There have been a lot of folks on the Left beating up on evangelicals for, well, not beating up on Sarah Palin. “She’s a working mom, her oldest daughter is pregnant before marriage, she . . . she . . . what do you mean, you don’t want to tar and feather her?! You hypocrites!” Such folks would do well to read the thoughtful reflections of Dr. Alan Jacobs and the Anchoress on this issue. (And if that doesn’t work, they can try Thomas Lifson.)And speaking of Alan Jacobs, I could wish more people on both sides of the political fence understood this:
It’s actually possible to have some sympathy for a political candidate—to think that a candidate is being treated unfairly—whom you have no plan to vote for. It is not the case that all compassion is partisan.
As for the last quote, I’d say that in our current political discourse – “All evidence to the contrary”.
Love the quote. I think it may be why Hilary hasn’t chimed in too much. I think she actually felt sorry for Gov. Palin, recognizing how much of it was sexism. I also am thankful to see the broad and strong response of the public against the press right now. The best way to stop bullies is to have the bystanders rally around the victim, and that seems to be happening.
Doug–that would be the problem, wouldn’t it?
Joyce, I think you’re right; I could wish she’d felt able to say, “Hang the party, I’m going to say what I think”–but notably, she let her associates say what she didn’t feel free to say herself, and that was far from nothing. I agree too that the public response has helped; our politics is, alas, never truly gentle, but things seem to have returned to a more normal level.