play fair, play dirty

COMMENT

Mr and Mrs Cooper will have doubtless drawn the scorn of millions down on them when it emerged yesterday they had concealed the sex of their child, Sasha. On the face of it it did seem a barmy idea, but listening to Sasha's dad on the radio today it turns out they were not crazy at all, rather they sought simply to avoid the usual boring stereotypes that would have been forced upon their son. Some pundit was also wheeled out who was worried he might face problems in his adult life because he would have been ill equipped with the sort of manly traits found so attractive in a prospective mate. Bollocks. Not all women want the "he-man" type; indeed, many find that sort of man repellent. I have several "feminine" aspects to my personality, and if anything it actually enhanced my appeal to women, and I doubt I'm alone.

I never thought in my wildest fantasies I could feel sorry for a right-wing plonker like Newt Gingrich. I was wrong. This week, in a despicable smear campaign, his opponents for the republican nomination for presidential candidate let it be known he had asked his wife for an "open marriage", whatever that is. What this has to do with suitability for the White House is unclear, but what is clear that the American right will stoop to any, and I mean any, depth to win. Remember when John McCain was up against George Bush in the nomination race in 2000? Then the other side claimed he (McCain) had fathered a black child out of wedlock. The rumours are believed by some to have cost him the nomination. In fact he and his wife had adopted a baby from Bangladesh. Cute, huh?
The only good thing about the race this year is that without any really compelling candidate emerging from the republicans this year, it looks good for Obama to win a second term. True, he ain't as wonderful as we were hoping he was going to be, but he's a fuck of a sight better than anyone else out there.