While I agree entirely that Republicans — and McCain and Palin themselves in particular — should not whine about sexism, because it is undignified, I think that it is entirely correct that the media point it out when they see it being used politically. It is the job of a certain class of pundits (though not reporters, per se) to analyze how high stakes political campaigns are run, what tools the adversaries are using, and how the electorate is potentially being manipulated.

As a purely political matter, sexism appears to be backfiring this season, because first with Hillary, now with Sarah, women are disgusted by it. It is a genuine benefit that a black man can run for president without being subject to racist attacks. It is reasonable that a woman have the same privilege. Seeing a political candidate who pegged himself as progressive, and pro-women resort to insinuations of incompetence by dint of sex/motherhood the minute the race tightens up, tells us useful things about that candidate’s character. It tells female voters useful things about what to expect from Democrats. Just as it tells female voters useful things to see Republicans put a woman on their ticket. Media obsession, on the other hand, is not useful.

On the matter of Jane Swift as spokesman — I couldn’t agree more. She is a terrible spokesman for anyone’s ability to have babies and hold high office simultaneously — since she seemed to do both badly, until the voters mercifully retired her. Senator Blanche Lincoln, D. Ark, will not be speaking for the GOP. But when she learned that she was expecting twins, she sat out an election she was slated to win, to have two years with the babies, before a rough campaign and the rigors of commuting to D.C. That was just plain practical, and serious at the same time.

Finally, let’s not forget that, politics aside, it is not ideal for a woman to be pregnant or have a newborn while campaigning, let alone governing in high office. Sarah Palin has risen to the task, perhaps because she is a remarkable woman. She is also getting the kind of support in this dual role that most working women can only dream of. A job of similar status in the private sector would be much more formal, and more unforgiving than in politics — at least as they are being played this year.

I promise you that Governor Palin knows this. I guess that the reason she hid her pregnancy from the public, even before the baby was known to have Down Syndrome, is that she was concerned that the voters of Alaska would not be so happy to see a woman who had campaigned for high office to focus on the people’s business doing something personal that would inevitably distract her. The baby was a surprise, of course, and in the end she had to just play the hand that was dealt her as well as she could. But showing up for work after 3 days was clearly a way to reassure voters that she would manage the conflict without short-shrifting them. Not every new mother can do that. Palin could do it and Swift could not.

When we think about women, childbearing and careers, the fact is that some professions allow for a six week, or six-month leave — because life is long and there will be years back on the job. As a rule politicians, who are elected to serve the people for a limited period of time, and who are not fungible, should not time their pregnancies and their children’s infancies to coincide with those limited terms. Again, in Palin’s case, she dealt with a unexpected blessing by rising to the occasion. She appears to be exceptional, not least in the energy department, but it doesn’t change the rule.