"It's the Babies, Stupid."

I hate the price of gas, but not enough for it to affect my voting preferences. I dislike the war and its intended and unintended consequences, but whoever is elected president in November is going to feel the pressure of the American public to finish the job and bring the boys home ... so the war will have little impact on my vote. I find it ridiculous that secular gays want to celebrate the inherently religious ceremony of marriage so that they can enjoy the social privileges of an institution that many Americans seem to have little regard for anyway. However, homosexual behavior and its societal acceptance will not diminish or grow based on who's in the White House. Taxes, immigration, the death penalty, and the environment are areas in which Christians can maintain legitimate differences.

However, there is one litmus test that I apply to candidates--that of human dignity. I will not vote for someone who unconditionally supports abortion on demand--even if it is unlikely that person will ever have an influence on changing abortion policy. This is for the same reason I will not vote for a self-described racist, even if an affirmative action policy or discrimination bill never crosses that person's desk. It's not about the policy; it's about the character. Someone who does not recognize the dignity of a human life, no matter what color or what size, demonstrates a severe lack of judgment.

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade--and elevating it to a civil rights issue--presidential candidate Barack Obama noted, “We also know that Roe v. Wade is more than a woman's right to choose; it's about equality. It's about whether our daughters are going to have the same opportunities as our sons.”

I would have expected better of him. Even if he were to maintain his views regarding a woman's "right" to an abortion, he could have at least noted the disturbing statistics of abortion in urban communities and expressed a desire to limit their frequency. As John Ensor notes, "the abortion business has consolidated into our nation’s cities. Over 90 percent of abortion facilities are now in urban neighborhoods. Black and Hispanic women suffer 56 percent of all abortions while representing only 25 percent of the female population."

The fact that Obama supports abortion rights is completely understandable. It's part of the Democratic platform, and Obama has one of the most predictable voting records in his party--voting with it 96.5% of the time. But it becomes disturbing when he opposes bills such as the Induced Infant Liability Act (as he did in '02), which would have protected babies that survived late-term abortions and would have given them the same rights as babies who were born prematurely and given live-saving medical attention. Even NARAL Pro-Choice America did not oppose its passage!

I don't get it. Either he's a spineless hack for the abortion industry, or Obama actually believes that women should have the right to pay doctors to crush their babies' heads as they're exiting the birth canal or abandon babies who are fortunate enough to survive an abortion. Either way, I question his sanity or his morality. Call me a knee-jerk conservative when it comes to abortion, but Obama's voting record indicates he's a knee-jerk liberal when it comes to abortion--even when he doesn't have to be! Sorry, Barack. I'm not a fan of John McCain, but you don't get my vote.

It's the babies, stupid!