One of the banes of Democratic politics in the recent past has been single-issue groups' refusal to look beyond their own turf and see the larger picture. It has often been more important to them to support the candidate that comes closest to passing a "purity test" than to consider which one would best protect and advance all progressive values. That's why groups like NOW endorse nice-guy, pro-choice Republican Lincoln Chafee while Democratic control of the Senate, and Supreme Court appointments, hang in the balance. It's a good thing that enough progressive women don't listen to them.

In this case it's a rather large piece of turf they're guarding, but how many Republican women crossed over to cast a symbolic vote for pro-choice, right-wing demon Hillary Clinton? Apart from those who decided to listen to Rush Limbaugh and make mischief in Texas, that is?

Once the temperature has gone down a bit, even the most ardent womens'-issues voters will realize that McCain is very bad news for them, while Obama's positions are virtually identical to Clinton's. And that's even before they know about what McCain called his wife in public, or the joke he told about Chelsea.