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McCain vows to have Democrats in Cabinet
(CNN) -- Promising a "very bipartisan approach" to how he'll run his administration, Sen. John McCain said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he would appoint Democrats to his Cabinet.
Speaking to CBS' "Face the Nation," the Republican presidential nominee vowed that he won't just have a single token Democrat in his Cabinet.
"It's going to be the best people in America, the smartest people in America," McCain said. "So many of these problems we face -- for example, energy independence -- what's partisan about that?"
He said he'll also ask some members of his Cabinet "to work for a dollar a year. They've made enough money. But I'll also ask people who have struggled out there in the trenches to help people, to volunteer in their communities, who understand these problems at that level, which obviously is lost on a lot of -- a lot -- a big segment of Washington."
The Obama campaign has raised questions about McCain's respect for community-level work since last week's Republican National Convention when McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, contrasted her experience to that of Barack Obama by saying, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities."
Palin preceded that by saying she was rejecting criticism of her background, saying, "Since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved."
Obama regularly cites his work as a "community organizer" in his campaign speeches.
McCain, in the CBS interview, said, "I admire and respect all public service," and that Palin shares those sentiments. He said Palin's remarks were a "reaction to the denigration of her role as mayor" of the small town of Wasilla, Alaska.
Story continued at link... (CNN) -- Promising a "very bipartisan approach" to how he'll run his administration, Sen. John McCain said in an interv... more -
McCain Palin present themselves as reformers?
CEDARBURG, Wis. (AP) -- John McCain said Friday the sagging economy has brought "tough times all over America" as he made a splashy debut with Sarah Palin in critical Midwestern states as the newly crowned Republican presidential ticket.
A crowd of thousands cheered the Arizona senator and Alaska governor as they presented themselves as a team of reformers eager to challenge Washington's political establishment.
"John McCain doesn't run with the Washington herd," said Palin, the 44-year-old Alaska governor and surprise pick as McCain's running mate.
"It's over. It's over. It's over for the special interests," McCain promised. "We're going to start working for the people of this country."
Twelve hours after leaving the Republican convention in Minnesota, McCain and Palin were cheered and applauded by a throng of thousands that wound down several streets of Cedarburg, a traditional Republican enclave within Democratic-leaning Wisconsin.
McCain's campaign put out an ambitious estimate of 12,400 people at the rally. Cedarburg's population is about 11,000.
"Isn't this the most marvelous running mate in the history of this nation?" McCain said of Palin, who introduced him as "the only great man in this race, the only man in this election ready to serve as our 44th president."
Two months before the election, small towns are a key target for McCain as he tries to lure independent and blue-collar voters essential for him to win. CEDARBURG, Wis. (AP) -- John McCain said Friday the sagging economy has brought "tough times all over America" as he made a ... more -
Palin's convention speech brings in cash for Obama
Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is bringing in campaign cash for the Democrats as well as her own party.
Barack Obama, 47, reported raising at least $10 million from more than 130,000 donors today after Palin, the Alaska governor, addressed the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, and criticized the Democratic presidential nominee.
``Sarah Palin's attacks have rallied our supporters in ways we never expected,'' Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said. ``And we fully expect John McCain's attacks tonight to help us make our grassroots organization even stronger.''
The money followed an e-mail solicitation campaign manager David Plouffe sent out right after Palin's speech.
``You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, every day people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together,'' he wrote.
McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, raised $10 million after Palin was selected as his running mate Aug. 29, part of his record $47 million haul last month.
``She's energized the base,'' said former New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato, who has raised at least $250,000 for McCain, 72. ``Money will not be a problem.'' Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is bringing in campaign cash for the Democrats as well as he... more -
McCain moves to center stage
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sen. John McCain of Arizona embarks on his final drive for the White House on Thursday night, accepting the Republican presidential nomination and addressing the party’s national convention from a stage that workers were hastily rebuilding to fit his “town hall” approach.
On the final day of the convention, a lot of the talk was still about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the vice presidential nominee, who gave her big introductory speech Wednesday night, less than a week after being chosen for the ticket.
McCain’s wife, Cindy, suggested in an interview that she does not agree with Palin’s support for a nearly total ban on abortions.
And the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, declared that some news coverage of his Republican counterpart had been sexist.
