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Abortion Is a No-Win Issue for Obama
Obama's voting record is so clear-cut that efforts to "soften" his position on partial birth abortions fall flat with pro-lifers and anger his pro-choice fans.
So Obama’s newfound appreciation for regulating or banning late-term abortions did not mesh with Roe v.Wade or with his support for the Freedom of Choice Act which would embody Roe v. Wade in a federal statute. (And yes, the Freedom of Choice Act would prohibit any regulation of abortion which did not have a clear “mental health” exception.) Karl Rove among others lost no time in pointing out the divergence between Obama’s soothing words to value voters and his track record on abortion.
Now, it was only a matter of time before Obama had to retreat. He really couldn’t, as a committed pro-choice candidate, maintain that Roe v.Wade and the Freedom of Choice Act should be modified, could he? Well, no, and the backtrack was quick, albeit muddled. The exchange with a reporter went like this:
Reporter: You said that mental distress shouldn’t be a reason for late-term abortion?
Obama: “My only point is this — historically I have been a strong believer in a women’s right to choose with her doctor, her pastor and her family. And it is. . . I have consistently been saying that you have to have a health exception on many significant restrictions or bans on abortions including late-term abortions. In the past there has been some fear on the part of people who, not only people who are anti-abortion, but people who may be in the middle, that that means that if a woman just doesn’t feel good then that is an exception. That’s never been the case.
I don’t think that is how it has been interpreted. My only point is that in an area like partial-birth abortion having a mental, having a health exception can be defined rigorously. It can be defined through physical health, It can be defined by serious clinical mental-health diseases. It is not just a matter of feeling blue. I don’t think that’s how pro-choice folks have interpreted it. I don’t think that’s how the courts have interpreted it and I think that’s important to emphasize and understand.”
The short version: never mind.
Now knowledgeable voters will of course spot the obvious problem even with this clarification. Obama would certainly oppose (and Roe would likely not permit) legislation requiring an exacting mental examination to determine if the woman was truly “depressed” and not just “feeling blue.”
But under the circumstances it was the best he could do without enraging his pro-choice supporters and indeed the entire Democratic party. (And in fact, he still managed to anger quite a few.)
This episode left observers scratching their heads. Did Obama not understand the legal implications of “mental distress” and what Roe v. Wade actually means? Or was he simply pandering to value voters, hoping to finesse language sufficiently to convince this voting bloc that he was not an extremist on abortion?
It seems the latter is the case. There is not a shred of evidence in his voting record or his language before the Relevant Magazine interview that he is anything but devoted to preserving Roe v. Wade as the law of the land — which means that late term abortions can be obtained virtually at will.
This foray into foreign territory — the world of religious voters who hold conservative social views — was therefore less than successful. And the result is likely not to be any different whenever Obama is forced to speak about his actual positions on issues. He does not favor, and indeed is opposed, to the wish list of issues for these voters. While they might appreciate hearing about his personal faith story, they aren’t going to like what he says on the issues.
So rather than fudge his way through, get caught and call attention to the divergence between his views and those of a constituency he hopes to capture, he might follow some sage advice: if you don’t have anything nice — or beneficial — to say, don’t say anything at all.
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Jennifer Rubin is PJM's Washington, DC, editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.
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24 Comments
1. Lisa:What blows me away is why anyone would believe one word this man says?
You know, he’s been selling snake oil for months and folks are just now figuring it out.
What a bunch of rubes.
Jul 7, 2008 - 8:42 am 2. My new WordPress MU Site » Blog Archive » Abortion Is a No-Win Issue for Obama:[...] Nicole Belle wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptObama’s voting record is so clear-cut that efforts to “soften” his position on partial birth abortions just don’t sell with pro-lifers and only anger his pro-choice base. [...]
Jul 7, 2008 - 10:07 am 3. huxley:Can’t you just let him eat his waffle?
