Sarah Palin's Big Bad Creationism

[Joanne98]

When John McCain announced his intention to make a freshman -- and female -- Alaska Governor the next vice president on the eve of the Republican convention, the liberal media conspiracy went predictably haywire. The litany of revelations about Sarah Palin only grows as time goes on. And though it has been overshadowed by teenage pregnancies and doctored photographs, one question has got the lattes shaking in a great many progressive hands: is Sarah Palin a creationist?

The Los Angeles Times called her that outright. Newsweek, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times were more cautious, reporting that Palin supports teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. But even this isn't quite right. While, in a 2006 gubernatorial debate , she may have declared herself "a proponent of teaching both," she backed down somewhat in a subsequent interview: "I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum." All she's asking, it seems, is that students not be suspended for asking a question about God.

Palin went on to say that her father was a science teacher and taught her about "his theories of evolution." When pushed for her own conclusions, she admitted only, "I believe we have a creator." Sorting through her equivocations, creationist organizations like Answers in Genesis and the Discovery Institute are still reluctant to declare her one of their own.

In contrast, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have made their positions on evolution clear, even while reaching out to religious voters. Clinton is "shocked" by creationism advocates. "One of our gifts from God," she adds, "is the ability to reason." For Obama, "it's a mistake to try to cloud the teaching of science with theories that frankly don't hold up to scientific inquiry."

Palin's maneuvers, in fact, are nothing new for the McCain campaign. As his presidential bid got rolling in '05 and '06, John McCain expressed openness to "intelligent design" theory, a recent phenomenon that dresses creationism in a lab coat. While admitting, "I happen to believe in evolution," he insisted (incorrectly) that many scientists believe intelligent design deserves a fair hearing. While at first suggesting that all positions should be presented, in the same breath he concludes that the most extreme creationism should "probably not" be taught in science class. In 2007, McCain appeared at an event sponsored by the Discovery Institute, the leading cadre promoting intelligent design. Like Palin, he offers only mixed messages.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/98114/sarah_palin's_big_bad_creationism/

[yellowcanine]

1. '"intelligent design" theory, a recent phenomenon that dresses creationism in a lab coat'

Excellent description. Must find a way to use that.