Iowa Governor Vilsack is dropping out of the Presidential race. It's too bad that he has decided not to run. Although I know little about his political views, I figured his campaigning would help bring some attention to adoption search and reunion. Certainly the subject needs attention in my view.

If you recall, Governor Vilsack is an adoptee and recently received a letter from a nun who used to work at the unwed mothers home where his birth mom spent some time. She told him that information about his birth family was available.

Remember this post? I still cannot get over that aspect of his story. Ever heard of a nun offering an adoptee their records? His adoptive mom had told him that all records were destroyed in a fire - ah yes, that old "the fire destroyed your records" story!

"It was a place for young women to go to have their babies and then decide whether to leave them there," Vilsack said.

Wonder if the Governor has read "The Girls Who Went Away"? I doubt if he had read the book that he would be mentioning that young women "decided whether to leave them there." Maybe he is not aware that there was very little "choice" in that era?

The story referenced at the beginning of this post which discusses his reasons for dropping out of the Presidential race does mention adoption. It mentions that Vilsack "tried to sell himself as a candidate with a compelling personal story, which he hoped would spark national interest in his candidacy." Vilsack was adopted as an infant into what he calls a "troubled but loving family."

His parents were well-to-do and sent him to a private preparatory school, but his mother was an alcoholic who beat him and his father suffered trying financial reversals.

Calling his family "troubled but loving" certainly is charitable of him I suppose. However, being raised by an alcoholic mother who beat him does not sound like too loving an environment. His adoptive parents are no longer alive though, and I admire his loyalty to them.