Geraldine Ferraro’s Advice to Sarah Palin

Unlike the screaming crowd of left-wing feminists eagerly joining the good old boys in tearing Sarah Palin to shreds – in the manner of those who assaulted Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary – Geraldine Ferraro assumes a supportive mentoring role for the first female governor of Alaska and the first GOP VP candidate. Published in Glamour Magazine, Ferraro advises Palin:

Always Make Your Own Rules

"When I was running, I was deciding how things were going to go for a woman campaigning for vice president. I never wore pants, but now it's done all the time. When Hillary Clinton ran for president, she made pantsuits famous! People have compared [Palin's] clothing to Michelle Obama's and Cindy McCain's and they shouldn't. Sarah Palin dresses like a governor; that's what she should dress like. She needs to make her own choices in that area. I remember going to a rally in San Antonio, Texas. It was 120 degrees, but someone inside my campaign told me that I couldn't wear short sleeves, because all of the men were going to be in jackets. I said, 'Forget it. It's 120 degrees. I am not wearing a jacket.' And that was that."

Ignore All the Talk About Your Family

"Comments about the way that Governor Palin organizes her family are ridiculous. We'd never ask Senator Obama how he organizes his family, because we assume that his wife is taking care of it. How many of us have been working mothers all of our lives? Millions of us! When [Congresswoman] Pat Schroeder was asked by one of the more senior members of Congress how she could be a mother and run for office, she said, 'Because I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both.' I always loved that.

We should not be denied the opportunity, or the ability to participate in any field, just because we use the parts that we came with. Can Sarah Palin do both jobs? She wouldn't be here if she couldn't. Having been there, done that, I can tell you, yeah, she can."

No Matter What, Always Stick to the Party Line

"When you run for vice president, you're part of a ticket, and your views are the views of the campaign; they have to be aligned. You can't look as if you're at odds with the campaign. If you can't do that, you shouldn't have been chosen."

Don't Get Caught Up in the Hype

"When I was running, I always had bigger crowds than Walter Mondale [her running mate]. I gave speeches to the largest crowds since JFK. The sheer number of Secret Service people was incredible. These people weren't there to hear me speak; they were there because of the historic aspects of the campaign. The impact of these kinds of races goes far beyond the candidates themselves."

Not Everybody Is Going to Like You--Get Used to It

"I was a popular politician in my home state--just like Palin is. But when I ran for vice president, people would shout at me in the streets and tell me they didn't like me or the things I stood for. My husband just said, 'Gerry, not everyone's going to love you.' That was important for me to learn--you can't satisfy everybody. If you can't take up an issue where some people aren't going to like you, you're not doing your job."

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