Construction workers moved parts of the platform at the Xcel Energy Center to bring delegates closer to where McCain will give his acceptance speech, giving the stage a T-shape. Organizers said the change reflected the town hall-type forums in which McCain has campaigned.
“The extended podium will serve as a fitting complement to John McCain’s preference for direct interaction with his fellow citizens,” said Maria Cino, the convention’s chief executive.
Video at link... ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sen. John McCain of Arizona embarks on his final drive for the White House on Thursday night, accepting the Republic... more -
Campaign money hurts Palin's outsider image
WASHINGTON (AP) -- GOP vice presidential pick Sarah Palin accepted at least $4,500 in campaign contributions in the same fundraising scheme at the center of a public corruption scandal that led to the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens.
The contributions, made during Palin's failed 2002 bid to become Alaska's lieutenant governor, were not illegal for her to accept. But they show how Palin, a self-proclaimed reformer who has bucked Stevens and his allies, is nonetheless a product of a political system in Alaska now under the cloud of an ongoing FBI investigation.
It's the latest in a string of revelations that have forced John McCain's campaign to defend his choice and the thoroughness of the background check of Palin, 44, a little-known governor who is new to the national stage. Palin stunned delegates at the GOP convention Monday when she announced through the McCain campaign that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant.
With the convention still abuzz, the list of potentially embarrassing details grew Tuesday:
-Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her city and state, contrary to her reformist image.
-Her husband once belonged to a fringe political group in Alaska with some members supporting secession from the United States.
-A private attorney has been authorized to spend $95,000 to defend her against accusations of abuse of power.
-She has acknowledged smoking marijuana in the past.
And this: Bristol Palin's boyfriend, Levi Johnston, plans to join the family of the Republican vice presidential candidate at the GOP convention, the boy's mother said. He left Alaska on Tuesday morning to join the Palin family in St. Paul, Minn.
Defending his choice and the team that helped pick her, McCain said Tuesday that "the vetting process was completely thorough." Campaign advisers at the convention in St. Paul, Minn., said Palin filled out a survey with 70 questions, including: Have you ever paid for sex? Have you been faithful in your marriage? Have you ever used or purchased drugs? Have you ever downloaded pornography?
McCain's aides maintained that Palin was a finalist from the start
But a senior Republican familiar with the search, who requested anonymity when speaking without authorization, said Palin had all but fallen from the radar until late in the summer when McCain - apparently unsatisfied with his working list - asked for more alternatives. Suddenly, she was a finalist. WASHINGTON (AP) -- GOP vice presidential pick Sarah Palin accepted at least $4,500 in campaign contributions in the same fundraising s... more -
5 arrested in protests at GOP convention site
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Thousands of protesters descended on the city hosting the Republican National Convention Monday, some smashing cars, puncturing tires and throwing bottles in a confrontations with pepper-spray wielding police who arrested at least five people.
Police said the size of the crowd shifted during the day before estimating it in the range of 8,000 to 10,000, many of whom marched peacefully. The arrests occurred in confrontations several blocks from the Xcel Energy Center where the GOP gaveled its convention to order in late afternoon. A handful of people were arrested for lighting a dumpster on fire and pushing it into a police car, said St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh.
Instead of a single coherent march that organizers had hoped for, fringe groups of anarchists and others wrought havoc along the streets between the state Capitol and the convention site. Some anarchists who had started the trash bin fire later tried to block a major intersection. Police quickly dispersed the group, then shot two tear gas canisters at the fleeing anarchists.
Pictures taken by Associated Press photographers showed officers using pepper spray on protesters who appeared to be trying to block streets. "There are people who are committing violations of law and they're being arrested," Walsh said.
About 200 people from a group called Funk the War noisily staged its own separate march. Wearing black clothes, bandanas and gas masks, some of their members smashed windows of cars and stores. They tipped over newspaper boxes, pulled a big trash bin into the street, bent the rear view mirrors on a bus and flipped heavy stone garbage bins on the sidewalks.
One man who seemed to be the leader of the group carried a yellow flag with the motto "Don't Tread on Me." The group chanted "Whose streets? Our streets!"
Meanwhile, a group of about 100 anarchists pushed a dumpster filled with trash and threw garbage in the streets and at cars. They also took down orange detour road signs. In hot pursuit were teams of riot officers carrying batons, rifles and guns that could be used to shoot tear gas.
