yes, ask sarah palin about childcare

I do realize Judith Warner probably wasn't referring to my humble blog today when she made fun of women who, considering Sarah Palin, are so eager to know about her childcare situation.
But I thought I'd answer anyway.
Granted, we're at war. The economy stinks. Terrorists lurk. Our natural environment is collapsing. These are obviously priority issues. But that doesn't mean that any future U.S. leader should diss childcare, just because government after government has done so. It's not a luxury item.
After leaving my job as a foreign correspondent eight years ago, with two babes then under 4 years old, I chose -- because I'd worked long enough in a good enough job to have the choice -- to stay home but keep working. And I could write a book -- some day I may -- about my childcare nightmares. All the while, I'm always painfully aware that what I've had to go through is cotton candy compared to what millions of U.S. women who haul themselves to fulltime jobs each day because they have no economic alternative must endure. Including paying small fortunes for the privilege of knowing their babies are not quite safe, or perhaps spending the day staring at a TV screen.
This isn't "just a women's issue," as so many early feminists have disparaged it. It's one of the most basic human issues, directly effecting the emotional, mental, and physical health of the next generation.
Childcare belongs high up on our list of priorities, which is why it's not just okay but really mandatory that we talk to Sarah Palin -- and of course Barack Obama, too -- about policy ideas and personal examples.