McCain is Shameful and Downright Perverse

First, let's stack up the facts and then we'll see how the formerly honorable John McCain has spun them into something shameful and perverse.

In late October 2004 during their third debate, then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama and then (and current) complete whackjob Alan Keyes got into a discussion about sex education:

KEYES: [to Obama]: You voted that sex education should begin in kindergarten but it would be "age appropriate sex education." But you opposed putting internet filters in schools. It makes me wonder what exactly you think is age appropriate. Do you believ that in the 2nd grade we should be teaching from books like Heather Has Two Mommies.

OBAMA: Actually, that wasn't what I had in mind. We have an existing law that mandates sex education in the schools and we want to make sure that it's medically accurate and age appropriate. I have a 3 year old daughter and a six year old daughter and one of the things I talk about with my wife is the possibility of someone touching them inappropriately. And that's why [sex education] is in the law. So they can exercise some kind of protection against abuse. As for filters, I have voted for them. In the school setting, there was information schoolchildren could not access such as information about breast cancer, which is why there was a broad opposition. [emphasis added]

Then, back in July of this year there was this from David Brody of CBNNews (CBN, as you may know, is the Christian Broadcasting Network and it was started by none other than Pat "Abortionists, atheists, and lesbians are to blame for 9/11" Robertson). Brody, reacting to the ABC headline that read "Sex Ed for Kindergarteners 'Right Thing to Do,' Says Obama." quoted Obama as saying that sex-ed for kindergarteners is "the right thing to do" as long as it's (now wait for it) "age appropriate." Brody continues:

So, at this point at least, what Obama is referring to is teaching five year olds about inappropriate touching. The Obama campaign also tells The Brody File that parents would be able to opt out. As for further details, the touching aspect seems to be the main idea here. Obama doesn't want to hand out condoms to five year olds. He doesn't want cucumber demonstrations as part of show and tell.

In the ABC piece we learn more:

When Obama's campaign was asked by ABC News to explain what kind of sex education Obama considers "age appropriate" for kindergarteners, the Obama campaign pointed to an Oct. 6, 2004 story from the Daily Herald in which Obama had "moved to clarify" in his Senate campaign that he "does not support teaching explicit sex education to children in kindergarten. . . The legislation in question was a state Senate measure last year that aimed to update Illinois' sex education standards with 'medically accurate' information . . . 'Nobody's suggesting that kindergartners are going to be getting information about sex in the way that we think about it,' Obama said. 'If they ask a teacher 'where do babies come from,' that providing information that the fact is that it's not a stork is probably not an unhealthy thing. Although again, that's going to be determined on a case by case basis by local communities and local school boards.'" [emphasis added]

According to Talkingpointsmemo:

The Obama campaign has pointed out that the bill would simply add instruction on disease prevention to already existing Illinois sex-ed standards.

So we're all set on the facts? Good. Now take a look at this shameful and perverse ad from the McCain camp:

The response from the Obama camp:

"It is shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack against a father of two young girls - a position that his friend Mitt Romney also holds. Last week, John McCain told Time magazine he couldn't define what honor was. Now we know why."

I'll say it: John McCain, a man without honor.