The day's march was organized by a group called the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, whose leaders said they hoped for a peaceful, family-friendly march. But police were on high alert after months of preparations by a self-described anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee, which wasn't among the organizers of the march. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Thousands of protesters descended on the city hosting the Republican National Convention Monday, some smashing... more -
Palin views on oil, polar bears, and abortion may be liabilities
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are probably cobbling together the campaign ad right now: "John McCain's running mate is for big oil and against the environment," a somber voice intones as cute baby polar bears scamper across the screen.
If McCain hoped to stop Democrats from getting much mileage out of the oil issue in this presidential election, he picked the wrong vice presidential candidate.
His choice, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, comes from a state whose lifeblood is oil. Palin favors opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, something McCain opposes. Her family even gets one of its paychecks from the oil industry: Palin's husband, Todd Palin, earned $46,790 last year as a facility operator for BP Alaska in Prudhoe Bay.
Oil and natural gas and the jobs they create are part and parcel of life in Alaska: "If you are not for opening ANWR, in the state of Alaska, you couldn't get elected dogcatcher," says former Alaska state Rep. Ray Metcalfe, a Republican-turned-Democrat who supports Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and anticipates Palin's critics will probably zero in on the oil drilling issue.
But that live-off-the-land culture is largely foreign to voters in the lower 48, who are paying high gas prices without the benefit of the oil royalty dividend checks that Alaskans get each year. Eligible Alaskans received $1,654 each in 2007.
Palin is so pro-energy that she actually praised Obama earlier this month for calling on the United States to work with the Canadian government to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Story continued at link... WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are probably cobbling together the campaign ad right now: "John McCain's running mate is for bi... more -
Palin McCain's VP Choice?
Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate here Friday at a raucous rally before thousands of his supporters.
Citing her "strong principles, fighting spirit and deep compassion,'" McCain said the 44-year-old Palin is "exactly who I need; she's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second."
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A couple of questions: Where does Gov. Palin stand on allowing oil drilling in ANWR? What is her overall stance on environmental issues? What is the latest on the investigation into the firing of her ex-brother-in-law who was a state trooper in Alaska?
Palin, like about 60 percent of Alaska voters, favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her environmental credentials are, at best, mixed. She favors what we in Alaska call "predator control," including, gif necessary, the hunting of wolves from the air. Just recently her Dept. of Fish and Game pulled some wolf cubs from their den and shot them as part of a program to improve moose survival.
She also opposes the listing of the polar bear as an endangered species.
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What are Governor Palin's three greatest strengths? What are her three greatest weaknesses?
She is smart, vivacious and energetic; she tends to oversimplify complex issues, has had difficulty delegating authority, and clearly has difficulty distinguishing the line between her public responsibilities and private wishes. She is under legislative investigation on this, the so-called "troopergate" issue, in which she is said to have used improper influence to try to get her sister's ex-husband fired from the state troopers. Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate here Friday ... more -
McCain's veep choice is historic and hardly known
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- In two short years, Sarah Palin moved from small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers to the governor's office and now - making history - to John McCain's side as the first female running mate on a Republican presidential ticket.
She has more experience catching fish than dealing with foreign policy or national affairs.
Talk about a rocketing ascent.
In turning to her, McCain picked an independent figure in his own mold, one who has taken on Alaska's powerful oil industry and, at age 44, is three years younger than Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and a generation younger than McCain, 72.
Palin's selection was a jaw-dropper, as McCain passed over many other better known prospects, some of whom had been the subject of intense speculation for weeks or months. "Holy cow," said her father, Chuck Heath, who got word something was up while driving to his remote hunting camp.
Palin had been in the running-mate field but as a distinct long shot.
She brings a strong anti-abortion stance to the ticket and opposes gay marriage - constitutionally banned in Alaska before her time - but exercised a veto that essentially granted benefits to gay state employees and their partners. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- In two short years, Sarah Palin moved from small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers to the governor'... more -
McCain Picks Female Running Mate!
WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, campaign officials told NBC News on Friday.
She would be the first woman to serve on a Republican presidential ticket. The pro-life Palin would also be the first Alaskan ever to appear on a national ticket.
Palin, 44, was elected Alaska's first woman governor in 2006. The state’s voters had grown weary of career politician Gov. Frank Murkowski, whom she defeated in the GOP primary. WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, campaign offic... more -
Poll Zeroes In On Weak Spots For McCain, Obama
An NPR poll of likely voters in 19 battleground states finds about half consider Illinois Sen. Barack Obama too risky. Those polled rank Arizona Sen. John McCain slightly behind Obama in terms of independence.
