NYC Letter: Mr. Obama's Underpants Redux

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CHANGE DAILY
Plain Talk From Inside The Empty Suit

Q. At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?

A. Well, you know, I, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, ah, answering that question with specificity, ah, you know, is, ah, is above my pay grade. But, but, but let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion because this is something, ah, obviously the country wrestles with. One thing that I’m absolutely convinced of is there is a moral and ethical content to this issue. And so I think that anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue I think is not paying attention. So that would be point number one.

But point number two, I am, I am pro-choice.

Mr. Obama,
presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
and low-pay-grade moralist,
both having and not having a personal view on abortion
LAKE FOREST, California August 16, 2008 (rickwarrennews.com)

There are several available commentaries sparked by this exchange that correlate Mr. Obama's answer, answers, to his record. Here is good one. Here is another.

What we want to focus on are the nature of the question and the nature of the differing answers.

The question did not require a scientific or theological answer, with or without specificity. It didn't require an answer framed by policy or politics. The question asks when Mr. Obama "in your view" thinks a baby acquires rights, protections in law.

Mr. Obama's first answer was that to answer such a question "with specificity" was "above his pay grade", though nothing more specific than his personal view was solicited.

As a Senator Mr. Obama earns $169,300 per annum. The President of the United States earns $400,000 per annum. America does not have a higher federal pay grade than President of the United States, so we assume a presidential salary qualifies for an answer. That puts Mr. Obama $230,700 shy of an answer.

Of course, Mr. Obama is using "pay grade" as a metaphor for -- for what? Experience? Competence? Exactly what deficiency of Mr. Obama is "pay grade" meant to obscure?

But Mr. Obama goes on to say quite plainly that he is pro-choice. Whatever else pro-choice can mean, here it specifically means -- and Mr. Obama concedes as much -- a personal view that allows for abortion. Now, the decent liberal position on abortion is that what is at issue is a mass of prenatal cells or a fetus (scil., baby) without human value -- human value only being magically invested upon the successful escape by the tissue mass (scil., baby) from the birth canal. Anything less is just expendable tissue without claims to protection under law. Only the female progenitor (scil., mother) -- and only the woman -- is free to determine the disposition of this tissue mass (scil., baby) up to the point of its complete escape.

We assume Mr. Obama's is the decent liberal position, which then answers the question. The decent liberal position is neither scientific nor moral nor generous nor honest and is irrational in law,* but liberals believe it does not compromise decency. By decency we suppose they mean communion with a mirror.

If Mr. Obama has the slightest doubt about the unborns' humanity, then his personal view is murderous and immoral.

That is as plain as we can make it, plainer than Mr. Obama attempted.

Asked the identical question, Mr. McCain answered unequivocally and without hesitation:

At the moment of conception.

Yes. [Pause.] Well, that spares us all a certain pull of tedium.

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* The manslaughter conviction of Tayshea Aiwohi, who smoked crystal methamphetamine while pregnant, for the postnatal death of her baby was overturned by the Hawaii Supreme Court in State of Hawaii v. Tayshea Aiwohi, No. 26838, Nov. 29, 2005.

Elsewhere liberal decency is no less irrational.