Wednesday, June 13, 2007

McCain goes after Romney's record on abortion

I'm not surprised. This one is bound to get sound-bitten to death.
Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign issued a stinging attack on GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney's stance on abortion Wednesday.

McCain's camp claimed a new YouTube video indicates the former Massachusetts governor supported maintaining abortion rights in his state six months after he opposed such rights.

Romney has said he started opposing abortion rights in November 2004 while he was governor of Massachusetts after a conversation with a stem-cell researcher made him feel the value of human life had been diminished.

But in a new video the McCain campaign posted to the popular video sharing site YouTube, Romney says in a May 2005 press conference, "I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice and so far I've been able to successfully do that. And my personal philosophical views about this issue is not something that I think would do anything other than distract from what I think is a more critical agenda."

Romney vetoed legislation that would have expanded stem cell research in Massachusetts on the same day he made the statement according to The Associated Press.

Romney supported abortion rights before changing his stance on the issue during the stem cells debate and vowed not to change Massachusetts abortion laws while was governor despite personally opposing abortion, the AP reported.

In a statement titled "Mitt vs. Fact," McCain spokesman Matt David said Romney's "biggest challenge in this election will be convincing Republicans he has principled positions on important issues, especially now that it's known that he remained committed to pro-choice policies after his 'epiphany' on abortion in 2004."

The part McCain doesn't seem to understand is "I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion...". In other words, Romney promised not to change the abortion laws, and he didn't change the abortion laws. That's inconsistent?

Would somebody like to explain (slowly, and in short words) to McCain what it means to be absolutely committed to a promise? He may find it informative.

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