Seriously, maybe the internet magnifies this sort of thing because a candidate’s quotes are so easily available, but I don’t remember any presidential candidate who worked so hard to be on all sides of all issues to all voters.
Jul 7, 2008 - 10:47 am 4. John B:Where I come from, and what my Church teaches is; “A woman who has had an abortion is to be pitied, for she is the mother of a dead baby.”
I’m always saddened when I see liberals confusing the words “fetus” and “baby”.
I also read that since Roe v Wade became the law of the land in 1973, (35 years ago), there have been about 13 million babies aborted. Looking at the possible demographics, that’s 13 million probable democrats who won’t ever reach voting age. That’s sad for Obama.
I wonder if people ever think about things like that.
Jul 7, 2008 - 1:01 pm 5. tanstaafl:Barry has to toe the abortion line because it’s just about the sine qua non of being a modern American leftist today.
You can fudge on Iraq, you can fudge on campaign finance, you can tell the crowd in San Francisco one thing and the crowd in Peoria another thing…and maybe finagle and parse enough get a pass.
Or was he simply pandering to value voters, hoping to finesse language sufficiently to convince this voting bloc that he was not an extremist on abortion?
In parsing “mental health of the mother” and mixing it all up with late term abortion (like he did last week), pandering is all you can call it.
(and I still think that Barry and Michelle need to stay home more so those little girls won’t be “punished with a baby”, one of the stupidest phrases I’ve ever heard uttered by a Presidential candidate, or any other human being, for that matter)
Jul 7, 2008 - 1:37 pm 6. tanstaafl:…since Roe v Wade became the law of the land in 1973, (35 years ago), there have been about 13 million babies aborted.
In fact, the number of abortions performed in the US since 1973 is somewhere around 50 million.
In the Original Hippocratic Oath a would be practitioner of the art of medicine forswore giving any woman an “abortive remedy”.
Hippocrates’ original is now called the classical version and many modern medical schools use revised versions that don’t (of course) include that phrase.
Jul 7, 2008 - 1:50 pm 7. Paul M Hupf:If one believes, as I do, that life begins at the moment of conception, then abortion constitutes an intentional termination of the life of a defenseless human being. There may be extenuating circumstances involving the grave physical danger to the mother which could justify an abortion. But absent that qualification, an abortion is the wilful and unauthorized termination of a human life, more heinous because the child is voiceless and helpless. I cannot and will not vote for any candidate seeking public office who tolerates killing a defenseless child in the womb of his mother.
Jul 7, 2008 - 4:01 pm 8. DisturbedEma:Shades of “I was for it, until I was against it”. . .
I cannot believe that he is getting so much wiggle room on this and all the other issues! Sheesh!
Jul 7, 2008 - 6:27 pm 9. Bill Bradley:I know you are trying to make a name for yourself as a last-ditch defender of the ancien regime, but …
Jul 7, 2008 - 7:06 pm 10. Tonto (USA):The whole persona of this very shallow man is falling apart before our very eyes. He’s a real “dud”.
Jul 7, 2008 - 8:29 pm 11. Cheryle:I think the poor man may have really not known abortion was on demand in this country and he got educated real quick by his pro-abort supporters & is backtracking or he is trying to be all to all–what a real idiot!
Jul 7, 2008 - 9:08 pm 12. Cheryle:Frightening….
what a real dud??
Jul 7, 2008 - 9:10 pm 13. Irena:As Mother Theresa said “No Country can survive that KILLS its own children.”
Jul 7, 2008 - 10:21 pm 14. Rich:This idiot is scaring me to death! And I do believe he is going to be elected.
Jul 8, 2008 - 1:20 am 15. Carrie Murphy:God have mercy on America!!!
I agree with Mother Theresa.
We are destroying ourselves. It is intentional. We DO know exactly what we are doing to ourselves.
We cannot plead ingnorance on Judgement Day!
God have Mercy on the world!
