To partisans like Cuyahoga County GOP chair Robert Frost, the disclosure that the Palin family is dealing with the pregnancy of an unwed teenager is no cause to question her ability to handle the vice presidency.
FROST: "It would seem that she and her husband have a very strong marriage. They've raised five children. What I've seen, among the delegates, is resonding support."
Likewise Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor, the highest ranking Republican in state government, says criticism about family matters should not deter Palin.
TAYLOR: "You know, from my perspective, if I stopped forging ahead in what I was hoping to accomplish, any or every time somebody second guessed whether or not I could handle it, maybe I wouldn't be here today. And I think as a woman, I personally don't allow, and I'm certain Governor Palin doesn't allow, those kind of questions to get in the way of what she's trying to accomplish.
But some callers to WCPN's Sound of Ideas program yesterday criticized Palin for....as one put it..."placing her career aspirations above the well being of her children"....a reference to the attention 17-year old Bristol Palin will need in the months ahead as she carries her baby to term. Here's Karen from Broadview Heights.
KAREN: "She should have said thank you I'll do it another time, but right now my family is too precious to me to take one of these kids and put her in the spotlight she really could do without at this point in her life.be.Why would you put a kid through this?"
Another listener focused on Palin's newborn with Down Syndrome, pointing to the special care that child will need and asking "when is she going to have time" for that.
Another listener disagreed saying, "the only question that counts is whether she is qualified to step in and be President."
Kymberli Hagelberg, 90.3