Candidates Seek Centrists On Abortion

McCain, Obama Sending Messages To Majority Who Dislike Abortion But Don't Want It Banned

(AP)  When Republican John McCain suggested his running mate could support abortion rights and Democrat Barack Obama gave an anti-abortion senator a prime convention role, both were sending a subtle message to centrist voters.

Neither presidential candidate was signaling a seismic shift in the nation's long-running if largely static debate over abortion rights. Still, their actions suggest that both political parties sense that a large, if vaguely defined, middle group of Americans would like to see abortion vanish, but not by legal decree.

Polls consistently show that most Americans strongly dislike abortion yet do not want it outlawed in the early stages of pregnancy.

Democrats had it both ways in revising their party platform ahead of this month's nominating convention in Denver. Platform-writers said the party "unequivocally" supports legalized abortion, a stronger phrase than the 2004 platform contained.

But they also bolstered the section on reducing the need for abortions. The version awaiting approval in Denver says the party "strongly supports access to comprehensive affordable family planning services and age-appropriate sex education." It says the party "strongly supports a woman's decision to have a child by ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre- and postnatal health care, parenting skills, income support and caring adoption programs."

Democratic officials also gave a convention speaking slot to Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., who opposes abortion rights. His father, the late Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, was denied a coveted slot at the 1992 convention because of his opposition to abortion rights.

Meanwhile, McCain startled conservatives this week, and pleased some moderates, by suggesting he might pick a running mate who supports abortion rights, such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Many Republicans were unsure what to make of McCain's remarks to the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, in which he said Ridge's pro-choice position would not rule him out as a running mate. While McCain said in 1999 that Roe v. Wade - the landmark Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion - should not be overturned, he otherwise has consistently opposed such rights.

He repeatedly has voted against federal funding for abortion and has opposed federal Medicaid funds for abortion even in cases of rape or incest.

Some conservative groups howled about McCain's comments this week. The American Family Association asked readers of its Web site what they would do if he had a pro-abortion-rights running mate. More than 5,000 people responded, with 37 percent saying they would vote for McCain as "the lesser of two evils." One percent backed Obama, 16 percent said they would not vote and 46 percent said they would seriously consider a third-party candidate.

When McCain stopped by Saturday to greet cheering campaign volunteers who were phoning voters in Irvine, Calif., one woman held a sign saying: "Pro-choice is No-choice for V.P."

Some less dogmatic conservatives are open to the idea, however. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a frequent guest on McCain's campaign plane, said he opposes legalized abortion but thinks McCain is wise to consider running mates who differ.

"Our party needs to be open-minded" about such a choice, Graham said in an interview this week on the plane. Parties that rigidly support or oppose abortion rights, he said, "are out of sync with where most Americans are."

On the Democratic front, the revised convention platform language was hailed this week by some Republicans who are backing Obama.

Douglas Kmiec, a former Reagan administration official and Roman Catholic, said the new language moves the debate beyond the "legal dead end and a moral dead end" of being for or against Roe v. Wade.

"What this does, most importantly, is to commit the Democratic Party to supply real support for the child, for the woman facing this question," said Kmiec, a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University.

Kmiec, who opposes abortion, said no political party platform fits exactly with Catholic teaching. "We pursue the art of the possible, and if we move to protect even a single life, we've done a good thing," he said.

[samthetvcat]

I think the problem for Barack every time he takes a position that''s farther right than the base generally is that he never acknowledges the interests of the people he''s leaving behind and reconciling the two competing positions thereby giving people a sense of where specifically he''s liable to lead. And therefore he gets tagged as politically calculating and ''unknown''.

Not sure but I think the impression he leaves leaves him worse off than if he had just embraced the dem position in the first place . . . it sure cost him independents before when he made that massive move to the center on just about every issue in late June . . .

[renojmc]

A centrist on abortion?! What''s that - someone who wants to only slightly murder the innocent baby?

[hbevis]

At one time I thought that I was for Abortion. That was at least 20 years ago. I got to studding Abortion and I changed my mind 100%. The medical aspects of a baby in its mother sure changed my thinking. To me a baby is a baby, whether it is still in its mother or has been born. It is legal to have an Abortion. But you can also be convicted for murder if you cause the death of an unborn child. So, where do we draw the line? It is my opinion that one day we will outlaw Abortion again.

[renojmc]

...It is my opinion that one day we will outlaw Abortion again.

Posted by hbevis at 07:28 PM : Aug 16, 2008
------------------

I couldn''t agree more. And I pray that day comes very soon!

