You miss Andrew’s euphemistic use of the term “colorful”. He doesn’t mean “eccentric”, he means “sexually libertine”. It’s all about the sex, not the snowmobiles.

As a member of said media (though low on the totum), I have a front-row seat to how this has worked for years. Yes, journalists overall lean left. However, they drastically overcompensate at every turn, reporting far too much on every conservative criticism of a liberal, no matter how bizarre, irrelevant or otherwise.

And yes, there IS hypocrisy and it is rampant. Laura Ingraham excoriating some Spears girl over her pregnancy, yet castigating “the media” for simply reporting that Palin’s daughter (who they have definitely shoved into the public eye, and God help that poor schmuck boyfriend!) is pregnant. This is similar to Hannity et al’s condemning Edwards’ affair as if it disqualifies him from ever serving, while entirely ignoring McCain’s past dalliance.

But to the point. If it were Obama’s daughter, we’d hear about it every day. Not to mention the flyers they’d be handing out in my rural Kentucky hometown.

(Justinslot: Nice name, firstly, and awesome retort on the Enterprise!)

Obama’s family is certainly more colorful in the literal sense of skin color–I mean it looked like the bridge of the Enterprise out there after his acceptance speech.

Forgive me for being snarky. I’m told, though, that San Francisco is less than hospitable to families with small children.

I appreciate your interesting historical point about dynastic crimes, but your final remark is, I think, beneath this blog. You’re more than articulate enough to make your points on their merits.

But what does Sullivan know about “breeders”?

He has absolutely no standing to pose as a high-minded non-partisan who lectures the rest of us about the nastiness that exists at all points on the political spectrum. And if he’s just saying that he has license to behave atrociously, because people he doesn’t respect would do the same if given the chance, then he’s too hopelessly juvenile to be taken seriously as anything but an entertainer.

Personally I no longer find him entertaining and the past week has convinced me that I have better things to do with my time than read his blog. Apparently since I stopped reading he’s gone from gleefully publicizing the travails of a teenage girl to throwing stones at Governor Palin’s other relatives. All justified on the grounds that “They started it!” and “They’re no better than we are!” These aren’t “thoughts” worth paying attention to, or “arguments” that require a thoughtful rebuttal.

It depends on who “we” are. Andrew clearly is talking about Palin’s siblings, as you will see if you read his entire post, which is what made his remark so odd. As in:

” If Obama’s sister had nine kids from two fathers neither of whom she is currently living with, do you really think the press would not have written about it?”

Obama’s entire family is certainly just as “colorful” as Palin’s as far as remarkable family situations are concerned, so if that is what is driving media coverage there should be some parity in treatment of the two families. Of course there isn’t and never has been anything like the feeding frenzy around Obama and his extended family as there has been over the last few days. “We” certainly are talking about siblings, if Sullivan has anything to say about it.

We are not talking about her siblings or parents or the parents of the “First Dude” of Alaska. If, for example, Sasha Obama was a grown girl, and had a baby outside marriage, are you really telling me that their family would not be held out to the world as the very embodiment of all that is wrong with our culture?

First, the family drama is totally irrelevant to her preparedness to lead the free world. At some point, decency and class have to take precedence over daily news-cycle ascendancy and profit.

Second, some of this happened to Obama, and it was less in your face because it did not happen over the course of a few days, but several months. Most of the attacks were focused on Michelle, and not his kids. Still, two wrongs do not make a right.

Besides, intrusive smear-mongering and blatant sexism just gives them fodder. Also, it’s embarrassing/hypocritical for everyone involved.