Posted on: Thursday, May 24, 2001

Editorial
What's good welfare is good for Gov. Mom too

Have you been following the controversy in Massachusetts about Gov. Jane Swift, who recently had twins yet insists she wants to — and will — continue running the state?

The nerve! Imagine a woman thinking she could consciously take on the enormous duties of motherhood yet still keep her day job.

This controversy is instructive on several levels.

For starters, there seems to be the implication that women are somehow different — that when they have a condition that temporarily or even permanently hampers them, they should give up that Big Office.

That's a terrible double standard. Dick Cheney is serving right now as vice president with a permanent heart condition. Roosevelt led the nation from a wheelchair.

Then there is the issue of motherhood itself. Nothing could be more important to those new twins (and their toddler sibling) than close and loving parental attention. That they have, in the form of a working mom and a stay-at-home dad.

Would there be any great debate if mom was at home and dad was the governor? Actually, you don't have to speculate on that. The governor of Michigan was the father of triplets while in office, and most people thought it was nothing but cute.

Finally, there is a terrible irony to the fact that we are worried about the ability of Gov. Swift — with her drivers, assistants, cell phones and the rest — to cope. If anything, she is better equipped than most working mothers.

And count among their legion the scores of thousands of poor women who have been told they must return to work under the rules of welfare reform.

If double-duty is good for a single mom on welfare, it is certainly good enough for the governor of Massachusetts. If the voters conclude she is not up to the job, they will have a chance to vote her out in two years or so.