The Senescent Man

I've got to think that this issue is festering with Pro-life folk who are not all that fond of John McCain.

Here's what McCain had to say about Obama's "above my pay grade" response to Rick Warren question last week on when life begins (from Commentary; HT: Weekly Standard):

Here was a candidate for the presidency of the United States, asked for his position on one of the central moral and legal questions of our time, and this was the best he could offer: It’s above his pay grade. He went on to assure his interviewer that there is a, quote, “moral and ethical element to this issue.” Americans expect more of their leaders. There seems to be a pattern here in my opponent’s approach to many hard issues. Whether it’s the surge in Iraq that has brought us near to victory, or the issue of campaign reform, or the question of offshore drilling, Senator Obama’s speeches can be impressive. But when it’s time for straight answers, clear conviction, and decisive action, suddenly all of these responsibilities are — well, as he puts it, “above my pay grade.” As mottos of leadership go, it doesn’t exactly have the ring of “the buck stops here.”

But McCain didn’t stop there. He explained (to those who may have been deprived of any meaningful MSM coverage) the Born Alive Infants legislative history and then argued:

At Saddleback, he assured a reporter that he’d have voted “yes” on that bill if it had contained language similar to the federal version of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Even though the language of both the state and federal bills was identical, Senator Obama said people were, quote, “lying” about his record. When that record was later produced, he dropped the subject but didn’t withdraw the slander. And now even Senator Obama’s campaign has conceded that his claims and accusations were false.

All of which raises questions not only of Obama's ability to make decisions at critical moments, but also the barbarism of his absolutist position on so-called abortion rights - to the point of infanticide, a view not widely held by an Americans by any stretch of the imagination, and rightfully so.

BTW, you can tell McCain's comments are more thought out on this subject, leading one to believe that he shared them after now having heard what Obama actually said in the forum, underscoring the position that McCain did NOT hear Obama, and was not prepared for what Obama had answered.

Last week I was in Washington D.C. listening to public radio where a host of liberal commentators wanted to string up McCain for purportedly having "cheated" by unfairly listening in to Obama's remarks while he was supposed to have been in a "cone of silence."  This recent feedback from McCain, I think, lends a hand to the position that McCain didn't cheat, because had he heard these remarks, he would have answered in a manner similar to the above.  But what is fairly amazing to me was the level of scandal they claimed was committed by McCain, and without an iota of proof.  I mean these people were hooting and hollering, but they were and are way off base.

Labels: 2008 Election

// posted by The Senescent Man @ 4:53 PM