Todd Palin, "First Dude" of Alaska

Sometimes, to get myself writing, I pick apart old interviews to be used for practice essays, though this one is not that old. I rarely print/post them because I hardly ever put them into any sort of resourceful context outside of my head, if I even finish them. I wouldn't consider this finished, but I've taken it as far as I can right now. I figure with all of the incredibly stupid shit I find repeated on some blogs, why not waste this space with the jumbled mess that is my thought process...

I came across this Anchorage Daily News interview with Todd Palin, Sarah's "first dude," as he calls himself, discussing the status of his job after his wife's election to the governorship. From March 2nd, 2007.

Few companies have as big a stake in state government as BP. The company is Alaska's No. 2 oil producer, runs most of the North Slope fields and owns half of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. BP and the state are in constant contact over regulation, taxation and environmental oversight -- not to mention possible negotiations over a new gas pipeline.

On the other hand, Todd Palin's job as an hourly wage production operator at a Prudhoe Bay gathering center is far from the center of power in BP. Palin works both indoors and out at the facility, which separates water from crude oil and reinjects the water into the ground before sending oil down the pipeline.

As an officer in the steelworkers' local, Palin has also served on the union's negotiating team, said steelworkers local secretary-treasurer Glenn Trimmer.

"Trust me, that doesn't endear you to the company," Trimmer said.

Well, that really depends on what type of negotiator you are...

In an interview during the last month of her campaign, Sarah Palin said her husband would quit his job if she were elected. Asked about that election night, Todd Palin was much less definite, saying he hoped to work something out with BP, for whom he has worked at since 1989.

Almost twenty years, huh? Why did Governor Palin say that? It seems he never did actually quit, BP instead gave him up to a year long leave of absence to work union jobs part time, enabling him to keep his seniority. I wonder, is that common for a company like BP? When he returned to work for them he took a non-management position. Sure seems like an awful lot of wiggling if there is no problem with his position at the company. In his Wikipedia entry it says:

"For 18 years, he worked for BP Oil in the North Slope oil fields of Alaska. In 2007, in order to avoid a conflict of interest, he quit his job as production supervisor when his employer became involved in natural gas pipeline negotiations with his wife's administration.^[2]"

So was it a leave of absence or did he quit? He should have that fixed as this was printed in the article:

In an interview, Todd Palin said he is taking the leave not to avoid any conflict of interest but because the family's busy schedule makes it impossible for him to work regular shifts. He held out the possibility of going back to work in a matter of months, after life in the governor's mansion settles down.
...

Palin said he sees no conflict with his own oil-field job because he's not in management. He concedes others might see it differently.

"As a commercial fishing family, do I have a conflict?" he said.

That's a good question that went unanswered. Why, I'm not sure, as it didn't really seem like a rhetorical one.

As first spouse, he said he'd like to focus attention on work force development and vocational training issues.

Something like creating new jobs by opening ANWR would get that rolling along with state and federal funds, aye?

Working as a Sloper and commuting for weeklong shifts, Todd Palin said, it was always left to Sarah to play the supermom role when she was mayor of Wasilla. Now that's not possible.

"Our family is very adaptable," he said. "As long as the kids are good, that's the big decision whether I go back to work."

But not because of any concern of conflict of interest. He returned to work for BP only seven months later, by the end of July.

Governor Palin says her husband's job does not pose a conflict of interest because he's not in a position to affect decisions at the company.

But she is.

And as a mom looking at that tiny baby, I have to ask: If he went back to work, and is no longer playing "supermom,"

At home, [Todd] Palin takes care of the cooking, the bills and other domestic paperwork, in addition to driving the kids to extracurricular activities like basketball and soccer, according to his wife. He divides much of his time between Wasilla, where Track is recovering from shoulder surgery, and the capital in Juneau, where the Palin girls are in school.

...since that was taken from a May '07 article -- before they had their 5th child -- who is taking care of their 4 month old baby? I'm not the only one asking. Of course, maybe it's not a concern of hers considering she went to work only 3 days after having her premature son. For fear of my loose, sometimes venomous tongue, I'm not going comment on that other than saying, from my own experience, I could NEVER have done that, I don't care if he was my 5 or 10th kid. Those three months some of us are lucky enough to get aren't just for the mother to recover hormonally and physically, they're for the baby, too. That crucial time is for the family to bond, which is why some fathers even stay home on paternity leave if they're able to. John definitely stayed home as much as the business would allow when our daughter was born, and after she got home from the hospital (a month and a week later) he stayed at home with us for a full week. Initial bonding time is important. I could understand cutting maternity leave short out of necessity, but three fucking days? Although, I'm a baby murderer in her eyes, so what the fuck do I know?

And for your conspiratorial Drudgish desire.

That is the clusterfuck that is my brain...

[Edit: I just remembered that while I was allowed to stay in the hospital a day longer due to preeclampsia and the resulting c-section, I didn't even get out of the hospital until 4.5 days after my daughter was born. And I would have stayed longer had the insurance company allowed me to, because I didn't want to have any distance between me and my baby. And I really fucking hated hospitals. Our girl was born right at 8 months -- depending on which week you're in, may actually be considered 2 months early -- Palin was apparently 8 months along, as well. However, I have no idea if her son had an extended stay in the hospital. I just can't imagine voluntarily going back to work so quickly, at a time when you feel that your baby is still supposed to be developing in your body. I know everyone is different, but I just had to get that off my chest because it is still bothering me, hours later. And after reading this kind of bullshit, I'm pulling no punches, none.]

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