Now that Noelle Bush has been caught trying to smuggle a crack rock into a rehab facility, folks on the right are cautioning left-wingers not to make too much partisan hay over issues in the purely private life of a troubled young woman.

Well, relax. The top item on a google search for "Chelsea Clinton" is a rant from the National Review's John Derbyshire which winds up with a few insults in the direction of Bill Clinton, kicks in with "I hate Chelsea Clinton", and proceeds to excoriate her for, among other things, her choice of college majors (she went to Oxford to study --- ewwww --- economics), for showing up late once to church, and (no, I'm not making this up) for publicly showing solidarity with her family when her dad was going through a rough spot. We promise to hold Noelle to no higher standard than that.

But consider --- Jeb Bush, seems to be sticking by his appointee to clean up the Florida child-protection mess (the agency which keeps losing track of kids), knowing full well that he endorses discipline which at least borders on child abuse. Assuming he's not being hypocritical here (and that his daughter will be serving the mandatory sentence for possession which he deems fit for other peoples' kids), may we take this as a reflection on how well those methods actually work?

(Then again, if you prefer the way Chelsea turned out, you might want to consider her parents' views on child-rearing. I understand her mom wrote a book on the subject...)