Sep 4, 2008 10:22 pm US/Eastern
Pittsburghers Weigh In On Gov. Sarah Palin
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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Republican presidential candidate Arizona Senator McCain gives the thumbs up before leaving the stage with his running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Today, Sarah Palin's speech is the buzz all around town…so what do Pittsburghers think of the Republican vice-presidential nominee? KDKA reporter Brenda Waters went to several communities to find out what they thought, and every person she spoke to had one comment in common: Can Gov. Sarah Palin handle the pressure of being the No. 2 man while taking care of a large family?
North Braddock resident Sheena Noel said she doesn't have a problem with this.
"I don't see why not," Noel said. "Men do it and they have kids."
However, there are others who say if you're a mother of five, with one teenage daughter pregnant, and an infant with Down syndrome, should Palin be running for vice president?
"I don't feel as though she will be able to dedicate the appropriate amount of time that you need for five children," Loretta Carter of Wilkinsburg said. "I had three of my own and that was a struggle, so with five, I think that it would be very difficult for her to be able to do both. I know we women like to multi-task, but sometimes we take on more than we can handle."
Heather Knuth from Mount Lebanon said that Palin's family life should not even be an issue.
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I do think it's a double standard," Knuth said. I don't think it should be an issue. Her family life is her family, and all the male candidates have a family life that they need to also have to deal with."
Meanwhile Brennan Cary of Sewickley can't even imagine the pressure she'll be under if she gets the vice president job.
"I can't even imagine the responsibility that she'll be under and the challenges that she'll face on a daily basis with being responsible for her family and being responsible for our country," Cary said.
There is another question that is being debated. If Sarah Palin were a man would her children even be an issue?
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