Voting With The Little Hood

Jon Stewart gives his analysis of McCain's running mate Sarah Palin and why women will vote for her despite the fact that it goes against their own beliefs and self-interests:

Some of you also might have heard the rumors that Palin's recently born baby was actually her oldest daughter's that she was going to raise as her own. These rumors surfaced after her daughter missed 5 consecutive months of school with an illness and Palin, after her water broke in Texas, gave a speech, flew to Seattle, connected into Anchorage, and drove past the two closest hospitals to give birth at the hospital closest to their home. While these actions aren't outright suspicious they do seem to be fairly reckless, given her age.

It turns out though that the rumors aren't true and that the baby is indeed Palin's and that her seventeen-year-old daughter is also indeed pregnant with her own child, which she apparently intends to keep. While this is certainly interesting human drama I don't think that it's at all relevant or germane to this campaign.

[Update: This is how she answered one of the questions on a questionnaire she filled out when she was running for governor:

3. Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

SP: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

Again, I don't think her daughter's pregnancy is a legitimate campaign issue but I do think her views on this subject are important as to how she will govern and how those abstinence-only policies will affect other minors across this country; her daughter's situation only serves to bring this issue to the fore of the national conversation.]