Perhaps there would be less commentary on the subject if Palin was a candidate all women love, but female voters are wildly divided. Well, at least the female voters who filled out a form on this site. Whatever that means.

I’ve got plenty of my own opinions about her and about the presidential election, but this post isn’t about me (don’t worry, I’ll share and bore all of you soon enough). Here is a sampling of what’s being said in the blogosphere about the presidential election. Apparently, women have strong feelings about the election.

The best part I found in reading the submissions is just the experience of hearing real voices sharing their authentic feelings about the election. Please be sure to spread the word about this post. Stumble it, tweet it, Digg it. Visit the posts and do the same. And please, comment on the posts. Let’s keep this unbelievably important conversation lively and active. Our futures depend on it!

Presidential Election in the Blogosphere

• A Political Issue at The Further Adventures of Spacemom. Excerpt: “The young Ms. Palin had a choice of what to do when she found out. A CHOICE. A LEGAL CHOICE. I keep reading how Gov Palin is “walking the talk.” Bullshit. Her DAUGHTER is doing that. Not the governor.”
• Disenfranchised and Patriotism from Upper Case Woman. Excerpt: “I love the fact that we have the OPTION of a free press, even when we don’t exercise it. I love the fact that no matter how the press gets restricted by whatever reason (for instance, today press freedom is restricted by money issues–both ownership and advertising), something new emerges like the blogosphere and is not shut down.”
• Obama and McCain and Me at Whiskey in my Sippy Cup. Excerpt: “Am I am democrat? Am I a republican? I don’t care. I am an American, and I am really hopeful for our country’s future, and I am hopeful that we as citizens can come together behind our commander-in-chief, whoever he ends up being, and work together to make America the kick ass country is deserves to be.”
• I Was There! Obama’s Acceptance Speech at Moms Byte. Excerpt: “The vibe of the entire stadium was of pure excitement. I noticed that people were chatting with their neighbors as if they were long, lost friends. It was amazing to see the entire crowd rooting for the same team. Normally, at a football game, most of the fans are for one team or the other. And when your team is losing, the crowd gets crazy… yelling, drunkenness, rudeness, etc. Not here. Not now! There was a buzz in the air.”
• Every Day I’m More Afraid of Organized Religion at Mostly Gray. Excerpt: “I honestly don’t care if John McCain is a Muslim or if Barack Obama is a devout Atheist and it shouldn’t matter to the American people.”
• I am One of 600,000 Americans Who Lost Their Jobs This Year at Five Husbands – Excerpt: “I am educated, competent and middle aged. At least I used to be competent. I obtained an excellent result for a client in December, raised a lot of money for various causes over the past few years, but my previous successes don’t seem to count for much of anything. I have applied for jobs I am well qualified for without success. I have applied for jobs I am over qualified for without success. I have applied for jobs I am ridiculously overqualified for with no success. I have applied for jobs that don’t even pay money (bartering) without success.”
• Through My Son’s Eyes from Insta-Mom. Excerpt: “Certainly McCain’s motivation in tapping Palin is suspect. There’s no question that Palin’s family dynamic is the stuff that tabloids can only hope to dream up. And yes, Obama is “just” a junior Senator from Illinois whose eloquence and dynamism often overshadow his rhetoric. I know that’s all part of making a decision, but why is it the only part of the decision that the pundits and politicians seem to be focusing on? These things are what they are, and there’s little we can do to change them.”
• Can a Stay-at-Home Mom be Pro-Palin? and Sarah Palin at the RNC from What About Mom. Excerpt: “Sarah Palin seems to be the embodiment of post-feminism. As a tomboy/beauty queen/college graduate/wife/mother/mayor/establishment-taker-on-er/governor/vice-presidential candidate, she rocks!”
• Does Joe Biden Know His Science? at About.com Catholicism. Excerpt: “As the 2008 U.S. presidential race heats up, embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR) appears to be generating as much controversy as abortion. The latest remark by Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden, however, raises the question of whether the Democratic ticket is committed to the issue because they believe that ESCR shows promise or because they do not understand the science.”
• Sarah Palin – Breaking My Own Rules at 2ScrappyChix. Excerpt: “I would be thrilled to see her as VP. If Obama had chosen Hillary instead of SWM (standard white male) as his running mate and McCain had gone with SWM, I seriously would have considered voting Dem even though I don’t care for either of them, just to see a woman in that position. I suspect I’m not the only one who feels this way.”
• I am Fired Up Right Now at A Mom Two Boys. Excerpt: “I was disheartened this morning to read that McCain’s support from white women voters has jumped DRAMATICALLY since he announced Sarah Palin as his running mate. I really thought we were smarter than that. I really thought that American women would vote on ISSUES, not on the possession of a vagina. And I’m sure some of those women ARE voting on issues, which is totally fine. At least that’s defensible. At least there’s merit to it.”
• I Want Sarah in a Bad Way at Deb on the Rocks. Excerpt: “Sarah also seems to be a funky freakbeast– in crazy glasses and Ugg boots. She Supernatural Sarah with enigmatic superpowers. She might be a figment of our collective unconscious. She can see right through you like a blue-eyed Husky and then have a litter of your babies before you even knew your period was late. Shazam! She’s the Snow Queen arriving on hockey skates, the lead mush dog hot on your scent, closing in.”