Jul 8, 2008 - 5:50 am 16. SM:Obama Declares He Doesn’t Want His Children “Punished with a Baby”
http://www.google.com/search?q=Senator%20Barack%20Obama+site:www.lifesitenews.com&l=en
USA: the demographic winter is coming.
Aging workforce.
geocities(dot)com/demographic_crash
Also new website prowomanprolife(dot)org
Jul 8, 2008 - 12:34 pm 17. Nedarc:Obama’s favorite word: ‘Change’, that’s just about what unborn human life is worth to this man.
Jul 8, 2008 - 4:22 pm 18. Dr. Mark:Obama is the ultimate cameleon. Those that can justify obliterating a human life for the sake of convenience (”oh,my career or degree or lifestyle”)will support this Godless man in spite of the truth of their actions. Abortion has been legalized as a tool for men to avoid responsibility and for women to have sex with men whose children that they do not want.
Jul 9, 2008 - 10:56 am 19. Grace Harman:But mostly, for all of those “alledged” Christians supporting Obama I hope you have a nice, liberal argument when you stand before the altar of God (which you attest to believe in) for supporting this butchery…I suppose a lot of “good” , WWII era Germans have already tried.
Thank God people are beginning to see through the media whitewash of this person. No true person of faith (Christian, Catholic, Jew or any religion that respects value of human life)should vote for him. If he won’t protect the babies, he won’t protect the elderly, or the handicapped – or people of faith or anyone the government attacks.
Jul 10, 2008 - 6:19 am 20. Aucklander:The Obama story is like a bad sitcom. Without the jokes.
Unfortunately, this man looks likely to become President of the USA, a nation that has been a long time friend of my tiny country. (It’s entirely mutual.)
The thought of this chameleon at the helm of your great nation turns my laughter into tears.
The new slogan for this empty suit – to quote the title of an old British TV sitcom – should be ‘Never mind the quality, feel the width!’
Jul 10, 2008 - 4:18 pm 21. sestamibi:Not only will someone who supports what Obama supports torture and kill those elderly who become ill, as well as torturing and killing the disabled, his supporters will cheer him on. Late term abortion and the “mental health” exception are about — and have always been about — getting rid of the disabled. Always easier to get rid of any group if you dehumanize them first, history has taught, and Obama’ strongest supporters have learned that lesson.
Jul 13, 2008 - 10:08 am 22. Joe:I have hope that I can get enough of the evangelical vote to put me over the top. I don’t need a lot of it. My strategy is to soft pedal the abortion thing and perhaps claim a change of heart on the late term and accidently born alive issue. I don’t understand the reasons behind the evangelical love affair with fetuses. There is no way that a mere blob of tissue’s right to life trumps the right of the mother to terminate it but I’m willing to risk losing a few pro-choice votes to gain a bigger chunk of the evangelical vote. Besides, who else do the pro-choicers have to vote for?
My other tactical thrust is to press the social gospel program to the limit that I can and to keep emphasizing my “born again” experience. Those things should give comfort to evangelicals who differ with me or feel uncomfortabe with my positions on certain less weighty issues. It also gives my “yes we can” followers amunition for debate with dangerous “right wing” evangelicals. The right wingers will never vote for me but I don’t need them anyway. I only need to peel off a percentage of the rest to reach the goal.
I have the audacity of hope that I can pull this off.
I’m Oback Arama and I’m running for president
http://www.obackaramablog.com/
Jul 13, 2008 - 9:43 pm 23. Pajamas Media » It’s All Coming Down to a Few Key States…:[...] or Ward Churchill. Don’t forget, McCain also hails from a bordering state and the politics, including social views, of folks in Colorado’s Western Slope run nearly as conservative as those in Utah and [...]
Oct 3, 2008 - 1:40 am 24. It’s All Coming Down to a Few Key States … | USA TERM LIMITS:[...] or Ward Churchill. Don’t forget, McCain also hails from a bordering state and the politics, including social views, of folks in Colorado’s Western Slope run nearly as conservative as those in Utah and [...]
Oct 4, 2008 - 8:55 am