[hypnotoad72]

Well, pro-life means protecting the fetus. If our society won''t be bothered giving a good quality of life to the post-born, maybe we should go carte blanche on abortions? What the heck!!

[hypnotoad72]

Some are fervent about killing convicts.

Posted by CBS_Oliver
-------------

There comes a certain point when repeating killers aren''t going to reform. Why keep them locked up just so they can complete their 5 years, with "good behavior", and go out to kill again?

Also, the scope of the crime - it''s easier to reform people for one crime, and the circumstances behind it, than for others.

It''s also ironic - a big boatload of HARD WORKING, GOOD PEOPLE are living a living death right now with higher bills, foreclosures, jackarses on this and other forums daring to call them LAZY amongst other things, and who knows what else. Mass murderers are friggin'' LUCKY to have an injection that sends them out in under a minute.

You think about that for a while.

[hbevis]

renojmc

Thanks for the support...

[hbevis]

There comes a certain point when repeating killers aren''''t going to reform. Why keep them locked up just so they can complete their 5 years, with "good behavior", and go out to kill again?

There is a quick easy answer to your question....

DEATH WILL PUT A STOP TO THEIR KILLING..

[hbevis]

But, that is getting off of the subject at hand. Lets stick to talking about abortion.

Why do we need abortion anyway????

If people would act in a responsible there would be no need to even talk about abortion.

I would agree to abortion under very limited terms. That being to save the life of a mother. Incest and Rape. That would be it, PERIOD.

[hbevis]

Did I mention that McCain loves the gay-s too! He thinks they should have equal rights as everyone else. He''''s a conservative nightmare!

Posted by Voltaire777 at 08:25 PM : Aug 16, 2008

You may be right, but Obama is a liberals nightmare.........(lol)

[hbevis]

McCain is so liberal that he is sort of like a really really conservative Democrat. Which is still better than a really really liberal Democrat. Which is what Obama is like.

[concerned222]

And just why does abortion have to be a governmental issue? I believe it should be a medical issue. Government is tooooooo involved.
I don''t think I could ever have an abortion myself, however, if I wanted one, the government could not stop me from having one. That''s the way it has always been. Get over it Dems and Reps- it''s never going away. It will just be safe or unsafe. Now can we focus on the economy, health care, education, Iraq, etc.?

[labourboss]

The republicans ruled the roost from 2000 to 2006.
They had the votes in the house, the senate, a president who said he would sign the bill and a court that would apprrove it. Never once did I hear of a bill out of congress that would ban abortion. Could it be that they didn''t want to loose this issue and the religious right?

[concerned222]

The issue still doesn''t belong to government. I''d have to live with the decision if I made it- no one else. For some, it''s ok, for some it''s not. It''s a medical issue!!!!!!! Maybe more people believe that than will say aloud and maybe that''s why the bill hasn''t been changed. Leave it alone and let abortion be between me, my conscience, my God and my doctor.

[steelmagnoli]

concerned222 asks:And just why does abortion have to be a governmental issue?

Why does our government get involved with any human rights or civil rights issue? It took a civil war to finally change government laws recognizing the inalienable human rights of African Americans.

The abortion issues simply comes down to this: Does a human being in the womb have inalienable rights or does it not? Either you believe it does and that no one else has the right to take his/her life or you do not and believe that a mother has the right to kill that life within her at her own discretion (even pro-choicers have to admit that a fetus *IS* alive).

I believe it IS the government''s duty to protect the most vulnerable and defenseless...we have plenty of laws forbiding others from indiscriminately harming others for their own gain....and thus it should be involved in the abortion issue.

[concerned222]

steelmagnoli: you make valid points that have been made many times. I don''t really disagree. However, abortions will always be around (safe or unsafe). I just hate the fact that it''s always the men who are trying to make these decisions. It''s still a medical issue. Abortions should never be necessary, however there are too many women who use pregnancy as a trap for others. And then there''s rape, incest, etc. I vote for keeping it safe and saving lives. More women will die if it''s not legal. I hate politics and the issues that politics think it must address.

[steelmagnoli]

concerned222:I really do understand your point of view...you are concerned about women and their lives. As a woman and mother, I know all too well the challenges faced with unplanned pregnancies. I can only empathize with these women who are faced with such problems.

But, in the context of abortion, I am assuming that you feel the mother''s life is more important than the fetus within her. And because one life is more important, she should have access to a safe and legal way to dispose of the life within her for whatever reasons, even if conceived under the most tragic of circumstances. "Every child a wanted child" seems to be the predominant theme for those who believe in abortion rights.

