Monday, May 18, 2009

Stuck in Campaign Mode

Even though the presidential campaign is so yesterday, I don't think anyone has informed the president yet. He's still doing campaign speak -- you know, the kumbaya calls for common ground, the sweeping promises scant on detail, the uplifting rhetoric held down by lack of substance.

Consider Obama's speech yesterday at Notre Dame. According to the Associated Press, the president called for an effort to “honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women.”

This is the same man who has promised to change the Bush-era “conscience clause.” Under Bush, this clause forced hospitals and health plans to respect the rights of doctors and other healthcare workers to refuse to deliver "treatments" that conflicted with their personal or moral beliefs. But with Obama's proposed revisions "based on sound science," these medical professionals will be forced to perform abortions if they want to stay in practice. So much for honoring conscience or finding the common ground he stressed at Notre Dame.

(I think the president missed the memo on the Gallup poll last week that showed the majority of Americans are now pro-life. Or perhaps, a la Pelosi, he wasn't listening at the briefing.)

Obama is good at delivering speeches. Anytime things heated up during the campaign, he made a speech, re-focusing media attention. But the campaign is over. Speechmaking and empty rhetoric will not solve the problems our nation is facing. If he truly wants to find common ground, he needs to start walking in our direction.

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