Is O'Donnell's adolescent dabbling in witchcraft worse than Obama's adolescent dabbling in drugs?

[Karmadillo]

There are many, many reasons to vote against O'Donnell. It's interesting that it's the witchcraft story that will likely get the most coverage. Do leading conservatives hope this will be an issue that will offend their base enough to force her out of the race so Castle can step in? Should Democrats be delighting in this story since the substitution of Castle may result in the loss of a Senate seat? There was a time when many Democrats thought what one did as an adolescent wasn't relevant to one's qualifications for elective office.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/politics/09obama.html

Nearly three decades ago, Barack Obama stood out on the small campus of Occidental College in Los Angeles for his eloquence, intellect and activism against apartheid in South Africa. But Mr. Obama, then known as Barry, also joined in the party scene.

“He was so bright and wanted a wider urban experience.” ANNE HOWELLS, Mr. Obama’s former English professor
Years later in his 1995 memoir, he mentioned smoking “reefer” in “the dorm room of some brother” and talked about “getting high.” Before Occidental, he indulged in marijuana, alcohol and sometimes cocaine as a high school student in Hawaii, according to the book. He made “some bad decisions” as a teenager involving drugs and drinking, Senator Obama, now a presidential candidate, told high school students in New Hampshire last November.

more...

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3992371&page=1

Clinton Co-Chair Resigns Over Obama Drug Remark
Obama Camp Calls Move 'Desperate'; Clinton Personally Apologizes to Obama

Bill Shaheen, the Clinton campaign's New Hampshire co-chair, stepped down Thursday one day after publicly raising the issue of the youthful drug use of her chief opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois.

Shaheen, the husband of a former New Hampshire governor and an influential Democrat, was a constant presence by Clinton's side whenever she campaigned in the Granite State, where recent polls have her and Obama in a dead heat for first in that first-in-the-nation primary state.

"I would like to reiterate that I deeply regret my comments yesterday and say again that they were in no way authorized by Sen. Clinton or the Clinton campaign," Shaheen said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon.

more...

[hlthe2b]

1. to her extremist RW fundy supporters, I'd say, yes...

But, I think this should be left to percolate and we should focus on her demonstrable lies and FEC violations.

[Warpy]

3. Actually, WE are. Most of the posts here have thought the whole thing rather silly

as juvenile experimentation into stuff like that just never worked, which is why sensible people abandoned it by the time they turned 20.

I agree the woman has much bigger problems than that. Let the fundies pillory her over incantations and potions. That will keep them busy while we dig up the real dirt.

[NightWatcher]

2. just another popscicle stick in her house of batshit crazy

Cant wait to see what else Bill Maher has on tape

[Fumesucker]

4. Neither one bothers me at all, I frankly don't care..

What does bother me though is the hypocrisy that both of them show about what they did when they were younger.

[merqz]

5. I agree

I don't see either as a negative, thus there is no way I can say which is "worse".

The hypocrisy (all too common in politics) is what bothers me, too.

O'Donnell would not doubt criticize wiccans, and Obama has certainly done the same to drug users, literally laughing at the idea of marijuana legalization.

[obxhead]

10. Well said. nt

[Vickers]

6. Was he getting high 11 years ago?

:shrug:

[rocktivity]

7. It wouldn't be

if, unlike with Obama, it wasn't part of a pattern of bizzare behavior.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[blondeatlast]

8. No, but I don't fault DU for dabbling in some celebratory attention

to her hypocrisy.

[rooftoprevolutionary]

9. they're both immaterial

she could've been worshiping satan in an underground bunker, it has no effect on her efficiency as a senator. i stole a mickey mouse stuffed animal once at disneyland, but that has nothing to do with how i would run a country or state.
bottom line, she is inexperienced, ignorant of issues and possible solutions and simply not a good candidate.

[The_Commonist]

11. Actually, I think it makes a more well-rounded person.

I'm much more concerned by the notion that she has never had an orgasm.
THAT is truly frightening!

[Iggo]

12. Nope.

The fact that she's running and hiding from it is what's wrong.

[MineralMan]

13. Who cares about either one? Not me, certainly.

I smoked dope when I was younger. That says nothing about who I am today. What on Earth does it matter?

O'Donnell is an idiot. President Obama is not. O'Donnell is a teabagger. President Obama is a Democrat. What else matters?

I don't care if O'Donnell took on the entire rugby team at her college in order. That would not affect my opinion of her political positions. I would detest them just as much as I currently do.

It's time to look at what people believe, not what they did when they were in their late teens and 20s. That shit's irrelevant to anything.

[theophilus]

14. Would fundamentalist Christians still vote for her if they found out that

she was possessed by Satan while she was "dabbling" and is, in fact, the Anti-Christ? I don't know. If they find out then we'll see what happens.......Just sayin'.

[MineralMan]

15. There's no such thing as being possessed by Satan, nor is there

any such thing as an Antichrist. It's all a religious fantasy. It's all bullshit. What are O'Donnell's political positions. That is the only thing needed to defeat her. All of this other stuff is simply crap. Expose her ignorance and stupidity.

[alfredo]

16. The witches I knew were into pot and LSD.

[ProSense]

17. Let's see:

Is smoking a joint the same as being a kook?

[Arkana]

18. I don't think anyone should vote for or against Christine O'Donnell

for dabbling in "witchcraft" in college. That's the least of her many offenses.

[JustinL]

19. what's worse is the likely possibility that O'Donnell was lying

Fundies always seem to have these Jack Chick-esque stories about the depravity they were involved with before they were "born again", the implication being that Satanic sacrificial rituals are a widespread practice among us non-fundies. Have any non-fundies every seen a bloody Satanic altar?