Obama says pointed abortion query “above his pay grade”
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DALLAS – U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama side-stepped a pointed query about abortion on Saturday by “mega-pastor” Rick Warren during a televised forum.
Asked at what point a baby gets “human rights,” Obama, who strongly supports abortion rights, said: “… 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 went on to reiterate his view that it was important to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who followed Obama onto the stage of the nationally televised event, was more blunt and more emphatic.
He said a baby’s human rights began “at the moment of conception … I have a 25-year pro-life record.”
Both candidates were vying for the “faith vote,” in particular the one in four U.S. adults who count themselves as evangelical.
Obama took questions first from Warren and McCain followed. The two shared the stage together briefly.
Some centrist evangelicals have said they appreciate moves by the Democratic Party to “soften” the edges of its pro-choice stand by stressing the need to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions — and by also working harder in areas like adoption.
But for many conservative evangelicals — a key part of the evangelical base — life begins at conception and the argument ends there.
The issue remains one of the most divisive and partisan in America — as Obama and McCain highlighted on Warren’s stage.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason)
(Photo credit: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook, Files, USA)
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all of the questions were above this novice Senator’s pay grade
“above my pay grade”…..errr…..ok
Not a good utterance from BHO. That’s the type of phrase an “LLE” (low level employee) uses.
Will he later say he, “misspoke”?
Seems as though Oblahma is taking a page out of the John Kerry playbook: nuance, nuance, nuance.
Didn’t work in ’04 and won’t in ’08.
The problem is that that’s all Obomba has. Nothing but an empty suit who’s every other word is, “ah, ah, ah, er, er, ah, ya know, ah, er, ya know, ah.”
How ’bout just giving us a direct answer to a question….ANY QUESTION.
I found both senators likable and articulate. However, I think Obama’s demeanor seemed to be much more honest and thoughtful when addressing the complicated issues that we face in politics today. So often Mccains answers were black and white and dodged the deeper issues in play.
I am amazed at how this abortion question is dodged basically with “We don’t know when life begins.” WELL THEN, IT BEGS THE QUESTION, IF WE ADMIT WE DON’T KNOW WHEN LIFE BEGINS, DOESN’T THAT MEAN WE MIGHTBE KILLING PEOPLE? Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry, and NOT allow abortion especially since its biggest proponents admit they might be wrong and they might be allowing for the killing of living human beings?
It boggles my mind that nobody asks this as a follow up when a pro-death person flippantly says ‘we don’t know when life begins.’ They say it a way that implies they think this makes their position correct – as if to say, “don’t tell me I’m supporting death since you don’t know they are alive” when in actuality they are WEAKENING their argument, not buttressing it with such a silly statement – they are admitting they might be alive which alone is enough reason to outlaw abortions.
Nobama. What a weasel.
Do you know, and did you report, that both candidates were given the questions in advance? Yes, Rick Warren gave the questions to both men before the forum, so they were prepared beforehand. How do I know? At one point, Obama spilled the beans about how he was given the questions earlier. Ask me, I will tell you, it’s true.
Danny
danbloom AT gmail
“Above his pay grade”. After McCain beats Barak HUSSEIN Obama in November, that question will fortunately remain “above his pay grade” for a long time to come.
Too bad Barak HUSSEIN Obama didn’t consider his vote, while serving in the Illinois legislature, in favor of infanticide, to also be “above his pay grade”. The chosen vote was definitely above his intelligence.
Senator Barack Obama must be kidding! He claims that his “pay grade” is too low for him to answer the most important social question of our time: When does human life begin? And it is not a theological question, as he suggests; science has rendered an unequivocal decision: Life is present at conception. A near unanimous–some declined to respond–gathering of international geneticists before Congress over twenty years ago said so, in no uncertain terms. Obama either is ignorant of the facts or being wilfully deceptive for political reasons (he can’t, you understand, unduly offend his pro-choice constituency!). He is unqualified to be president of the United States.
Unfortunate that McCain and Obama’s first meeting is with a group who votes based on fairy tale beliefs.
You can have an opion about a fetus having human rights and still say that abortion is still legal in this country. Partial birth abortion is one of the most disgusting and regetable things for a woman to go through in this life. Just talk to any woman who has had an abortin and almost all will have great emotional ties to that decision made in their life. A very, very hard choice for anyone to take lightly.
