The Political Consequences of Motherhood

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Like many first books, this project began as a dissertation. As a result, I owe a great many people a debt of gratitude. This seems like a very good place to thank them. I am grateful to my teachers and mentors who inspired and challenged me during my undergraduate years at the University of Michigan and during graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. Don Kinder, Judy Gruber, Jack Citrin, and Taeku Lee were all generous and encouraging in different ways. In particular, I am thankful to have studied with Laura Stoker. She inspired me, as she has with so many other graduate students, to think carefully, write clearly, and work creatively to answer interesting and important questions. I am forever grateful for her sharp eye, red pen, and exuberant laughter. Over the years I have been blessed with friends who have been a constant source of encouragement. From Ann Arbor to DC to the Bay Area, their friendship has been invaluable: Ritu Tuteja, Adam Strayer, Dominick Argumedo, Carrie Langner, Kristin Bartus, Laura Hurst, Monica Bhatnager, Naomi Harwin , Jaimie Harper, Pace Lash, Jonathan Davies, and Karen Midkiff. While in graduate school, I was lucky enough to meet an amazing group of people, who continue to be dear friends and colleagues: Jocelyn Kiley, Megan Mullin, Naaz Barma, Erin Rowley, Jen Bussell, Rosie Hseuh, Libby Anker, Ed Fogarty, John Sides, and Kirsten Rodine-Hardy. In particular, I am grateful for Rachel VanSickle-Ward, Tatishe Nteta, and Kevin Wallsten, who are the very best friends, colleagues, and collaborators a person could wish for—and who read more drafts of this manuscript than they probably care to remember. At Brandeis University, I have been blessed with supportive colleagues, crucial financial resources, and terrific research assistants. I thank my colleagues Steve Burg, Bernie Yack, and Jytte Klausen for their support and good counsel as I completed this book. Dan Kryder, in particular, has been a wonderful colleague, mentor, and friend. His feedback on this manuscript helped x aCknowledgments me forge a stronger book—I thank him for his time and generous spirit. I am grateful for financial support from several funding sources at Brandeis University : the Norman Fund, the Tomberg Fund, the Gordan Center for Politics and Public Policy, and the Research Circle for Democracy and Cultural Pluralism . I am also grateful to several research assistants who were important to this project: Susan Overstreet, Ilana Maier, Sarah Weber, Jennifer Craig, Tamar Levkovitch, and Ryan LaRochelle. I thank the women interviewed for this book for their time and honest reflection. I am also grateful for the assistance of librarians at several presidential archives and library systems. Data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) and the Political Socialization Panel Study were critical to this project; I thank the many ANES board members and Kent Jennings, Gregory Markus, Richard Neimi, and Laura Stoker. I also thank the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for the materials they provide to the public. A portion of this book was previously published in Politics & Gender (Jill S. Greenlee, “Soccer Moms, Hockey Moms and the Question of ‘Transformative’ Motherhood, Politics & Gender 6, no. 3 [September 2010]: 405–31, copyright 2010, the Women and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association; reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press), and I am grateful to the editors and reviewers who offered feedback on that work. At the University of Michigan Press, Melody Herr and Susan Cronin have been terrific stewards of this book. I thank the anonymous reviewers and Susan Carroll and Kira Sanbonmatsu, the editors of the CAWP Series in Gender and American Politics, for their excellent suggestions for and enthusiasm about this manuscript. This book is dedicated to my family—the family I was born into, and the family I created. My parents, Ros and Ron Greenlee, have supported, loved, and encouraged me in all of my endeavors. For as long as I can remember, they have been cheering, “You can do it, Jiller!” I thank them for always saying that—and, importantly—for always believing it. My brothers, Brad and Geoff Greenlee, have made all of my years smoother, funnier, and filled with friendship. They have also created their own families, giving me more siblings and two nieces to love: Jacqueline Turnovsky, David Thorpe, and Izzy and Sophie Greenlee. Finally, my husband, Andrew Hall, came into my life at precisely the right moment—and for that I am infinitely grateful. When I began...