Friday, December 08, 2006

Jeanne Kirkpatrick, RIP



She died in her sleep at the age of eighty:

Initially the only Democrat in Reagan's cabinet-level team and for a time the only woman, Kirkpatrick later became a Republican who adopted an activist stance at the United Nations, hitting back whenever the United States was attacked.

Kirkpatrick was a major architect of U.S. policy in Central America

And how is Kirkpatrick remembered among her own? Here is Ledeen:

People often forget that her "career" came third for her, both emotionally and chronologically. The important things in Jeanne Kirkpatrick's life were husband, children, and career. She was one of the first women to show that, with our longer lifespans, you really can have it all. But not all at once. And I think her life suggests that in some cases it's much better to postpone "labor market entry" until you've got the children up and running, and the marriage in good order.

I'm interested in learning how Michael Ledeen is working out the order of important things in his own life in the proper chronological order, given that he adopted the cute term "You really can have it all. But not all at once."