Liberals like Obama approve killing innocent babies, yet they disapprove executing murderers. How these people reconcile these two positions is a mystery. Maybe Obama could shed some light on this contradiction. I suspect that he would sidestep this as he sidestepped the question of when life begins.
A society which kills its unborn will eventually progress to infanticide. We are seeing this now with late term abortions wherein a viable baby is first killed in the womb, then extracted dead. From there it isn’t hard to start euthanizing the old, the insane, the disabled, Catholics, Jews, liberals, etc. Hitler’s eugenics and the concomitant holocaust were the direct result of this utter contempt for human life.
Liberals like Obama choose to remain ignorant of history. Those who choose to remain ignorant of history will be cursed to repeat it. As such, Obama is one philosophical step away from the callous and shallow disregard for humanity exhibited in the Twentieth Century by the Nazis. Obama isn’t a bad man. He is simply a weak man devoid of principle.
Obama again proves he’s the “vague” candidate. The nation is starting to ask questions like “Define change” and “What is your plan” but he’s so non-committal he can’t even answer a simple question about where he stands on the abortion issue.
http://www.UpYoursObama.com
Funny that this would be the headline. My headline would be empty suit vs gravitas. I admit that Obama has a future in politics that might someday take him to the white house, but he is far from that now. He mistakenly stated that abortions have not come down, when the are at the lowest rate since 1974 (according to the Guttmacher Inst., the information wing of Planned Parenthood)
He then went on to state that his most significant step across the isle to support legislation that went against self interest was the McCain Feingold Campaign Reform Act. Except that, he ended up voting against it.
I’m also happy to see that he is against evil, but his definition concentrated on Rwanda and the streets of Chicago. Never even mentioned Islamic Extremists. Hopefully, the folks who thought Obama was a fresh face learned tonight that he is a bit too fresh, and no different than those who have gone before him.
Credit to Obama and McCain for not ducking or weaving. That was impressive. Obama was not quite as clear about his stands, but he didn’t change the subject to avoid letting us all know he doesn’t have clear-cut thinking on many issues.
Typical Obama. If you are from Illinios you already know he doesn’t answer the tough questions. See his voting record in the Illinios senate. He voted “present” on the touchy issues so he wouldn’t be held accountable one way or the other. In Illinios the senate is allowed to vote present, rather than yes or no. his excuse. “I didn’t like parts of the bill”. Well if you don’t like it vote NO, if you like it vote yes. What an empty shirt.
How slippery of “The One”. Truth is he voted multiple times to permit an infant that survives an abortion to be murdered outside the womb. How compassionate is that?
I watched the forum and it seemed that Sen. McCain was on the stump. Sen. Obama westeled with the questions thoughtfully and gave very sensible answers. Sen. McCain however, looked like he got the cheat sheet or that the “cone of silence” that Pastor Rick said he was in was not exactly soundproof.
I need a President who will listen, think and execute the best strategy, not a man who “knows what he believes, no matter whether the facts suggest differently or not.” I owe it to my children and grandchildren to cast my vote for Sen. Obama.
Above my pay grade??? What a pathetic answer…Obama is smoke and mirrors, absolutely no substance.
Here’s a big difference between the two candidates: Had Pastor Warren asked McCain and Obama, “If Jesus were on earth today, would he support a woman’s right to choose abortion?”… McCain would clearly and confidently have answered “NO.” Obama would not have answered the question. He would have come up with something else to talk about but he certainly would not have been so foolish as to answer “Yes.” Yet that must be what he believes.
I think Mr. Obama had the correct answer. He actually said that if you’re talking to someone who believes that life begins at conception than there’s no debating that because their mind is made up.
The problem that the Evangelicals have with the rest of the world is that there cannot be a dissenting opinion. No one knows when life begins. The Bible is very vague about it..stating that John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb and the God breathed life into Adam. So which is it…conception or first breath? Birth or maybe something else entirely. No one knows and scientifically it can’t be determined.
Yet my big argument to this has to do with Hypocrisy. That if life begins at conception and people that have abortions are murderers…than is God a murderer if a woman has a miscarriage? Miscarriages happen all the time in nature for all creatures…they are certainly an act of God…so does that make him a murderer?
And then there’s the entire hypocrisy that if all life is sacred…at what point does it become unsacred? Certainly the vast majority of the Pro-Lifer’s are against welfare or any other assistance to help the young woman and child. No health care…crappy education…no jobs. The woman and the child are left to fend for themselves. I have a difficult time dealing with that hypocrisy or rectifying that in my faith.