Next Link Love Extravaganza

Would you like some link love? Between now and October 1, submit your posts. The next topic will be Horrible Customer Service. Have you had a run-in with a company that treats you like crap? Blog about it and submit it here. We’re going to stir up some trouble!

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That’s when I realized that perhaps it makes more sense to do the link love thing monthly, and to be more organized about it. Plus, I figured by posting a call for submissions here, all of my readers will see this. So far, I’ve just been tweeting for submissions on Twitter (and I’ll do that too right after I post this).

The other thing I noticed is that the first week of link love I was inundated, and by the second week much less so.

I also had already planned to do a theme. On the heels of the Democratic and Republican conventions, and a whole hunka controversies (including revival in the New York Times of that damn Mommy Wars term), I decided the Presidential election would make a great theme. And when I say posts on the election, I don’t just mean from political bloggers. I want to hear from real people.

I’ll even give you some time. The deadline is September 15 to submit a permalink to a post you’ve written on the Presidential election. There will be no preference to right or left (well, I have my own preferences, but I’ll give link love to everyone in the honor of fair debate and discourse, of course). Just use the form below.

And be sure you include a separate URL for the permalink of the specific post, and don’t just submit a link to your blog. That will be ignored.

Thanks! Let’s blog politics!

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If you have a suggestion for a theme next week, let me know. I’m up for ideas. I would like it to be somewhat general so it can be inclusive of a lot of different bloggers. Maybe something like rants, or sweet memories. Or do you guys like the randomness? Let me know in comments.

Instead of rambling, I’ll just get to it. Can you feel the love?

• Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and  the Stress Factor – This one from the amazing Sharon McMillan brings up some great points. And I thought I was a multi-tasking, type-A mom.
• Twitter for Businesses – Lately, the question of how businesses should delve into Twitter has come up quite frequently. In fact, I was already thinking about blogging about the subject. I probably still will, but this post from Michelle Riggen-Ransom is a must-read before a business jumps in.
• Letters from the Heart 9 – Enjoy the engaging writing of CA Copeland, who is a dad and a blogger (all good!)
• Happy Birthday to You, Mom! – I was cracking up reading this. Don’t worry if you’re older and you read this. Over at The Daily Digress, she understands how easily old people startle. It’s cool, I mean groovy.
• Hope and Change for the Future – This is a wonderful post about a mom’s experience volunteering at the Democratic National Convention.
• How to Earn the Meanest Mom in the World Title in 5 Simple Words – This completely cracks me up! Can you guys what five words would make a tween mom too totally mean? Check the New Old Moms Club blog to find out.
• Taube Matilda Schoenfeld 1915-2008 – OK, what the hell? Does someone have to make me all emotional every week? I mean, I know this is only the second week, but still? OK, I am just kidding. This is an extremely moving (see previous sentences) post about the loss of her grandmother at Pecked by Ducks. It’s quite wonderful. This part gets me: “I love you Grandma, I am going to miss you so much I’m not sure how to wrap my head around it right now.” So sorry!

I hope you guys enjoy this week’s wandering about the blogosphere as much as I did. And definitely let me know what you’d like to see next hump day. (And yes, I think I did subconsciously pick Wednesday so I would have a weekly excuse to type the word “hump.” Sue me.)

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This is simply evidence of the amazing world that is the blogosphere and, in an even more microscopic way, that blogger brain trust at Twitter. Within a couple minutes, I learned about these awesome posts. I laughed, I cried, and I loved every single one. And this is just a completely random sampling of people who provided links. You’ve gotta love the blogosphere!

Enjoy them while they’re hot and fresh:

