Factcheck.org: McCain's Viagra Moment | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008

FACTCHECK.ORG
Off Base on Sex Ed
Emi Kolawole 9/10/2008 12:00:00 AM
Obama, contrary to the ad's insinuation, does not support explicit sex education for kindergarteners. And the bill, which would have allowed only "age appropriate" material and a no-questions-asked opt-out policy for parents, was not his accomplishment to claim in any case, since he was not even a cosponsor – and the bill never left the state Senate.
CAMPAIGN 2008
Family Matters
Katie Paul 9/6/2008 12:00:00 AM
It didn't take long for Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin to make a name for herself on the family-values front. Tapped only a week ago to join presidential contender Sen. John McCain on the GOP ticket, the little-known first-term governor of Alaska walked on stage with a reputation as a staunchly pro-life crusader. The details emerging about Palin's personal life—her special-needs baby and her pregnant teenage daughter—had supporters hailing her as a politician who "walked the walk." Within days of her entrance into the race, the entire campaign narrative had shifted, from a post-partisan battle for independents to a revival of the culture wars. "McCain wants to take away our right to choose," intoned an ad released by the Obama camp, shortly after Palin's selection as veep. "That's what women need to understand. That's how high the stakes are."
Biden: Palin Family Off Limits to Critics
9/4/2008 12:00:00 AM
Republican presidential nominee John McCain began his final drive for the White House on Thursday with a boost from running mate Sarah Palin while Democratic opponent Joe Biden declared her family "off limits" and suggested that some news media coverage of her had been sexist.
McCain Set for Acceptance Speech Tonight
9/4/2008 12:00:00 AM
John McCain embarks on his final drive for the White House Thursday night, accepting the Republican presidential nomination and addressing the party's national convention from a stage that workers were hastily rebuilding to fit his "town hall" approach.
ABORTION
A Maverick, But He’s No Moderate
Sarah Kliff
John McCain boasts one of the most consistent pro-life voting records in the Senate, but he doesn't do much boasting about it. Even during the primaries—when touting his anti-abortion credentials could have scored with his conservative critics—he mostly avoided the subject. Why? "My record is clear," McCain said, when asked by reporters earlier this year. "I am a pro-life conservative."
Once Upon a Principle
Anna Quindlen
Barack Obama morphed in the public mind from populist to elitist with one ill-wrought comment about guns and faith and the "bitter" working class. Hillary Clinton responded by improbably re-creating herself as the kind of woman who knows her way around a shot glass and a rifle. But neither Democrat can match the transformation of the Republican candidate, who is running for president by turning his back on much of what he once was.