So I have to agree with Senator Obama…I don’t have the answer. My faith is strong but there are somethings..I just don’t understand. And until there is a indisputable verifiable answer then it should be left up to the individuals involved to make the decision.
As usual, Obama hides his true stance. He is more interested in getting elected than letting Americans know who he is or what he stands for beyond his vague feel-good statements that nobody can disagree with.
The old saying is still true: If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.
What is Obama’s pay grade?
How in the world does Obama believe that he can’t deliver an answer to this question? Science has proven life begins at conception. That conception is the start of a unique DNA never to be seen in the universe again. Each one of us is special and as I believe created in God’s image. This is a fundamental right as stated in the Declaration of Independence “that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights., that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…? Jefferson and the Continental Congress unanimously voted for this document that declared are rights and liberties are derived from God, not by government! A human being in the womb is human….it’s kinda hard to have liberty and pursuit of happiness without first preserving the right to life.
Obama is a wimp! He should have directly answered the question!
Really, “above your pay grade”? What kind of a non-answer is that? Wouldn’t he be the same ‘pay grade’ as McCain? Are they not both US Senators?
What else is “above his pay grade”? Don’t want him at the hotline phone at 3am, need someone with a higher pay grade, obviously since McCain could answer the question directed at him without a snarky remark, he must be above Obama’s pay grade, and more qualified to be President of the United States.
This reminds me of ‘slick Willy’ – that depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is.
Slick Barry.
Obama – uncomfortable; parsing;
McCain – direct; prepared
If this is how the debates are going to go… McCain wins by a lot
Obama is for killing babies in the birth canal.
Obama is for killing babies who miraculously survive abortions.
No true Christian could ever vote for Obama, PERIOD.
Yah, life begins at conception. Obama has an A+ Rating from the biggest pro-abortion group in the nation; Planned Parenthood, on his voting record in the senate. That tells me all I need to know. McCain is nowhere close to my favorite conservative candidate. But at least he does have a very long pro-life voting record on abortion. To me, this issue is the single biggest voting issue. If you’re not pro-life, I will not vote for you. So this year, Obama loses my vote and McCain gains it. Simple.
Nice try there, Reuters, repeating the Democrat spin….
That “softening of the edges” on abortion, as you refer to it, is simply a ploy to get Obama elected….after that it will be business as usual for the Democrats in their efforts to kill babies in the name of “human rights” and in the interests of the abortion industry for whom they pander to….
One other thing…you forgot to mention that McCain swept the floor with Obama this evening at the forum….wasn’t even close.
The guy’s running for the highest office in the land….how can a question as simple as that be above his “pay grade”? At least from the theological perspecitve, there is no discussion needed. A life is a life is a life…From a legal aspect it is the same in my opinion, however I understand others’ perspective on the subject, but, nonetheless, Obama has to make decisions at that level. I think he was just lying because he needs the votes from the religious side. He knows that he’s fine with abortion, he’s just afraid to say it.
Obama looked suprisingly like a Freshman Senator tonight, whereas McCain very much looked the part of the much more seasoned statesman. Not a good night for Obama and a rather bad week for Democrats.
That Obama is a real cut up. He has a hard time giving a direct answer to any question. If he’d been at a planned parenthood rally what would his answer have been?
He should’ve been pressed on capitol punishment. Drawing the parallel between an innocent life and a convicted murder.
Obama just expressed his ignorance and lack of respect for human life with this statement! He does not deserve to be on the ballot for dog catcher!
The way that McCain answers hard questions is in stark contrast to Obama. McCain knows his views and can back it up with decades of Votes and well know positions. He is not afraid of his views. Obama on the other had side steps hard questions or refuses to let those views be known for fear of offending a voting bloc. This is not a presidential trait in Obama case. Quite frankly it is week. When one ascends to the presidency he must be able to answer hard questions and do what is right by the country regardless of what portion of the electorate it may offend. “When in Command, Command” Obama show’s us again he cannot. Clinton has bullied him around at his own convention and now a simple question of his beliefs causes him pause. Not what we need in the White House at this time in history.
That Mccain is sure full of stories. Wonder when he’s going to answer a question? And wonder if Pastor Rick will requiere he does. Somehow he allowed him to rant and rave about unrelated issues. He actually did a bit of politics tonight. Kinda love that non-christian, christian bunch of people.