The poll results reveal voter doubts about both candidates' presidential qualities that may explain why neither seems to be able to break through a kind of ceiling this summer. In the national head-to-head matchups, Obama can't seem to break 50 percent, and McCain is stuck somewhere in the low to mid-40s.
The poll, conducted Aug. 12-14 by a bipartisan team of pollsters, surveyed voters in 19 states where the polling shows the race is very close or where the candidates have decided to make major investments of time and money, says Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. An NPR poll of likely voters in 19 battleground states finds about half consider Illinois Sen. Barack Obama too risky. Those polled ra... more -
Obama Lives in "a Frickin' Mansion"
SEDONA, Ariz. -- A spokesman for Sen. John McCain vowed to retaliate against today's story about how many houses the GOP candidate owns with a renewed focus on Sen. Barack Obama's ties to a Chicago developer and charges that Obama is an elitist.
"We're delighted to have a real estate debate with Barack Obama," said spokesman Brian Rogers, adding that the press should focus on Obama's house. "It's a frickin' mansion. He doesn't tell people that. You have a mansion you bought in a shady deal with a convicted felon."
The felon reference was to Tony Rezko, a former Obama friend and financial backer who was convicted on fraud and bribery charges this year. Rogers vowed to intensify efforts to link Obama to Rezko in the coming days. SEDONA, Ariz. -- A spokesman for Sen. John McCain vowed to retaliate against today's story about how many houses the GOP candidat... more -
McCain Backs Away from Abortion Pledge
ABC News' Teddy Davis and Rigel Anderson Report: John McCain's campaign signaled on Wednesday that the Arizona senator is backing away from his previously stated goal of changing the GOP’s platform on abortion.
"There's a process in place for the delegates to work on the platform and we are going to let that process work itself out," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers told ABC News.
McCain’s plan to take a hands-off approach with the abortion platform stands in stark contrast with the position he took during his first presidential run.
Back in 2000, McCain clashed with then-Gov. George W. Bush over his unwillingness to change platform language that called for a human life amendment banning all abortions.
McCain implored Bush to join him in wanting to add exceptions for rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother.
Watch the McCain-Bush sparring here.
McCain's desire to change the platform did not end in 2000.
During an April 14, 2007 media availability which followed the Iowa GOP's Lincoln Day Dinner in Des Moines, McCain reaffirmed his support for changing the platform.
But now that he is the presumptive Republican nominee, the McCain camp is making it clear that he has no plans to push for changes to the platform.
McCain's decision to leave the platform untouched follows a warning from a prominent social conservative.
"If he were to change the party platform," to account for exceptions such as rape, incest or risk to the mother's life, "I think that would be political suicide," Tony Perkins, the president of the conservative Family Research Council, told ABC News in May. "I think he would be aborting his own campaign because that is such a critical issue to so many Republican voters and the Republican brand is already in trouble." ABC News' Teddy Davis and Rigel Anderson Report: John McCain's campaign signaled on Wednesday that the Arizona senator is ba... more -
Clinton strategy working for McCain
(CNN) -- John McCain's attacks on Barack Obama on national security issues seem to be working: Polls show that McCain has cut the Democrat's lead.
According to CNN's average of several recent national surveys, Obama's lead is now 1 point over the Arizona senator, 45 percent to 44 percent.
The margin in the poll of polls, which consists of seven surveys, is down from three points a day earlier and and down from an eight-points in mid-July.
Russia's invasion of Georgia gave McCain an anvil to hammer away at Obama's inexperience, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said.
"The McCain campaign believes that some of Hillary Clinton's tactics, especially questioning whether Obama is ready to lead, can be a real winner," Schneider said.
Clinton nearly overtook Obama during the primary campaign after she started airing ads asking whom voters would rather have answering a 3 a.m. call to the White House.
"The McCain team has been very open that they went to school on the Hillary Clinton campaign, that they learned from that," said CNN contributor David Gergen, a former counselor to three presidents.
Video at link... (CNN) -- John McCain's attacks on Barack Obama on national security issues seem to be working: Polls show that McCain has cut the... more -
McCain says he "doesn't disagree" with reinstituting the draft?
Presidential candidate John McCain appeared at a town hall meeting in New Mexico today. And, for some reason, tacitly endorsed the draft.
