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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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How Did Dems Inherit Ozzie & Harriet Mantle?

Evangelical love for Palin family highlights dramatic switch in 'family values'

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(Newser) – The enthusiastic evangelical reaction to a working mother with an unwed pregnant teenage daughter on the GOP ticket highlights the dramatically changing face of conservative Christian America and could spell trouble for the Dems, Hanna Rosin writes in Slate. Evangelicals now actually score worse than the rest of America on the traditional values that preachers and conservative pundits laud, with families often failing to resemble the "oh-so-perfect" Obamas.

The Palin clan's flaws may boost the candidate's  working-class Christian cred, Rosin argues, pointing to figures that show the divorce rate has sunk among the college-educated and soared among evangelicals. "Since the '70s, evangelicals and the coastal elites have effectively switched places," Rosin concludes. "An intact happy marriage that produces well-behaved children, it turns out, is becoming a luxury of the elites—bad news for the Obamas."

Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he is joined by his family at the end of his speech at the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field last week.
Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he is joined by his family at the end of his speech at the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field last week.   (AP Photo )
Joe Biden kisses members of his family, before departing his home in Greenville, Del., en route to join Obama in Illinois.
Joe Biden kisses members of his family, before departing his home in Greenville, Del., en route to join Obama in Illinois.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia, 10, second from right, and Sasha, 7, take the stage after his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia, 10, second from right, and Sasha, 7, take the stage after his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Barack Obama. talks with a young boy as he campaigns door-to-door with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia, right, and Sasha, in Elkhart, Ind., earlier this year.
Barack Obama. talks with a young boy as he campaigns door-to-door with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia, right, and Sasha, in Elkhart, Ind., earlier this year.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Bristol Palin walks with her beau as they await the arrival of John McCain at the Republican National Convention. Bristol's pregnancy may have boosted GOP working class cred, according to Slate.
Bristol Palin walks with her beau as they await the arrival of John McCain at the Republican National Convention. Bristol's pregnancy may have boosted GOP working class cred, according to Slate.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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So cavalier are conservatives about Sarah Palin's wreck of a home life that they make the rest of us look stuffy and slow-witted by comparison. - Hanna Rosin

To any religious conservative, Palin, with all her contradictions and hypocrisies, is a very familiar type in this peculiar moment in evangelical history. - Hanna Rosin

The stereotype we associate with evangelicals—intact marriage, wife at home, teenage daughter saves it for marriage—actually applies only to the small minority who attend church weekly. - Hanna Rosin

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
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