Can this guy ever answer a question straight up? Or does he only answer things are politically expedient/convenient? We already have his record in Illinois, which clearly shows that he has no problem with infanticide late into the 3rd trimester. If a woman has waited until the 3rd trimester, then adoption is the answer hands down. I think you start to get into an iffy area anywhere between in the 2nd trimester. And, the 1st trimester while it has been shown that there is a beating heart, etc., there could be room to lean toward an abortion, but an unwanted pregnancy is not a reason. That’s a cop out. There needs to be a serious bonafide reason. If people don’t want the baby, then they need to think hard about why they’re in that position in the first place. A lack of judgement is a bogus answer, and anyone who can use that needs to rethink some things. We’re talking about death.
There are plenty of acceptable ways society has to prevent pregnancy. Condoms, birth control pills/devices, and abstinence. Society has to show it cares about the baby in the womb. There seems to be a lack of callousness otherwise. Women birth babies – so the responsibility falls on their shoulders not to get pregnant, even if it means staying sober and being on guard. If it’s a responsibility that cannot be handled, then perhaps society needs to think about tube tying, etc.
B. Hussein Obama dodged many questions, including the Abortion one. When asked about evil, he couldn’t resist citing evil in America and the idea that we are being evil in how we respond to evil….B HUssein did not name Al-Queda or islamic jihadists as evil. Unlike McCain
Holding to any political position has its cost; but the man who stands on the side of life is more deserving of a leadership role!
Answering that question is not above the pay grade of the president of the United States. The next president will likely appoint several supreme court justices who will make that decision.
Obama’s inexperience shines through once again.
No matter what the context, abortion is the deliberate killing of a human being whose right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is atrociously denied for the expediency of a mother’s ‘right to choose’. History will no doubt deem the abortion years as truly barbaric. It is to me woefully incomprehensible that in today’s so-called ‘enlightened age’ an animal’s rights are protected more so than the rights of a human being. Argh.
Here’s a perfect example of liberal bias. Notice there are no “liberal” evangelicals. Only “centrists” and “conservatives.”
This crap about “reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions, etc.” is only about creating a new government program which will hire otherwise unemployable individuals to tell people to wear condoms.
Obama supports abortion up to and including the day of delivery. The sad part of this is that McCain is such a weak candidate that rather than go on the attack he defends. McCain makes Bob Dole look like Ronald Reagan. He has no fire. It’s pathetic.
Wow. I never thought McCain would come off so much better that Obama. I will be voting for McCain – done deal.
I thought McCain cleaned Obama’s clock tonight. The crowd was very into McCain and that helps him as he’s the lasting image. For Barack, it’s the usual, um, oh, well, answers that muddle what’s really the content of what he’s trying to say.
David Gergen from CNN who I’ve always thought was very much democrat leaning (even though he served both republicans and democrats) said that if tonight is any indication, McCain is going to be a much more formidable challenger than anyone thought in the debates.
how could the democrats nominate this guy??…this guy is not ready to lead..the democrats nominated this guy because hes black..he has no leadership skills…
I am glad to see some of the typical pointed questions of a forum such as this can be put into context so well. If you have a voting record for 25 years of anti abortion/Pro life legislation and the number of abortions have been going up for the past 25 years maybe we should be going about this a different way.
After this forum I think Obama is addressing the real issue here, unwanted pregnancy.
It’s really unfortunate that in this time of war, economic stagnation, and an environmental and energy crisis, that our two candidates had to spend an evening pandering to bunch of superstitious medievalists.
Obama voted for letting a baby die through neglect if that baby is unwanted. As much as I dislike McCain this is a no brainer. Obama’s mouth piece on OReilly said Obabma suports abortion because Jesus would. I would like to know what translation of the Bible Obama was reading and what he was smoking or snorting at the time of that revelation.
Obama, you are running for President, nothing is above your pay grade.
Obama’s response to the question about when a baby gets human rights, has by far, GOT to be one of the stupidest, cop-out comments I have ever heard!!! And this man thinks he is qualified to be our Commander in Chief. Unbelievable.
I must admit, McCain blew me away tonight. There was no stuttering, stammering, such as with Obama, he had quick answers and the right answers!
What to say, Obama is good with a script but he is shallow and not up to his A game without. The article points out his extremely poor and disingenous answer to the abortion question but when asked about a “gut wrenching” decision all he had was something that would affect him politically maybe. I also noted that he equivicated about what to about evil but spent more time trying to say that we (the United States) has evil in it. I have to give this to McCain. He knows where he stands and is not afraid to say it. McCain also has a record to prove that he believes what he says.