There is further proof of the desperation and panic that have gripped the Democrats and the media. Yesterday, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on This Week, Barack Obama stunningly revealed that he considered joining the military special services when he graduated high school in 1979.
First of all, the selective service was suspended in 1975 by Gerald Ford and wasn’t reinstated until 1980, so Obama must have had his time line incorrect; it has been confirmed by the Selective Service that Obama indeed applied for the Service in 1980. Regardless, the timing of this revelation should make us suspicious. With McCain now leading Obama in many polls, and the national average from Real Clear Politics showing Obama trailing, it’s not a stretch to suspect Obama is attempting to account for his weaknesses by offering a convenient appeal. Obama didn’t stop with foreign policy.
With the economy in a weak state, and a looming tax hike likely to threaten middle class workers, Obama loosened his stance on taxes. While Obama claims he may delay the tax increases on the wealthy, he reinforced his intention to allow the tax cuts to expire. His softer stance on taxes, and continued promise for a middle class tax cut are defensive attempts to reassure blue collar voters that he won’t hurt their wallets. He also made a play for religious and values voters.
In an attempt to clarify his position on when life begins, after clumsily answering to Rick Warren that it was above his pay grade, Obama tried again with George Stephanopoulos. What he said is downright dishonest:
All I meant to communicate was that I don’t presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions. What I do know is that abortion is a moral issue.
While abortion is a moral issue, Obama has not been afraid to offer an opinion on it, as we previously mentioned. Obama has a radical stance on abortion, including his refusal to support the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which we’ve also discussed. His attempt to clarify his poor answer is a political maneuver to comfort religious voters, but it is unlikely to prove effective.
Joe Biden made a similar attempt to explain his abortion stance on Sunday with Tom Brokaw on Meet the Press. From the interview:
Tom Brokaw: If Senator Obama comes to you and says ‘when does life begin?’ Help me out here Joe, as a Roman Catholic, what would you say to him?
Joe Biden: I’d say, look, I know when it begins for me. It’s a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I’m prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But, let me tell you, there are an awful lot people of great confessional faiths…who have a different view…I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception, but that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment…seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society.
Biden then continues with the mischaracterization made by Nancy Pelosi a few weeks ago, saying that Cardinal Egan of New York would agree that there has been an ongoing debate within the Catholic Church about this issue, when in fact, there has not been. This is also not the first time Biden has distorted the views of the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Chaput of Denver issued a stinging rebuke today of Joe Biden’s comments. Since Pelosi’s comments on Meet the Press, there have been several letters and statements of clarification and correction issued by leaders of the Catholic Church. Hugh Hewitt has been covering this both on his radio show and on his blog. You can find the responses and read about this major shake-up among the Catholic community here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Because this issue is being mostly ignored by the MSM, and the affect this has on the significant number of Catholics in America, I linked most of Hugh’s coverage. Also, here is a letter issued by Catholic House Republicans in response to Pelosi’s statements. The bottom line is that Catholics are unhappy, and Joe Biden’s assurance that he acknowledges the Catholic stance on abortion, but won’t actually practice or advocate it, is not so assuring.
Meanwhile, as polls continue to suggest a media bias favoring the Democrats, MSNBC has removed Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from their lead anchor positions for election coverage.
“The most disappointing shift is to see the partisan attitude move from prime time into what’s supposed to be straight news programming,” said Davidson Goldin, formerly the editorial director of MSNBC and a co-founder of the reputation management firm DolceGoldin.
As MSNBC has had dismal ratings in election coverage, and seeing as Americans don’t appreciate overly-partisan coverage, Olbermann and Matthews are out. This is just another example of the panic in the media, as they scramble to avoid a backlash.
The MSM and the Democrats, including Obama, are reeling. These desperate attempts to change direction are thinly-veiled, and should not help them reassure voters who continue to be skeptical of Obama.
