Conservative Virginity?

The NYTimes has a concise article on the king-making of the Christian conservative leadership: not moneyed, they're more like black leaders, able to deliver a significant number of votes to favored candidates. Little in the article is surprising, but it ends on a dramatic note:

He argued that with the right promises, any of the four could redeem themselves in the eyes of the conservative movement despite their past records, just as some high school students take abstinence pledges even after having had sex.

"It's called secondary virginity," he said. "It is a big movement in high school and also available for politicians."

This analogy needs to stop right there.