August 17, 2008 9:00 AM
Obama: abortion question "above my paygrade"
Obama last night reveals his true lack of ethical clarity:
To see a person seeking to become the leader of the free world refuse to take leadership in order to keep his voting ducks in line - well, it's just pitiful.
By contrast, McCain is decisive in his position - whether it costs him votes or not:
Posted in Campaign 2008, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink
Comments
Above his paygrade? Isn't it currently his JOB to make laws regarding such things?
Posted by: Michelle Potter | August 17, 2008 12:42 PM
The answer "I don't know" may be true but it is insufficient. You may not know when life starts, but you have to make an assumption, and you have to stick to that assumption with absolute consistency. You may well err, but what side do you want to err on?
Posted by: paigeu | August 17, 2008 4:14 PM
Watching these two clips gave me chills and nearly made me cry. I was never undecided, but now I can be more committed. A man who is committed to protecting the unborn (was he asked about embryonic stem cell research?) is much more inspiring than a man who refuses to answer because it's above his "paygrade." Grrr.
Thanks for posting these!
Posted by: Lucy | August 17, 2008 5:51 PM
A few minutes after we saw this on the news this morning and I quit ranting and raving to my husband about Obama's ridiculous non-response, I told my husband I wouldn't be surprised to see you blogging about this answer.
Posted by: Laura | August 17, 2008 7:04 PM
This is the perfect example of just exactly what this man is made of: no guts! And not willing to stand up for anything that may hurt his chances to win the presidency. I just love it when he talks off the cuff because he says things that reveal the "real" Obama, and it ain't pretty! Keep talking Obama! Julie c.m.
Posted by: Julie c.m. | August 18, 2008 12:56 AM
Barbara, My husband and I have gone round and round on this. What could I do to convince him not to vote Obama...? He says that in 20 some years of republican leadership abortion continues to rise in numbers, he liked that Obama said the focus should be on reducing the number of abortions and working to give alternatives and support? I liked that McCain was direct and answered the question straight on. Dear hubby says republican candidates only say they are pro life to get the Christian vote, and then they do nothing for the unborn after elected. Any feed back would be appreciated. It really does boil down to valuing life, hubby argues that our culture is self centered and doesn't think that way? Blessings on you for opening up discussion.
Posted by: Angela | August 18, 2008 12:59 PM
Angela- you and your husband are both right. We do need to get a constitutional amendment defending the unborn, but that is not nearly enough. Once that amendment exists the abortion problem will not go away, it might not even decrease. It will create a huge underground where doctors give abortions "on the down low" for even higher prices than now. Women who have complications will keep secret about it and this will result in a widespread womans health crisis with a "mysterious" cause since few will confess their illegal activity. And just like with all forms of white collar crime, it will go on practically unnoticed because only 1% of those in jail are there for white collar crimes. Basically, if you have money and enough people benefiting from your services then you are above the law.
The abortion rate goes up and up because of Christian failings. Many Christians are parody of themselves, easily fitting every stereotype the "left" have of us. Classist? Racist? Elitist? check check check.
Posted by: paigeu | August 18, 2008 2:51 PM
Angela, Abortions are not on the rise. This is what the liberal controlled media says, but it is not true, abortions are down. Republicans have passed the law outlawing partial birth abortion and President Bush has appointed two Supreme Court Justices that are totally pro-life. Obama voted against saving the life of a newborn in a "botched" abortion in the Illinois Senate. Now, he is currently denying it and saying that pro-lifers are calling him a liar when in fact, Obama knew perfectly well that this Born Alive Infant Protection Act had specific language to say that passage of this law would not undermine Roe v. Wade. He is saying that it would have. Republicans have been working to reduce the number of abortions through passing laws and giving mothers more alternatives. Obama is just now touting that this is what he believes in when in fact, he has not supported this position at all. He is now saying these things to lure people like your husband into voting for him. Obama announced his candidacy for President at a Planned Parenthood event. At this time, he also promised to pass the "Freedom of Choice Act" that sounds really great, but in fact, it will overturn every piece of pro-life legislation passed during the Bush Administration. LifeNews.com is an excellent website that will give you lots of information about both McCain and Obama and their voting records and what they say they will do if elected President. Btw, McCain has promised to appoint only Pro-Life Supreme Court Justices and Barack Obama has promised to appoint only Pro-Abortion Support Court Justices. We only need one more Pro-life Supreme Court Justice to overturn Roe v. Wade. Julie c.m.
Posted by: Julie c.m. | August 18, 2008 2:55 PM
Angela, I'm sure if you Google Guttmacher, you will find the website with the abortion statistics that Planned Parenthood uses. There you will see the actual numbers that illustrate the decrease in abortions under Bush.
Abortions have also gone down because over the past few years many prolife pregnancy care centers have started to provide free ultrasounds for abortion minded women.
Posted by: judy | August 19, 2008 9:00 AM
I love that McCain is not waffling at all! It's not muddy water for him. I am a Canadian, so I can't vote, but it is interesting to follow the US Presidency debates, even in snippets.
Posted by: Jenny | August 19, 2008 5:08 PM
Thanks everyone for your feed back and good info!
Posted by: Angela | August 19, 2008 9:42 PM
Not a complicated question - when does a baby have the right to live? Who needs any paygrade at all to answer such a question? Why would he refrain or even hesitate if his answer is honorable before God and man?
Barry obama has legions of other such dark beliefs which we will not know until he's sitting in the white house.
Posted by: joy | September 30, 2008 12:09 AM
