August 1, 2008 2:17 PM

Cindy McCain tries to score points on the backs of Rwandan women.

In last Monday's Wall Street Journal, Cindy McCain wrote an op-ed entitled, "Rwanda's Women Are Leading the Way."

After the brouhaha the New York Times endured after refusing to print a submission from Senator John McCain earlier this year, no wonder the WSJ didn't want to take a chance. All the same, I have to raise some concerns about the integrity of a paper that would publish a column replete with factual errors, insidious hypocrisy, and some pretty bad writing.

Mrs. McCain purported to celebrate the women "leading the renaissance" in Rwanda; she paid particular tribute to the organization "Women to Women International." Unfortunately, the correct name of that organization is Women for Women International, and we should know - CREDO gave them $57,678 in 2007. Of course, the name is now corrected on the WSJ site (without a correction note, I might add), but the original paper bore out Mrs. McCain's deep commitment to an organization which she cannot even properly name.

Moving along from misstatements of fact to questions of policy: It's well and good for Mrs. McCain to trumpet the accomplishments of Rwandan women, but she fails to mention that those same women are denied U.S. foreign aid funds because her husband supports the Global Gag Rule.

Finally, there's the (perhaps less serious) crime of inconsistency. When discussing an especially inspiring young woman she met in Rwanda, Mrs. McCain mentions that "Illness, isolation and an utter lack of hope left her in abject despair."

Never fear: One short paragraph later, the same girl was able to recount her story with -- you guessed it -- hope. Nice recovery.

The women of Rwanda have overcome unthinkable atrocities. They deserve better than a token tribute from a woman who would pat them on the head with one hand while she steals their funding with the other.