I’m currently reading Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin. It’s a surprisingly good book actually. Surprise is exactly what I felt while reading a passage about a conversation Palin had with McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt soon after McCain had named her as his VP candidate. Palin and Schmidt were discussing some sensitive areas of her beliefs, including gay issues. “I explained to Schmidt that I opposed homosexual marriage,” writes Palin, “but that didn’t seem too controversial in the campaign since the Democrat candidate for president held the same position.”

What a minute, I thought. That can’t be right about Obama surely? So I checked and it is. Although he is pro gay rights in many areas, Obama has reaffirmed this opposition to gay marriage a number of times, saying: “My religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.” I’m not so much concerned here about the rights and wrongs of his stance, though my own views on gay marriage are actually similar to his. What is interesting is how Palin’s traditional views have seen her cast as a dangerous rednecked fundamentalist dinosaur to be mocked at every turn, yet even though Obama shares some of her views he still gets cast as, like, the most amazing forward-thinking, messianically brilliant human being to ever live, like…ever!