http://larvatusprodeo.net/2008/09/09/film-as-a-guide-to-life-the-thread-we-had-to-have/

How we got from the dispiriting political and ideological record of Sarah Palin — that she is adamantly pro-life and anti-gay marriage, that she is a lifetime member of the NRA, that she has no foreign policy experience and supports the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in schools — to the uterine activity of her family, makes perfect, human sense: Who wants to talk about boring policy when we can talk about teens and sex and pregnancy?

With respect I think that is relevant. The first stoush I engaged viz Sarah Palin was on this issue. the reason it’s relevant is that if someone advocates abstinence-only sex education as Palin privately does that is subject to examination in the light of a 17 year old girl getting pregnant to a lad who declared on his MySpace page that he didn’t want kids. Unplanned pregancy is pretty clear evidence of abstinence only education not working.
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That said the whole gambit of personal attack is, shall we say, lowering the tone of discussion somewhat. Australians thankfully don’t tolerate this sort of thing.
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Palin’s ideological record/habitus: her christianity, her views on reproductive rights, her lifetime membership of the NRA are things that recommend her to her constituency. Many libertarians have fallen in love with her and have played down the abortion thing. In general libertraians support abortion rights as an extension of fundamental property rights – the right to one’s own person. American libertarians differ somewhat. Ron Paul apparently want to grant rights to the foetus from the moment of conception.
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I support abortion rights for principled and realpolitik reasons. I can respect the ‘pro-life’ libertarian position to a certain extent. But I find that they fail when they overlook Palin’s advocacy of Creationism being taught in science classes and most especially the anecdote from her early days as mayor of Wasilla:

She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them.

If you want to ban books you’re no advocate of principles classical liberalism. End of story. The librarian stood up to her.
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Unfortunately the ideological shitfight that is currently American politics conducts electoral races according to the old nefarious, theocratic contest: Good v Evil. In this game the opposition aren’t just people with different policy views, they are unspeakable. And your side’s little difficulties are kept where they belong – under the rug. This is a problem on both sides of politics: Bill Clinton’s extracurricular activities should never have been tolerated by advocates of women’s rights.

Double the Hayley for your trouble!

A combination of ‘Wake in Fright’ and ‘Whistle down the Wind’ as a life guide it truly scary!