I won’t wade into the debate we’re having about whether or not it’s sexist to discuss Sarah Palin’s family (It’s not! It kinda is.), but I will say that her daughter’s pregnancy does raise an interesting public policy question. Palin is a hardcore advocate of one of the religious right’s favorite hobbyhorses: abstinence-only education. Can she legitimately travel the country touting the idea of starving America’s teens of information about safe sex when she has an example of abstinence-only education’s failure living under her roof?
In this Newsweek video, McCain campaign chief Steve Schmidt struggles to answer that very question, thus giving us some sense of the correct answer.
Reporter: Will she be able to make speeches on abstinence? And will she be able to make speeches on premarital sex? I mean, this is an issue that comes up continually in the Republican Party. Will she be able to do that with her daughter pregnant and having had this situation?
Schmidt: I think that, um, she’s going to be a very compelling figure out on the campaign trail. She’s going to do a great job. She’s going to deliver a great message and, um, the reality is that, um, she’s gonna, you know, talk about her life and her experiences, and she’s proud of her family and she loves her daughter.
Isn’t spin grand?
