Picking 'Genuinely Pro-Life' Running Mate Would Be 'Revolutionary Decision' By Obama, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 04 Aug 2008 - 9:00 PST

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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) should consider making Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) his vice presidential running mate, in part because "picking a genuinely pro-life running mate would be a revolutionary decision" by Obama, Michael Gerson -- columnist for the Washington Post, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and President Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001 until June 2006 -- writes in an opinion piece.

According to Gerson, both Ritter and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), who is a "serious" contender for the vice presidency, govern in presidential "battleground" states, and both spent time as lay Roman Catholic missionaries in developing countries. "But Kaine's performance on life issues is like watching a contortionist on a tight rope," Gerson writes, adding that Kaine has said that he must enforce existing law and that he would veto legislation outlawing abortion if Roe v. Wade were overturned. According to Gerson, this means that Kaine's "moral views on the value of unborn life are so private he would overturn the will of the Legislature to ensure they do not prevail," adding, "This is not 'pro-life' in any meaningful sense."

When running for governor, Ritter said that he had no plans to change Colorado's abortion laws, but he also has said that if Roe were overturned, he would sign a bill that bans abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the pregnant woman, according to Gerson. "In the Democratic Party, there is no reason to take such a risky position except conscience," Gerson writes, concluding, "If Obama wants to choose an advocate of Catholic social justice as his vice president, perhaps he should consider a consistent one" (Gerson, Washington Post, 8/1).

~ CNN's "AC360" on Thursday posted an interview with Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe, an informal adviser to Obama's presidential campaign, about legal issues in the campaign, including the possibility Roe would be overturned should Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) be elected (Gray, "AC360," CNN, 7/31).

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