As a parent, I see the everyday struggle to raise a good citizen. It’s beyond hard. I thought the days of bottles and diapers were hard. No one told me a kindergartener could make me cry at the drop of a hat.

And there have been parents in political office before ... parents who have had kids and grandkids. Yet their parenting skills have never been questioned before.

Sarah Palin has been called "a horrible parent," "a terrible mother," "a mother who can’t control her own daughter."

In fact, she is so horrible that she is standing by her daughter’s side, facing the media full on. I don’t know her parenting skills qualify her as "horrible" for that. Yes, her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. Her daughter has been labeled as making a bad choice.

But is this in the limelight because Palin is a female? And if we are looking at the parenting skills of Palin, what about the parenting skills of Obama? And if parenting skills should be considered, how would we make them not gender based?

And so what if her daughter is pregnant? Not only does that not make her a bad parent, it doesn’t mean her daughter will be a bad parent either. As Obama has said, his mom was 18 when he was born. My own mom was 18 when she had twins: my brother and me. And she can run circles around some of the other parents I know who have years on her.

I am more interested in the issues. Where is Palin on issues such as gas prices, educational funding, wasteful spending? Those questions need to be asked.

We are electing her to run our country. It is obvious she can run her own life with the accolades she has, as well as having a family of five. Let’s look at the real issues here and who will be able to complete their agenda when they get in office.

Amy usually appears on Wednesdays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Amy at her blog A Family Story.