Sex, Lies, And Videotape

Sex, Lies, And Videotape

The McCain campaign has a new ad out that says (among other things):

"Obama's one accomplishment?

Legislation to teach "comprehensive sex education" to kindergartners.

Learning about sex before learning to read?

Barack Obama.

Wrong on education. Wrong for your family. "

John McCain: wrong on the facts. For starters, the bill is not a "legislative accomplishment": it never came up for a vote. If it had, and if it had passed, it would not have been Sen. Obama's "legislative accomplishment": he wasn't among its sponsors. It was passed out of his committee, and I believe he supported it, but as far as I can tell, that's the extent of his involvement with it.

More to the point, the bill in question requires that sex ed courses use medically accurate information. That is: any sex ed courses that are currently being taught have to be accurate. It requires that they be age-appropriate, which I think rules out explicit discussions of sex in kindergarten. It starts with an explicit opt-out clause:

"(a) No pupil shall be required to take or participate in any class or course in comprehensive sex education if the pupil's parent or guardian submits written objection thereto, and refusal to take or participate in such course or program shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of such pupil."

So why, you might ask, did kindergarten even come up in the bill? Well:

"Barack Obama supports sensible, community-driven education for children because, among other things, he believes it could help protect them from pedophiles. A child's knowledge of the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching is crucial to keeping them safe from predators."

Helping kids protect themselves from sexual predators by teaching them the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching. Horrors. And totally the same as teaching kindergarteners about sex.

I hope McCain is enjoying himself. It would be a shame for him to give up what remains of his honor without getting anything at all in return.