Grow the fuck up the both of you

Having started flinging muck about, Don Brash is now annoyed that he's getting some back, and wants the media to stay out of his private life. Perhaps he should have thought of that before trying to make an issue out of other people's?

Unfortunately, Brash's comments were not a one-off - they're part of a wider campaign by the right to personalise things and politicise religious belief. The first is merely childish (on about the same level as kids calling each other "poo-face"), the second a calculated attempt to undermine tolerance and set New Zealanders against one another. Which is, of course, exactly what Brash has tried to do on race.

New Zealand has a long-standing tradition of ignoring politician's private lives because it's a) irrelevant and b) debases politics and distracts politicians from doing their jobs (Exhibit A: Monica Lewinsky). Brash should be ashamed of himself for violating this, and Helen should be ashamed of herself for responding. Both of them should grow the fuck up and get on with their job, rather than wasting time slagging each other off in this fashion.