I was about to write an annoyed critique of Jodi Kantor's New York Times story today, which is about the presidential candidates taking their kids on the road...But I don't need to.

When I typed in google "Jodi Kantor judgmental," up came a posting on the DailyKos, which summed up my feelings exactly.

The gist: Kantor went after the Edwards for bringing their kids on the road with them, to spend their time at "Comfort Inns" instead of leaving them in their "pleasure palace" at home. I'm not going to quote here the passages in which she clearly shows her disapproval of them. Read the entire posting here.

Here's what I would add to DailyKos analysis: This is yet another example of the judging of parenting in our culture. The Times, and Kantor, is wagging her finger at how the Edwards parent. This is what parents do to each other every day in America: judge, blame, and self-righteously moralize. Can you believe she lets her kids each ring dings for breakfast? Can you believe they do their homework for their kids? Can you believe their kid doesn't see their kids until 7 at night? Or, in this case, can you believe they're dragging them on the campaign trail and taking them out of their comforting "routine" of playdates and school, all to feed their ambition?

If I was going to do some amateur psychologizing, I'd say this constant judging reflects deep anxieties and ambivalence about how we are doing our own parenting.

But in this case, I'd say it just is bad journalism, a transparent attempt to stoke controversy (and get readers) by playing to baser impulses...and prejudices. Stumble It!