My Encounter with Todd Palin
By Asma Hasan
Colorado, US
Although I've been somewhat critical of Sarah Palin as John McCain's choice for running mate, I have to admit that if I were going to run a singles ad, it would read: “Desperately Seeking Todd Palin clone. Must be tall, dark and handsome, soft-spoken and secure enough to stand by a strong woman.” I haven’t found my clone yet, but I got to meet the real thing yesterday morning at Republican Party Headquarters in Eagle County, Colorado, when Todd Palin visited the local GOP office where a lucky few of us had been invited for a casual gathering.
Although only photos were allowed, I figured that since Todd is familiar with maverick women he wouldn’t mind a few questions. I asked him what his platform would be as Second Man, and he said that his personal issue is vocational training: “As Alaska’s first spouse, I’ve been concentrating on vocational training . . . So anything . . . I could do to help the Commissioner of Labor connect the dots for general Alaskans to go out there and get training to get jobs.”
Naturally, I had to ask him if the media coverage of Sarah Palin bothers him. He didn’t even blink as he responded: “When you go to events like last night in Grand Junction — 22,000 people show up, and that was our third event of the day, do I want to get down in the dirt and cry in my cereal on people that are throwing attacks about our family? Or you stay above all that with the people that are supporting you?” I’m guessing he is taking the latter approach of staying above it, but I can’t say for sure — before he could finish his thought, Secret Service and a large male McCain staffer shoved Todd forward.
But that was OK because I got what I came for and also, I think, acquired a little crush on the First Dude. Long after Todd left, you could still hear the women in the crowd remark on his good looks, his strong-silent demeanor, and how they admire a man who is not diminished by his strong wife. The election won’t be decided on who’s got the cutest spouse (nor should it be), but if it were….
Editor's Note: Reprinted from Glamour.com with permission of the
author. Please read the original blog posting at: http://www.glamour.com/contributors/asma-hasan
