Steve Waldman foresees that some liberals won't be able to keep themselves from making fun of Sarah Palin's views sympathetic to intelligent design, thus leaving Obama's outreach to people of faith in tatters:
In fact, this is almost inevitable that some liberal bloggers will do just that and the Republicans will gather up every one of those Christian-mocking quotes to prove that the Republicans respect them and Democrats don't. For Obama to avoid this fate, he's probably going to do a Sister Souljah on those Democrats who mock Palin, specifically coming to her defense on matters of faith.
P.Z. Myers, this is your chance!
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Linda and Karen, I have a nit to pick with the allegorical interpretation of Genesis.
Multiple lines of evidence indicate that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. So if God rested on the seventh day then that day would only be 200,000 years long. The Earth is likely 4.5 billion years old and the Universe is almost 14 billion years old. So the days would need to vary wildly in length which seems to defeat the point of calling them days.
So humans are a recent addition to a world that predates us by an enormous amount of time. Obviously this is not troubling to some people, but it seems worth pointing out because it shapes the thinking of people on both side of the issue. Even though I think they are wrong, I can see why a young Earth creationist has their point of view as they want to believe in inerrancy of the Bible and the centrality of humans in creation.
I'm not so sure this is a trap "for Dems". Some independents, such as myself, were initially drawn to McCain because he represented a departure from the silliness of the religious right. Palin's support for creationism, while I agree with her on many issues, forces me to reconsider my support for a McCain-Palin ticket. I just cannot respect the intellect (or candidacy) of someone who refuses to see reality. It's obvious on the other hand that McCain doesn't support creationist nonsense; he's merely pandering.
Speaking of traps for the Dems, Cheryl provides Exhibit A:
Uh huh - you just have to respect a right wing hypocrite who, when her 16-year-old daughter becomes pregnant, decides to pretend like the baby that was born in April was hers (the elder) and not her daughter's. She's a liar from day one and abysmally inexperienced (isn't that what you righties have been damning Obama for?)
[SNORT!] Ha! I love it. Keep it up, haters. McCain-Palin will coast to victory in November.
No one, not even people like PZ Myers, care one whit about the beliefs that others subscribe to, no matter how zany. But the moment they attempt to inject zany beliefs, wholly at odds with reality, into the public sphere when running for or filling a public office, PZ, skeptics, people of other faiths, and the general public have a perfect right—and I'd say duty—to attack those beliefs. In other words, believe whatever you want in private, no matter how disconnected from reality, but don't try to foist them on the rest of us. And let's face it, Palin and McCain (his may be more pandering than true beliefs, but that's just as bad in my book) hold some downright bizarre ideas completely rooted in fantasy.
A Trap? Hardly. More like a pitfall for the Republican ticket.
I largely agree with Kevin's post. The selection of Palin just shows that Republicans are willing to put a complete crackpot in the second highest post in the land. Folks who might have voted for McCain - like me -- now have to consider whether having him in the White House is worth letting some anti-science looney tune pollute the nation's agenda with arcane religious dogma.
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