Mrs. GenXDad gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on August 7.  I took three weeks off to take care of the Mrs. and bond with the little one, which was probably the best three weeks of my life, even though I didn't really "do" a whole lot.  As much of a disaster as I think Bill Clinton was as a President, he was right about family leave.  Even a blind squirrel can find an occasional acorn.

So I'm back and digging out of the emails and news stories.  Some comments on what's been going on:

Goodbye Gonzales, and Good Riddance.  Too bad a great man like John Ashcroft had to have his legacy marred by such a lightweight.

A deviant in Capitol Hill??? Naaaaah!  Craig gets caught playing footsie in the men's room.  Disgusting?  Sure.  But if you think those politicians calling for his resignation aren't screwing around, I've got a bridge to sell you.  They're all a bunch of pervs in Washington.  They're not all gay, but does that really matter?  Shouldn't cheating on your spouse be condemned equally regardless of whether it's with someone of the same or opposite sex?

Vick pleads guilty.  Let that be a lesson to criminals who want to play football - stick to wife beating, child abuse, assault, drug abuse, assaulting police officers and other crimes against humans if you want to stay in the NFL.  Touch a dog, and your career is over.  Personally, I think this says more about the messed-up priorities of people than it does about Vick's personality.

The Fred Thompson Meltdown Continues.  Right on schedule.  His wife is calling the shots (never a good idea), they can't raise money, they're disorganized, they're firing people left and right, they can't keep their promises, and they haven't even announced.  If Fred Thompson can't even manage a non-campaign, what the heck is this guy going to do in the White House??  Oh, and they're falling in the polls, see next.

It's a Rudy - Romney Race.  File this under "not surprised," but Rudy is on top of a big lead and the only other candidate with any organization and momentum is Romney, who is breathing down Thompson's neck for second place after overtaking McCain.  These are the only two serious candidates in the race who have any chance of winning, so maybe the party is coming to its senses after all.

Sarah Palin is being taken seriously.  This not-so-little movement to draft Sarah Palin is gathering energy during the s-l-o-w-e-s-t part of the 2008 election cycle.  Right now, I'd say the odds are better than even that she'll get a plum speaking spot in the 08 convention, and she's got a real chance at seeing that #2 spot on the 2008 GOP ticket.  At any rate, this is the most positive publicity an Alsakan governor has ever seen, which says a lot of good things about Palin and some not-so-good things about Alaskan politics.

This is going to be my last post for a few weeks.  Tomorrow we'll be welcoming a little GenXDad into the world.  We had our last fetal heart monitoring test yesterday - everything's fine - and that was the last of many, many tests, doctor appointments, classes and showers that we've gone through during this pregnancy. 

I missed exactly two of all of those events - the first OB appointment where she heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time, and a baby shower.  Well, I can't say I missed the baby shower.  Other than that, I was with my wife through everything, and I wouldn't have missed any of it.

Yesterday we have our final fetal heart monitoring test and, wouldn't you know it, we get stuck in the triage room, which is terrible compared to the great labor and delivery rooms where we've had the other tests.  We shared the room with another woman, separated by a curtain.

While I was rubbing my wife's back, giving her water, talking about the big day coming up, kissing her and telling her how much I love her, the other woman lay on her cot, hooked up to her own fetal heart monitor, alone.  The only sounds I could hear were her occasional sounds of labor pain. 

I haven't been able to shake that image, of that anonymous woman going through childbirth in this second-rate room, alone.  My wife and I were getting ready for the happiest day of our lives, and I wondered what kind of a day it was for our neighbor.  Was this something she wanted?  Maybe she was going to give her baby up for adoption.  Maybe she would be delivering and raising her baby alone, and I thought of what mixed emotions there must be going on as eh experienced this miracle without somebody to share the event with her.  Then again, maybe the father was still in her life, and just couldn't get off work, which must be heartbreaking for him as well.

Part of me wanted to hold her hand and let her know she wasn't alone.  The rest of me held my wife and promised her I'd never let her be alone like that, ever.  I'd rather be fired from work than let the woman I love suffer alone in a hospital like that.

I feel that too often the conservative movement is about "tough love," about shaming people into doing the right thing.  Certainly, I agree that people need to take responsibility for their lives and not be dependent on social services for their survival well-being.  But why can't we conservatives acknowledge the humanity of the situation? 

The saying goes if you're under thirty and a conservative, you have no heart.  Why is that?  Why is "compassionate conservative" seen as an oxymoron by so many people going through what that woman was going through?  Why is it when I express compassion for my fellow man, and then later describe myself as a conservative, the reaction is always "you're not like most conservatives?"

It's not our job as conservatives to withhold human affection and care.  Far too often we belittle things such as empathy and compassion.  Conservatives playing the role of the stern, authoritarian father who doesn't express emotion is as outdated as, well, the stern, authoritarian father who doesn't express emotion.  Fighting to bring back the emotionally withdrawn and conditionally loving father figure isn't a "return to traditional values," it's just bad parenting and stupid policy.  Shaming a single mother isn't "family values," it's just unneccesarily cruel.  Ostrisizing somebody going through a divorce isn't reaffirming family values, it's shunning your own humanity.

I was one of those who was ostrasized when I went through my divorce, shunned by those who claimed to support "traditional values."  Their behavior didn't make me change my mind about going through the divorce, but it did change my mind about them.  And we as a movement are doing the same thing, with our words and actions.  We come off as people who don't care, because we act like people who don't care about the suffering of people in real pain.  We villify them, to make ourselves feel better, and then we shrug our shoulders and wonder why we need to say "compassionate conservative," as if "conservative" isn't compassionate.  Well, it's because the modern conservative movement insn't conservative.

And, talking to a lot of conservatives on an individual basis, I'd add that a lot of conservatives aren't very nice people, either.  Not that liberals are any better, but that's aside from the point, which is that we're not a compassionate political movement, at least not right now.

Sure, everybody wants to reduce the number of women who have to go through the pain of raising a child alone.  Everybody wants to reduce the numbers of families who have to go through the pain of a divorce.  What, you think these people wanted things to turn out this way? 

And why is it that, because I want to reach out to that single mother during her labor, people automatically assume I also want to raise taxes and hand Iraq to the terrorists?  To me this isn't about getting more votes, it's about doing the right thing.  We can be conservative and be human, too.  In fact, it's our duty, and we've been neglecting it for too long.  Every human being should strive to be compassionate.  Even conservative ones.

I haven't written much about Alaska governor Sarah Palin and the effort to draft her as VP, mainly because I have barely had time to write anything.

For those who care, I'll be welcoming a new little one into the family next week.  But enough about me.

Anyhow, she's starting to get some attention.  Steve notes that former LA Mayor Sam Yorty has endorsed Palin for VP.  In the same post, Wonkette has called Palin "America's Hottest Governor."  That could be taken two ways, and I'd wholeheartedly agree on both. 

Sarah Palin wipes the floor with John Edwards in the hotness department, with a fraction of the hair maintenance costs.

Now, does she want the job?  I think she does.  Notice how she's been traveling to Kuwait, making statements in favor of the war and taking on other "statesmanlike" roles while her supporters gather the support for the VP effort during the dog days of summer.

It's only a matter of time before the MSM bites on this.  Yes, they're liberal, but they're not blind.  In the fall, she'll probably get grabbed for an interview by one of the networks, and there will be a question about the VP draft effort going on.