liberal hypocrisy

The New York Times once opined about an up-and-coming female political candidate:

"Where is it written that only senators are qualified to become President?... Where is it written that governors and mayors [are] too local, too provincial?... Presidential candidates have always chosen their running mates for reasons of practical demography, not idealized democracy.... What a splendid system, we say to ourselves, that takes little-known men, tests them in high office and permits them to grow into statesmen.... Why shouldn't a little-known woman have the same opportunity to grow?... [T]he indispensable credential for a Woman Who [sic] is the same as for a Man Who [sic] - one who helps the ticket."

This was written about Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, yet, somehow the NYT finds Sarah Palin offensive in 2008. I don't recall Ferraro's 'youth' and 'vibrancy' being described as a negative against Mondale.