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I thought long and hard about posting in this topic. After all, I am no political pundit, I am not a respected journalist. I know that pointing out my disagreements on policy will not sway a hard-core supporter's mind. But now McCain has sunk to a new low, claiming that Barack Obama is wants kids to "learn sex-ed before they learn to read", a hideously disgusting claim and worst of all, the public seems to be buying it.

Politics is a dirty, mud-slinging game, but McCain's attack on the so-called "kindergarten sex-ed" bill reaches a disturbing new low. The bill in question, which Senator Obama voted on as a state senator in Illinois, was designed to protect small children from sexual predators by teaching them about inappropriate touching. Back in the 80s, when I was in kindergarten, we were shown videos with the very same information. Nobody considered it inappropriate sex ed back then. Even family-friendly sitcoms got into the game, such as that famous Very Special Episode of Diff'rent Strokes where Arnold and Dudley face a sexual predator. Yes, sexual predators used to be considered bad, and education warning children from them used to be considered good. But not anymore, apparently. McCain has released an ad deriding this as inappropriate sexual education.

Parents, pause for a moment and think about that. John McCain thinks it's inappropriate for your children to be warned against sexual predators and inappropriate touching.

Let's be clear on this. As a member of the other side', I disagree with the majority of McCain's positions. But the thing is, I used to respect him even while disagreeing with him. He was, after all, a war hero and was an honest, upright man. I felt bad for him when Karl Rove's bizarre smears destroyed his presidential prospects during the 2000 primaries.

And now even Karl Rove, Reigning King of Disgusting Smear Campaigns, has said John McCain has gone too far.

McCain apologists will, of course, say that it's just an ad, just some regular ol' mudslinging thrown out just to generate some buzz. After all, it worked great when Sarah Palin tore into the idea of community service during her convention acceptance speech, and most people really don't think community service is such a bad thing. But who in their right mind would sink SO low on such an easily-debunked claim if they didn't believe in what they're saying?

You can say what you want about policies and issues, but in my view, a man who has no problem with children being unaware of the dangers of sexual predators is not a man who deserves to be President of the United States of America. A man who thinks that it's wrong to warn small, innocent children of danger does not deserve to lead this great country.

I used to respect Senator McCain. Now I will never have even the tiniest shred of warm feeling towards this man. Our children deserve better than this.

http://www.factcheck.org/ elections-2008/off_base_on_sex _ed.html

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