Culture Briefs

Character counts

“I picked up a copy of Time magazine yesterday, in which a columnist declared that issues of ’character’ were a ’distraction’ in the Presidential race. [Sen. Barack] Obama actually said the same thing in his North Carolina press conference, that the Reverend Wright affair has been a ’distraction.’

“Isn’t this what liberals usually say when their own characters come under public scrutiny? What a heap of pure poppycock! Character is the primary issue in every Presidential election. Period.

“And we, the voters, have an inalienable right to know the specifics, as much as can be discerned, of a candidate’s character. But don’t take my word for that. Take John Adams’ words on the matter: The people ’have a right, an indisputable, inalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge — I mean of the character and conduct of their rulers.’ ”

— Kyle Anne Shiver, writing on “It’s Obama’s Character, Stupid,” on May 2 at the webzine American Thinker

Safe drinking

“Compare that with what happened when the STD study came out: Planned Parenthood said the results showed that abstinence education doesn’t work, and teen-agers should instead be taught ’safe sex.’ Using the same logic, instead of unrealistically expecting tweens to abstain from alcohol, shouldn’t we be teaching them ’safe drinking’?

“You know — it’s O.K. to knock back a brewski while playing Grand Theft Auto after school, but be sure to stop at one; eat something before you start chugging punch at the Halloween party; take a hair of the dog with your Froot Loops if you’ve had too many the night before; stuff like that. …

“When it comes to beer and Skittles, our schools preach total abstinence and practice zero tolerance; when it comes to sex, they hand out condoms. As my colleague Kevin Williamson wrote recently: ’Why is the Left libertarian on sex but authoritarian on practically everything else?’ Perhaps someone should point out to them that sex often leads to smoking.”

— Fred Schwarz, writing on “Skittles on the Walk of Shame,” on May 2 at NationalReview.com

Grover Lenin

“A few years ago I attended a panel discussion at a local college organized in part to let people blow off steam in the wake of the 2002 elections. I don’t remember the exact topic, but I do remember that Janeane Garofalo was there, as well as famous flat-tax crusader Grover Norquist.

“Whenever Norquist started speaking, hisses would emanate from the crowd, and eventually, decorum gave way and scattered hisses devolved into outright booing. But the booers were abruptly shushed by a noted leftie on the panel — not Garofalo — who interjected that maybe folks ought to be quiet. Maybe just listen for a second. Norquist’s political acumen, the noted leftie said, was about as keen as Lenin’s, and if we really wanted to put our high-minded ideals into effect, perhaps we ought to be less precious about what ideas we allowed ourselves to hear.”

— Megan Hustad, writing on “You Are Not Your Bookcase,” on May 2 at Salon.com