Akin’s. Many constituents empathized with the loss of her mother she was dealing with just a week before Election Day. After the election the media focused on the style of her daughters and heartfelt story of the loss of her mother.

Maddie and Lily on Left. Picture courtesy of Huffington Post

The way the media was talking about Maddie and Lily Esposito (sharing their father’s last name) you would think they are moving in and replacing Malia and Sasha Obama in the White House. Huffington Post’s style blog featured the McCaskill girls when their mother was accepting her reelection as Missouri’s Senate, calling them “on trend”. Luckily for McCaskill, their fashion choices reflected well on her. Huffington Post’s caption that the girls were a “pleasant surprise”. The red lips, Dutch braid, collared shirt and belted dress were mostly praised by the media, making them overnight political celebrities. One of McCaskill’s feats as a politician is she was a single mother, which was well received from women voters

The same night another one of McCaskill’s family members took the limelight. Her mother passed away on October. 29th and when accepting her win she stated, “There is one person missing and I just gotta tell you, Mom, this one’s for you!”₁ All the positive media surrounding her family puts a positive spin on McCaskill’s win. It takes away from those saying that she won by default because of Akin’s legitimate rape comment.

1.                    Reese, D. (2012). Claire McCaskill legitimately shuts down Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/11/07/claire-mccaskill-legitimately-shuts-down-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/

Works Cited

Bash, D. (2008). Palin’s teen daughter is pregnant. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/01/palin.daughter/index.html

Lieb, D. (2012). Betty Anne Ward McCaskill, Claire McCaskill’s Mother, Dies at 84. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/betty-anne-ward-mccaskill-dead-dies_n_2041854.html

Reese, D. (2012). Claire McCaskill legitimately shuts down Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/11/07/claire-mccaskill-legitimately-shuts-down-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/

Stein, S. (2008). Palin On Abortion: I’d Oppose Even If My Own Daughter Was Raped. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/01/palin-on-abortion-id-oppo_n_122924.html