Watch the video
Audience Member: Senator McCain I truly hope you get the opportunity to chase Bin Laden right to the gates of hell and push him in as you stated on your forum. I do have a question though. Disable veterans, especially in this state have horrible conditions, their medical is substandard. They drive four hours one way to Albuquerque for a simple doctors appointment which is often canceled. Our VA hospital is dirty it is understaffed, it is running on maximum overload. The prescription medicines are ten years behind standard medical care we have seven hundred claims stacked up at the VA office in Albuquerque some of them are ten and seven years old waiting to be processed in the mean time these people are homeless. My son is an officer in the Air Force, and I am a vet and I was raised in a military family. I think it is a sad state of affairs when we have illegal aliens having a Medicaid card that can access specialist top physicians, the best of medical and our vets can't even get to a doctor. These are the people that we tied yellow ribbons for and Bush patted on the back. If we don't reenact the draft I don't think we will have anyone to chase Bin Laden to the gates of hell.
McCain: Ma'am let me say that I don't disagree with anything you said and thank you and I am grateful for your support of all of our veterans. Presidential candidate John McCain appeared at a town hall meeting in New Mexico today. And, for some reason, tacitly endorsed the dra... more -
Vote Mediocre, Vote McCain
"Successful presidents come from two molds: visionaries, or mechanics. The visionaries -- think Reagan or FDR -- see what others can't and say 'Why not?" to inspire the country. The mechanics -- think LBJ or Eisenhower -- know the ins and outs of government and are able to harness the power of millions of humans to accomplish great things, or at least keep the wheels from coming off.
McCain fits neither style. He's neither a dreamer, nor a detail guy. His major accomplishment, in Vietnam and in the Senate, has been merely to survive." "Successful presidents come from two molds: visionaries, or mechanics. The visionaries -- think Reagan or FDR -- see what others ... more -
McCain: The Candidate We Still Don't Know
"Most Americans still don't know, as Marshall writes, that on the campaign trail 'McCain frequently forgets key elements of policies, gets countries names wrong, forgets things said only hours or days before and is frequently just confused.' Most Americans still don't know it is precisely for this reason that the McCain campaign has now shut down the press previously unfettered access to the candidate on the Straight Talk Express." "Most Americans still don't know, as Marshall writes, that on the campaign trail 'McCain frequently forgets key element... more
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McCain campaign accuses NBC of partisan coverage
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The John McCain campaign fired off an angry letter to NBC News criticizing Andrea Mitchell's comments regarding the "cone of silence" at Saturday night's presidential candidates' forum at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
Campaign manager Rick Davis cited Mitchell's comments on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Barack Obama campaign had said privately that they believed McCain "may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well prepared."
Pastor Rick Warren on Saturday sat down first with Obama and asked him the same questions he would later ask McCain.
Davis denied what he called "a completely unsubstantiated Obama campaign claim that John McCain somehow cheated." While Obama was being interviewed, McCain was driving to the event and then in a green room without TV, Davis said.
In a letter to NBC News president Steve Capus, Davis said that the network's "level of objectivity ... has fallen so low that reporters are now giving voice to unsubstantiated, partisan claims in order to undercut John McCain." He requested a meeting with Capus to discuss news standards and objectivity.
"We are concerned that your news division is following MSNBC's lead in abandoning nonpartisan coverage of the presidential race," Davis wrote.
In a statement Monday, NBC News said that it welcomed an opportunity to speak with officials from both campaigns and said it is in daily contact with the McCain camp.
"With all due respect to the campaign leadership, they are viewing our coverage through a political prism," NBC News said. "We stand by our reporting, our journalism and our journalists." NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The John McCain campaign fired off an angry letter to NBC News criticizing Andrea Mitchell's comm... more -
Obama takes issue with McCain's definition of 'rich'
Barack Obama seized the opportunity Monday to criticize comments made by his opponent John McCain over the weekend in which the presumptive GOP nominee defined wealthy Americans as those who make an income of $5 million or more.
“He [McCain] was in a panel the other day with Rick Warren, some of you may have seen it — and Rick Warren asked him — how do you define rich? He said — maybe he was joking — he said, ‘$5 million,’” Obama told a small group of women at a campaign event in Albuquerque, N.M.
“I guess if you’re making 3 million (dollars) a year, you’re middle class,” Obama said.