• Do you like to be a winner? Yeah, me too. There will be some cool weekly giveaways at Temporarily Me.
• Lest we forget the importance of alone time, The Mom Chronicles shares about Sarah’s Day Out.
• I can’t even begin to express the sympathy I have, being a mom of a nutty 5-year-old myself, when I read this post, She’s Only Five, at Viva La Feminista.
• OK. I am a little irked because I got involuntarily teared up reading Goodbye… Love You over at West of Philly Burbs. That’s probably because I JUST took my daughter to kindergarten. And it was very difficult/exciting. (And I love Philly!)
• This is cool. What is YOUR super power, and how does that apply to discovering your brand? My superpower? I call Web Supah-freak Supah-power. Yeah! Thanks to the Small Business Guru.
• Oh, I feel a project coming on (or at least a run to the store to by materials that will sit in a closet forever so my husband can give me crap about it every time he sees it). Getting Crafty features an incredible post on tote bag patterns and tutorials. I love the idea of making my own tote, or making cute totes for the kids.
• There is a sweet and touching post, On Mothers, at Renaissance Culinaire. (And hey, I totally love foodie moms!)
• I am a firm, firm believer of pursuing dreams (this is why I ditched a job, sold a house, and moved with husband and 1-year-old to France, despite everyone saying we were insane). So Studio Jewel’s post, My Dream List, is one everyone should read (and you should make your own list!).
• Want the real low-down on the stay-at-home lifestyle? At Gaming with Baby, he gets down and dirty about the SAHD realities with his post, So You Want to Be a Stay at Home Parent.
• Have you been wasting cash on Raid? You might consider investing in geckos for your next roach infestation. Yep. The Daily Digress reveals this little trick in her post, In Which the Solution is More Horrifying Then the Problem.
• Forget back to school lists. At 2 Garzas and La Gringa, find out about a real scandal. When they say washable, they… well, they are exaggerating, shall we say? I can personally say I have used two of the three products here, and she ain’t lying in her post, Washable? My Sorry Domestic Ass!
• What would you blog if CNN called? The McMommy Chronicles describes her emotional roller coaster in her post, Just When You Think You Have Nothing to Blog About.
• I love free things, in a way that is kind of an illness. I’m totally going after the free sample of Post-It Super Sticky Recycled Notes reported at Kids Meal Crowd (which includes a cool parent hack).
• It is totally appropriate in the theme of cooperation to share the Advantages of Bloggers Network/Group Blogging post from The WWW Blog.
• At Ladybug’s Picnic, a blogger does just what a blogger should when she doesn’t like a post. She turns to her readers for some inspiration.
• The Edge Foundation blog features a great post about how Michael Phelps proves ADHD is not attention deficit!
• Don Mills Diva is one parent who is pleased to have an ungrateful kid. Wonder why? Read the post, Thank Goodness He’s So Ungrateful.
• Want to know what on earth a Tykes on Trikes Parade is? Yeah, me too. Check it out over at Crunchy Green Lovin’ Mom.
• Oh, I am boiling reading Momville’s post on Bashing Working Moms. Care to join me in a friendly seethe?
• Speaking of contests, there is an awesome one going on at the Princess Time Toys blog. I love this shop… and not just for all the cool princess stuff. There’s great boy stuff, and toys, and it’s just amazing. And a mom owns it.
• The Send Chocolate blog has a hilarious post, Finally Olympic Events I Could Win. Too funny! And yeah, I despised running in school, too.

I love to spread the love! I should have added a regular link love post before, and I will do it from now on. So if you have anything cool you want to share, contact me. I will probably go with themes or something else that strikes my fancy from now on.

You may be wondering what blog kharma even is. Blog kharma is doing the right thing just because you are part of a community, and you want to help others. Be a generous blogger. Here is how you get good blog kharma:

• Link to other blogs.
• Don’t just link to other blogs that have a high PageRank and are wildly popular. Link to the little blogs, the ones just starting out. You were there once, too (and maybe still are). Help a blogga out, sisters and brothers!
• Promote other bloggers’ stuff. Stumble (recommend, review or or thumbs-up a post at StumbleUpon), post it on Twitter, Digg it, Propeller it, Kirtsy it, momShare it, you name it. When you see something good, spread the word. You help the blogger, and you help other readers
• When bloggers ask for promotion (such as on a social network, or by sending you a message through StumbleUpon), provide it. You don’t want to be taken advantage of, but if someone is reasonable and only asks for a little help from time to time, then give it!
• Have a blogroll, or a weekly link love post, or some place where you regularly give mention and exposure to other bloggers.
• Comment on blogs to keep conversations lively and active. Don’t comment just to promote yourself (although most do let you make your name linkable to your site).
• If you use WordPress, use a plugin like CommentLuv to allow those who comment on YOUR site to get an extra boost of exposure.

On the other hand, I frequently see sites and blogs that have serious bad blog kharma. You have bad blog kharma if you have committed any of the following:

• Mentioned a site but didn’t highlight the name of the site and link to it.
• Held back from linking to other blogs or sites because you were afraid you would leak some of your Google PageRank, send someone away from your site, or because you’re afraid you’ll boost their search engine rankings and not your own, or for some other blog-selfish reason.
• Used nofollow for your blogroll or links inside posts. I don’t believe in nofollow. If it’s worth linking to, it’s worth getting the credit with Google. Also, many bloggers don’t know about nofollow. So it’s disingenuous. They think you are helping them, but you really aren’t. Don’t know what nofollow is, or want to know how you can spot a nofollower? Comment below. If there is enough interest, I will do a post just on the subject of nofollow.
• Not linking at all.
• Not commenting at all.
• Only commenting on other blogs to promote yourself or insert a link to your blog or post. You should talk WITH the blog community, not AT it.

Before you even get all commenting and ranting below, I will address this right here and now: Yes, I know there are reasons for doing the stuff on my bad kharma list. If there weren’t reasons, people wouldn’t do those things. I’m talking about something else, being generous, and being a giver not a taker in the Blog Community.

In the old days, a web site was a self-contained entity, an island unto itself. This is the world of Web 2.0. This is a community people, no different than the one in which you physically live. Be a good citizen. And here is a hint. Good blog kharma does pay off. So you are even being selfish by giving.

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