Hey, Rachel. I caught most of the segment. The audio is available here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94663916

I actually wasn't very impressed by anything I heard in the segment. There were three guests, two Palin supporters and an Obama supporter, plus a number of call-ins. The main issues discussed mostly revolved around whether it matters that Palin is a woman.

How relevant her family and child-rearing experience is came up quite a bit. Some people pointed out the double standard in making Palin's ability to VP with kids an issue, while others said it was a testament to her character. These comments were divided between those who thought that anyone who would run for major office with that many young kids is being irresponsible, and those who thought that being a good mother provides at least a minimum marker for being a good person.

At least a couple of people complained about how much Palin's family was bing politicized by her own party. One woman said that Palin has money and a family network, including her husband, to help take care of the kids, and in that respect she's more like a male politician with a family than any working mother you can meet on the street, so why is it such a feather in her cap? Someone else said she had no children or desire to have children, and was sick of having Palin's family "shoved down" her throat.

We heard from people who had been swayed both ways by the Palin decision. Those planning to vote for McCain had mostly been planning to vote that way in the first place, but Palin got them excited. One woman said she was voting for Obama relunctantly, despite her political leanings and initial support of Ron Paul, because Palin seemed so unqualified.

The main guests were a Republican working mom, someone from 'Reason' magainze, and someone from the Women of Color Policy Network, but it's been a little bit, so I hope you'll forgive me for not remembering exactly who said what.

One of the Palin supporters said she didn't agree with Palin on all the major women's issues, but she thought it was an unfair double standard that Palin should be expected to "speak for women" on those issues," while Nicole Mason, from the Policy Network, said it was important to her that she be able to identify with Palin on the issues that affect her and her community.

Mason emphasized that she couldn't identify with Palin on issues or anything else, responding to praise of Palin as a sort of everywoman by saying that she doesn't feel that Palin has any idea where other women, especially minorities, are coming from.

Mason made some decent points, but I felt like she always relied on the issues she was strongest on, like poverty and problems in black and Latino communities, rather than responding to the topics under discussion. This made the conversation rather lopsided.

In the end, everyone agreed that Palin is a person of strong character--one of her supporters called her a "feminist superwoman," refering to her balancing family and work and "having it all"--but just like in the rest of the world, not everyone agreed on whether or not she's fit for office.