“That’s reflected in his policies,” he continued, adding that McCain would give a $500,000 tax break to people making more than $2.5 million.
“This is a fundamental difference in this election,” he said.
McCain predicted his remarks would be taken out of context when he responded to a question Saturday from prominent evangelical pastor Rick Warren during a televised forum on religious issues at Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif.
When Warren asked McCain how he defined “rich,” McCain replied by saying, “I think if you’re just talking about income, how about 5 million (dollars)?”
McCain quickly elaborated on his answer by adding, “I’m sure that comment will be distorted, but the point is … that we want to keep people’s taxes low and increase revenues.”
On Monday, McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds responded to Obama’s criticism, saying McCain had been prescient in his warning.
“As was immediately predicted by John McCain after he made the remark, Barack Obama is already distorting his comment about the definition of ‘rich’ in America. Remember when Barack Obama said he was ‘tired of distortion, name-calling and sound bite solutions to complicated problems?’ Neither do we,” Bounds said.
A McCain aide later told FOX News that the GOP frontrunner was “asked about defining who is rich in the context of raising taxes.”
McCain “firmly believes in not raising any American’s taxes. It’s not the job of government to define who is rich,” the aide said.
The remarks on income served to underscore the candidates’ differences on economic policy, which has become a central issue among voters’ angered over a stumbling economy.
Obama responded to the same question during the candidates’ joint appearance at the church Saturday by defining the wealthy as anyone making over $250,000 a year.
“I would argue that if you are making more than $250,000, then you are in the top 3, 4 percent of this country,” he said. Barack Obama seized the opportunity Monday to criticize comments made by his opponent John McCain over the weekend in which the presum... more -
McCain and Obama on Abortion
Watching Barack Obama and John McCain handle pastor Rick Warren's questions about abortion, you could see the whole presidential race in miniature taking shape before our eyes. The clear answer beats the clever one any time ... unless you worry about the chaos that clarity can bring.
Before a friendly but still skeptical Evangelical crowd at Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., on Saturday night, McCain won a roar of approval when Warren asked him at what point a human being gets human rights: "At the moment of conception," McCain replied. The answer was clear, unequivocal and a great relief to restless Republicans who had endured a week of indigestion on the issue. Murmurs that McCain was flirting with a pro-choice running mate like former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman had Rush Limbaugh and his army in full stampede. "The fur is going to fly on this one," Limbaugh warned about the prospect of McCain taking social conservatives for granted.
McCain's straightforward answer, along with his assertion that he would not have nominated any of the Supreme Court's four liberal judges (notwithstanding that he voted to confirm all but John Paul Stevens, who was named before McCain was in the Senate), had social conservatives breathing sighs of relief. "I will be a pro-life president, and this presidency will have pro-life policies," McCain said to cheers from the audience. "O.K.," Warren said, laughing. "We don't have to go longer on that one."
Meanwhile, Obama offered an artful dodge to the question of when a human deserves rights. "Whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade," he said. Like many of his responses that night, it was a long, careful, nuanced plowing of middle ground. He did not suggest that the only rights that matter are a woman's over her body. He also affirmed his moral dimensions of the issue: he noted his willingness to limit late-term abortions, provided there is an exception if a woman's health is at risk; and he talked about finding the resources to help women who choose to keep their baby, and about trying to reduce the need for abortions in the first place. It reflected the careful effort Obama has made to reach out to the ambivalent middle, which is reflected in a Democratic Party platform that unequivocally defends the right to legal abortion but also calls for better access to contraception and comprehensive sex education. This is classic "common ground" language designed to break with past orthodoxy and reach out to independents who don't much like abortion but who don't want doctors and patients being carted off to jail for performing or having them.
Which is why McCain's much cleaner answer may come back to haunt him. It's not just that a majority of Americans favor at least limited access to legal abortion. (I've seen polls suggesting that a substantial minority of Americans thinks McCain himself is pro-choice, which is a natural mistake given his maverick image. Will independents like him less when they learn more?) McCain's construction that life begins "at the moment of conception" opens a whole new set of questions. There is a world of mystery in what transpires between the moment when egg meets sperm and the point of implantation, when that fertilized egg nestles into the uterus and begins to grow. Watching Barack Obama and John McCain handle pastor Rick Warren's questions about abortion, you could see the whole presidential ... more
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Senator John McCain
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Senator John McCain
