DAVIS: Can an honorable man run a dishonorable campaign?

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ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The answer is yes. And I am sorry to say, the question pertains to Sen. John McCain. I just wrote last week about my disappointment that Mr. McCain had allowed his campaign to lie when it accused Sen. Barack Obama of referring to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin when he made his "lipstick on a pig" remark.

Then in the last week came a campaign TV ad asserting that Mr. Obama's "one accomplishment in the area of education was legislation to teach 'comprehensive sex education' to kindergartners." The punch line, with a deliberately contorted photo of Mr. Obama, reads:

"Learning about sex before learning to read? Wrong for your family."

Omitted from this ad, no doubt intentionally, were the following facts:

cIn March 2003, Mr. Obama, then in the Illinois Senate, voted for an amendment to someone else's bill that was in large part aimed at warning children in kindergarten to sixth grade to recognize and avoid sexual predators. (As someone who is a great admirer of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the father of a 10-year-old and 3-year-old, I can state with certainty that this is a subject that all parents should want their children to be taught as early as possible.)

cThe bill was supported by the Illinois Public Health Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Cook County Department of Public Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health, among many other state and local health and educational organizations.

cA parental "opt out" provision was included in the legislation.

cIt never passed.

Byron York of National Review Online recently wrote that the bill included provisions for children to be taught about other issues such as contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. I respect Mr. York greatly. But that does not mitigate the vicious lie of accusing Mr. Obama of favoring kindergarten-age children "learning about sex before learning to read."