The debate on whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could be a good mom to her five kids and still be vice president of the United States drew an aggressive response from Rudy Giuliani Wednesday night.

“How dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to spend with her children and be vice president,” the former mayor told the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. “How dare they do that. When do they ever ask a man that question? When?”

Hours before Palin delivered her fiery acceptance speech on Night Three of the RNC – drawing little more than 37 million viewers, roughly one million less than Barack Obama’s according to Nielsen – Ohio women supporting Democratic candidate Barack Obama at Kent State’s Tuscarawas Campus shared their thoughts on whether it’s a legitimate issue to question Palin’s role as a parent.

Sixty-year-old Marlene Daniels said the whole issue is distracting people from the real questions people should be asking the governor.

“I really think that children should be left out of it,” she said. “Working mothers everywhere balance their job and their family. I think she has other issues that are far more important to attack her on than balancing motherhood.” Daniels added a moment later, “She probably has a nanny.”

In fact, her husband, Todd Palin, has taken on the role as stay-at-home dad since 2006.

Donna Caldwell, 63 and retired, is an evangelical Christian Democrat who offered non-political support for the governor.

“I don’t think it’s fair for the media to (go) after her on that,” she said. “Apparently, she’s been handling a lot. She has a son that’s going over to (Iraq) . and also taking care of family, so I think she handles both.”

Like Daniels, she too, said she wanted the focus to shift from the trivial, soap opera-esque misgivings of Palin to more important issues.

“I think she appears to be a good choice,” Caldwell added. “I don’t know what her qualifications are, but I think she can handle it in spite of being a mother. I just don’t see her as the heartbeat away from president.”

Contact public affairs reporter Joe Shearer at [email protected].