Obama vs. Romney on Spanking: Can You Judge a Candidate By His Parenting Style?
Obama vs. Romney
President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are very different men, very different politicians and, apparently, very different fathers.
In selecting a president for our country, voters look at how a candidate stands on the issues, their track records, their promises and also how they have handled themselves in their lives. Nothing is off limits. It all combines to get a cohesive idea of what the candidate stands for both politically and personally. And even though personal and parenting choices shouldn’t be part of the equation, it’s hard to divorce a man’s actions from how you think of them. So when you discover that one of the presidential candidates “whacked” his children, it’s hard, at least for me, to not judge.
In a speech in Tampa, making the rounds as part of the Republican National Convention, Ann Romney spoke of family life in the Romney household. In her candid talk she spoke about being home with their sons while Mitt was on the road for work. Mitt would try to calm her down by saying, “It’s OK, I’ll be home soon, and I’ll do whatever whacking I need to do with whatever bum needs whacking. Because they were something else.”
As Jeanne Segar at the Stir said, it is “no surprise the Romneys are spankers. They seem like old school parents all the way. But it’s the way Ann practically bragged about her husband ‘whacking’ their five sons’ “bums’ that really gets me.” And it gets me too. I come from the “you should never ever hit your kid” camp. The way Ann Romney addressed spanking, as what sounded like a normal part of their parenting style, is unsettling.
The Obamas have a different, more rational, and in my opinion, more mature way of disciplining their children. Michele Obama once admitted that she tried spanking her daughters but found it unproductive. Instead she went with giving the girls “lots of lectures.”
If one looked at parenting instincts and translated it to how someone would run a country, I, personally, would rather have a leader who would do lots of talking rather than resort to violence. To take it to the extreme you could say one would jump to a war rather than spending the time on negotiations.
Do you think a politician’s parenting style should be part of the voter’s decision?
Photo Source: Mitt Romney.com and Barack Obama.com
Struggling to find these remarks anywhere in the transcript of her speech. Perhaps I am looking in the wrong place. Can someone point me in the right direction?
All the Mormons I know are strong believers in corporal punishment, and most use belts/paddles. I’m not a fan of the practice, but I have to say that the Mormon children I know are uniformly much better behaved than typical. The strict discipline seems to work.
Parents can’t protect their children from beatings in public schools, school employees are exempt from criminal/civil charges when students are injured by Corporal Punishment, Legal in Schools in 19 U.S. States, already Illegal in Schools in 31 U.S. States! See Shocking Bruatlly Viiolent Injuries to Schoolchildren K-12 from Public School Teachers, Coaches and Administrators, Mandatory Child Abuse Reporters, hitting students with thick wooden paddles to inflict Pain Punishmnet for minor infractions, even against parental prohibition, with no safety standards to protect children from excessive force injuries at YouTube Video Trailer for Documentary “The Board of Education” by Jared Abrams. Search 2008 Report “A Violent Education” by Human Rights Watch and ACLU for disturbing Facts! Search dont hit students dot com for information about Federal Bill H.R. 3027 “The Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act” due to expire in Congress in December 2012, earlier version DIED in U.S. Committee on Education December 2010 after U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Healthy Communities and Families held April 15, 2010! Call U.S. Education Committee Chairman John Kline to Demand he Co-Sponsor, Enact H.R. 3027 “The Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act” Immediately, Cost $0!
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