“You have to feel sorry for Bristol Palin. Because of her mother’s place on the Republican ticket, the biggest challenges of Bristol’s life thus far — becoming a parent and a wife before she has even graduated high school — will now play out on the national stage, opening her up to the judgments of hundreds of millions of gossipy Americans, not to mention election-watchers across the globe. … In conservative circles, the pregnancy news is more than just fine — politically, it is playing like a dream among Republican delegates in St. Paul. The idea that the Christian right would have judged Sarah Palin a failure in imparting proper values to her sexually active daughter is silly.” [editor’s note: Ouch! Correct assessment, vis a vis neocon GOP/FTF orthodoxy. But what if this is the spark that makes that intolerance turn the page? What if Obama isn’t the only “Chosen One” in the race? - SAT] (09/03/08)