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Saturday, September 1, 2007 12:00 AM

McCain's selective defense of "traditional marriage"

The GOP senator who dumped his first wife and the mother of his children to marry his young, rich mistress demands legal recognition for his own highly untraditional marriage.

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  • Saturday, September 1, 2007 07:04 AM

    Fred Thompson vs. "family values"

    When asked about his dating history during the nearly two decades between his two marriages, Fred Thompson replied, "I was single for a long time, and, yep, I chased a lot of women," he said. "And a lot of women chased me. And those that chased me tended to catch me."

    He his, in that statement, bragging about his sexual conquests outside of marriage – in effect promoting promiscuity – saying it’s all right for a “manly man” to have a lot of sex outside of marriage.

    At the same time, the GOP’s “family values” program is sending a completely different message, warning about the “harmful psychological and physical effects" of sex outside marriage.

    Was Fred Thompson harmed by his promiscuity? And if not, why not? And how is his bragging consistent with now promoting the exact opposite of his own behavior?

    Maybe these questions should be asked to Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, who helped draft the original legislation for Bush’s "chasity" programs: "The programs simply tell them the more sex they have outside of marriage, the less will be their prospects for human happiness."

    Do we want an unhappy man for President?

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/18/AR2007051801681_pf.html

    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,32212,00.html

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