I am troubled by the premonition that the value of one''s life is based on whether they are wanted or not (nightmares of Hitler come to mind). That sounds very discriminating and disturbing to me. This kind of attitude has caused untold suffering in various ugly forms of genocide and human rights violations.

I say all human life is invaluable and precious, no matter what the circumstances each were conceived. We should be promoting more loving solutions to those women in need...abortion is a violent act against women and the life within her.

[beboldin09]

Call abortion what it is: MURDER

The Declaration of Independence:

We are all endowed by our CREATOR, ......with certain unalienable rights, including the pursuit of LIFE, LIBERTY and HAPPINESS

Thanks to secularist libs and abortion (murder) the DOI doesn''t apply to the unborn.

Heaven sure has been overpopulated since Roe v Wade

ABORTION = MURDER

[nolalou]

Heaven sure has been overpopulated since Roe v Wade
ABORTION = MURDER
Posted by BeBoldin09

While you are entitled to your opinion, I''ll point out a few things.
1. Abortion was not invented by Roe v Wade, and it won''t disappear if Roe v Wade is overturned.
2. Before Roe V Wade, many mothers were seriously injured or died by botched abortion attempts. So if you are pro-life, what about those mothers lives?
3. People with money can always get an abortion, even if they have to travel out of the country , so it''s poor women who are effected most.
4. Even if Roe v Wade is repealed, it doesn''t make abortion automatically illegal. It just means it''s not a federally guaranteed right. That means each state will be free to make it''s own rules regarding abortion. Some will probably ban it outright, some may allow some exceptions, and others will keep it legal.

I though Barack Obama had the best answer, that ways should be found to limit unwanted pregnancies, as the best way to reduce the number of abortions! Repealing Roe v Wade will not stop abortions, it will just make them harder to get, leading to more dead mothers! Do you really want to trade the life of an unborn fetus with that of the mother? How is that pro-life?

Check out this interesting article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/views/03essa.html

[tomcool1277]

ABORTION = MURDER
Posted by BeBoldin09 at 01:07 AM : Aug 17, 2008
*** Amnesty Mccain doesn''t think so! Amnesty Mccain isn''t pro-life or pro-choice, he is only pro-oil company executive! Vote Obama 2008!

[tomcool1277]

McCain is so liberal that he is sort of like a really really conservative Democrat.
Posted by hbevis at 08:51 PM : Aug 16, 2008
Now you are on to something. The truth is that McCain talks out of both sides of his mouth and cannot be trusted to do anything except what is most expedient for McCain. He''''s not a flip flop because he has no principles in the first place.
Posted by Voltaire777 at 09:02 PM : Aug 16, 2008
+ report abuse
*** I''m very glad you all are starting to catch on to Amnesty Mccain! Amnesty Mccain should not be the Republican nominee for president! ANYONE would have been a better option! If Amnesty Mccain thinks he is going to win because of the south, he will be very surprised and upset on election day! Huckabee won most southern states in the primary. Don''t count on all Huckabee voters to vote for Amnesty Mccain. Most of Huckabee voters may have voted for Huckabee because they "like Mike" but they also hate Amnesty Mccain! Watch Bob Barr pick off more than enough votes to turn some southern states blue this November! Why can''t the republicans come up with a candidate that didn''t co-sponsor an amnesty bill?

[donnie10008]

What the heck kind of a bettyboop mentality says: ''If ya don''t like something ya still should vote for it.''? If you don''t like it, don''t vote for it. And quit being suckered by psycho rationality. Its simple.

[donnie10008]

Just like its wrong to experiment with ''discarded'' embryos, and we can find a more difficult, but morally less reprehensible solution with adult stem cells, so too can we avoid abortion. By providing people alternatives. Abortion is wrong.

[omded]

Donnie10008,
I won''t argue with you about whether abortion is "right" or "wrong". However, I will say that denying a woman the right to have an abortion is just as wrong as abortion will ever be. I agree with your idea of offering alternatives. In my opinion, everyone who doesn''t like abortion should look for viable alternatives, and should offer up their services whenever and wherever possible to make those alternatives available and realistic. Good post!

