Although I can't presume to know what Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's experience has been as a woman in politics, I do know what mine was as a county commissioner for eight years in a rural Maryland county that had seen only two other women hold the office before me.
Yes, there were times when I felt invisible. But the majority of the men I dealt with treated me as an equal. In many situations, it was women who posed a greater obstacle for me than men.
Voting for anyone simply because they represent a certain group can have disastrous results, particularly in these difficult economic times.
As a small business owner, I have watched my health care costs rise, my fuel costs rise, my electric rates rise and the cost of all my inputs rise.
As a person who is responsible for the livelihood of several families, I cannot afford to let the Republicans have four more years and hope that they will get the economy right this time.
That is why, although there is a woman on the other ticket, I must vote Democratic.
Phyllis Kilby, Colora
The writer is a former Cecil County commissioner.
Lynette Long recommends that this year we put gender first. Do policies no longer matter?
I, too, was a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton. For four decades, she fought for the causes and needs of women as individuals, daughters, wives, mothers and sisters.
Fate did not give Mrs. Clinton the Democratic nomination, but that is no reason to vote for a man who, time and time again, has ignored the real needs of 51 percent of our nation's population and who selected as his running mate a woman who shares nothing more than the same anatomy with Mrs. Clinton. These are desperate times, and policies do matter.
Judy Cohen, Baltimore
