AS the New York Times has noted, every presidential campaign has its own character and caricature. In year’s back there was the Angry White Male and, of course, the Soccer Mom. This time round GOP Vice Presidential hopeful Sara Palin has given us the Hockey Mom as the key political symbol. So, we thought we’d check in with hockey moms in Northeast Ohio to see how they’re standing up under the unaccustomed media glare. Ideastream’s Kymberli Hagelberg reports.
Sarah Palin speaking at the Republican convention...
Maybe it's their busy schedules ... But the hockey moms I caught up with at Ries rink in Parma DEFINITELY were falling down on the job of being newly minted cultural points of reference. Here's Bev Burke.
BURKE: "No, I don't wear lipstick (laughs) I wear chapstick, but my husband did ask me if I was going to wear lipstick tonight (more laughter)."
It got no better with Mary Kay Zavarsky and Marilyn Gooden...no lipstick.
ZAVARSKY: "Or even any makeup, we didn't get the memo."
HAGELBERG: No one is wearing lipstick here, can you tell me why?
GOODEN: "We're too busy ... Running around watching hockey."
The women agreed though that someone is probably missing millions marketing Hockey Mom Lipstick – maybe a bold, stop-you-in-your tracks shade … Republican Red.
As these women gathered to watch their children and grandchildren skate they found lots to like about the Alaska governor.
Palin's life seems awfully familiar to them: She’s a working mother of five, among her children are a newborn with special needs, a teenage daughter who will soon become a mother herself and a son who is due to leave for Iraq
Bev Burke says it wouldn't hurt for more politicians to have Palin's home and family struggles to deal with.
BURKE: "I just think that's the stuff of the problems everyday people face".
Marilyn Gooden …who also admires Palin…still has a nagging voice whispering to her -- she says Palin's kids can't help but suffer if she’s elected Vice President. And then there's the other voice.
GOODEN: "But I think we have to remember that men can be just as busy with what they have to do, so... As my sister said, you can be anything you want to be now. We have a black person running for president, we have a woman running for vice president. It shows the kids you can be anything you want to be when you grow up... For real."
But even though they all like Palin, not everyone is ready to vote for her.
Mary Ann Zavarsky was a Hillary supporter. She wants to know more about candidates from both parties.
ZAVARSKY: "The thing about Barack Obama, frankly, is I don't know enough about him. I want to know more- that's where I'm undecided. Sarah Palin's speech was very dynamic. So I'm sure for a lot of undecided women she's getting them to reconsider what their choices are going to be."
So you have to wonder. If Burke is a hockey mom for Palin and Kavarsky turns out to be a hockey mama for Obama…
BURKE and ZAVARSKY: "I'm thinking celebrity death match."
At least at Ries Rink in Parma, Palin has the edge... But among this group of self-described resilient, tough and independent women, there’s no hockey mom war brewing. The women assure me that all their differences of opinion are settled over a cold beer. We haven’t checked in yet on those wine-sipping, Democratic leaning Soccer Moms. But they’re on our list.
Kymberli Hagelberg, 90.3