[coryellco]

Donnie10008,
I won''''t argue with you about whether abortion is "right" or "wrong". However, I will say that denying a woman the right to have an abortion is just as wrong as abortion will ever be. I agree with your idea of offering alternatives. In my opinion, everyone who doesn''''t like abortion should look for viable alternatives, and should offer up their services whenever and wherever possible to make those alternatives available and realistic. Good post!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by omded at 05:01 AM : Aug 17, 2008--------------------- -----------------------------------------this is the best case of double speek ive ever seen...in the first line you talk about not saying if its right or wrong then proceed to blow that line out of the water with the rest of your comment.....and yall call bush dumb...right

[mcvet-1]

-this is the best case of double speek ive ever seen...in the first line you talk about not saying if its right or wrong then proceed to blow that line out of the water with the rest of your comment.....and yall call bush dumb...right

Posted by coryellco at 05:24 AM : Aug 17, 2008

You know I''ve noticed that the Fascist in America, not their "Brain''s" but those who actually are in the cult, do this to everyone who seeks to find common ground and to find a compromise position. No wonder these people weren''t involved in forming our Nation but instead ran to Canada. The Compromises needed to create this nation would NEVER have been possible if they had not supported the King! Sieg Heil McSlime

[mcvet-1]

Thanks to secularist libs and abortion (murder) the DOI doesn''''t apply to the unborn.

Heaven sure has been overpopulated since Roe v Wade

ABORTION = MURDER

Posted by BeBoldin09 at 01:07 AM : Aug 17, 2008

Now HERE is the reason we have so many problems in this nation today. Some people who have a 6th grade education and lack the basic ability to READ and UNDERSTAND things, always try to break any issue down to the most basic level and then they LIE! How anyone can call themselves a "Christian" and LIE like these cultist do is beyond me. According to Websters Dictionary MURDER is taking a life in violation of the LAW! The argument can be made as to when Life begins and many educated people have had that argument but the Word LAW? There is NO doubt that Abortion is NOT a violation of the Law... in OTHER WORDS it''s a LIE and this idiot is a LIAR. Sieg Heil McSlime

[downsteamjim]

To McVet1: You and David Duke are back from your honeymoon already. What happened, you forgot extra brownshirts?

[lochlan-2009]

Even if you wanted to concede that abortion was murdering a person, (which of course it is not, since it obviously never could survive on its own), first, how could you get past the fact that all miscarriages would have to be investigated as a possible homicide (since how do we know the mother drinking a liter of whiskey, coffe, etc., or jumping up and down everyday wasn''t intentional attempted murder or ignorant man slaughter). Anyway, know one has the right to tell someone else it is illegal to get rid of anything that is feeding and living off of them, and will change their life forever. You finatical opressive religiuos freaks are in the wrong country if you believe otherwise. Try Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, they''re more in line with your views on womens rights. It''s you people who have put the rules and restriction on... I don''t think there is a single thing in this country you haven''t put a restriction on, in this country that used to be the land of the free.

[deacon20081]

I have always been Pro Woman Pro Child and Pro Family.
Reality, is what happens in the day to day lives of myriad of different people, with differing views, upbringings and circumstances. There are times when an abortion is the only option, there are times when abortion was the easy choice.
McCain and Obama have a choice that will be interesting to see, either they Support Abortion Rights or They Do Not. Partial Birth abortion to me is absolutely 1st Degree Murder, an emergency D&C is not.

[hbevis]

Partial Birth abortion to me is absolutely 1st Degree Murder, an emergency D&C is not.

Posted by deacon20081

I agree with you 100%. I just wish we could get people to listen to reason. If people would conduct themselves right there would be not need for any of this to take place.

[johnpotus]

Obama told a crowd of his loony supporters: "Look, I got two daughters %u2014 9 years old and 6 years old," he said. "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don''t want them punished with a baby."

No, he doesn''t want to punish his daughters. He wants to punish the innocent and helpless baby by cold-bloodedly murdering it.

This man cannot be a Christian. He is the anti-Christ.

[mydiatribe]

There is no logic in granting to anyone a right to terminate the life of an innocent fetus.
Notice I use pure logic here, as in anyone familiar with the basic natural laws of biology.

Of course there is a higher ethical argument to be made on a moral plane for those who are in deed and word moral human beings themselves.

The really irksome observation here is that compromising to such a clear cut heinous practice asabortion speaks volumes about the true character of those politicians too willing to oblige.

A gentleman, even by the oldest Knightly chivalrous definition must become a defender of the innocent. Is there anyone more innocent than one who is unable to speak for himself, yet to be BORN???

This issue alone points to why POLITICS is a very amoral business. SICK of it All!

[aldon61]

Abortion is between the woman, her family and her doctor, HER CHOICE! Judgement, on the other hand, is GOD''S and GOD''S alone. The woman should choose very wisely.

[hbevis]

For example, it should be protected from abusive, fear-based, wrong-headed, irrational indoctrination until it is old enough to make up its own mind about whether it wants to believe in Zeus, Christ or Allah.

Posted by Voltaire777 at 06:38 PM : Aug 18, 2008

I do believe that you are a sick person...