Swampland - TIME.com

Obama: NO TOUCHING!

This story -- or at least it's shocking headline -- is picking up some steam on the blogosphere: "Sex Ed for Kindergarteners 'Right Thing to Do,' Says Obama." In fact, I'm tentatively scheduled to talk about it on "Hannity & Colmes" tonight, all of which makes me feel a little dense about telling the "rival campaign" that first forwarded me the article that I didn't see how "recycling Alan Keyes talking points is a winning strategy" for them.

It's not just that the "sex ed for toddlers" is a charge out of crazypants Keyes's playbook, it's that the accusation is as inflated and misleading as Drudge's hot girl-on-girl insinuations about Hillary Clinton. Obama has supported legislation to teach children about "inappropriate touching;" he's not for handing out cucumbers or bananas or probably even cheetos in show and tell. I imagine that the lessons would be short and involve pointing at a doll and in general be less explicit than a "Suite Life of Zach and Cody" episode.* (And, yes, this is the kind of thing you'd ideally want parents to deal with, but it's not crossing a line for a teacher to deal with it -- it's teachers, after all, who are generally in the position to report signs of abuse; wouldn't it be nice if they could stop it before it starts?)

Heck, the Christian Broadcasting Network political columnist thinks the "controversy" is overblown.

There is, you know, a reason why Keyes lost.

UPDATE: The Obama campaign reminds me that if their candidate seems skeevy, then just look at the United Church of Christ!

United Church Of Christ Promotes A Sexual Education Curriculum For Kindergartners That Focuses On Helping Children Identify and Avoid Sexual Abuse. “Our Whole Lives K-1 supports parents, teachers and pastors in educating children about birth and sexuality. The program affirms all kinds of families and helps children identify and avoid sexual abuse. Activities include stories, songs, arts and crafts.”

CRAFTS! Pervs.

*I'm not kidding about that sketchy Disney show. See "Act Four" here.


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About Swampland

Ana Marie Cox

Ana Marie Cox is the founding editor of Wonkette and the author of the novel Dog Days. Read more

Joe Klein

Joe Klein is TIME's political columnist and author of six books, most recently Politics Lost. His weekly TIME column, "In the Arena," covers national and international affairs. In 2004 he won the National Headliner Award for best magazine column. Read more

Karen Tumulty

Senior Writer Karen Tumulty has been TIME's National Political Correspondent since 2001, and has also covered the White House and Congress for the magazine. A native of San Antonio, she is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard Business School, where her career choice has significantly lowered the average salary of her graduating class. But she gets lots of free magazines. Read more

Jay Carney

Jay Carney is TIME's Washington bureau chief. He has covered both the Clinton and Bush 43 White Houses, as well as Congress. Before coming to Washington, he spent three years reporting from TIME's Moscow bureau. In his next life, he would like to write for Sports Illustrated. Read more

Jay Newton-Small

Jay Newton-Small Jay Newton-Small covers politics for TIME. She has covered the Bush 43 White House and also Congress from the DeLay era to the present. And, yes, despite the misleading name SHE is a she. Read more

Michael Scherer

Michael Scherer is a correspondent in TIME's Washington bureau covering the 2008 presidential campaign. He has worked national assignments for Mother Jones magazine and Salon.com. Read more

Mike Murphy

Mike Murphy is a political consultant who helped elect more than a dozen GOP Senators and Governors including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney. In 2000, Murphy was a senior strategist for John McCain's presidential campaign. Read more

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