Obama ad slams McCain on abortion rights

Politico ^ | 9/2/08 9:39 PM EST | BEN SMITH

[Anita1]

Barack Obama has launched a broadside against John McCain’s opposition to abortion rights and moved one of the most divisive issues in modern American politics to the airwaves on a large scale for the first time in this presidential campaign. “Barack Obama voted against a bill that would have protected infants born alive having survived an abortion attempt," said Diaz. "He has offered misleading statements on the issue and is now trying to confuse voters by attacking Senator McCain."“

[Anita1]

Democrats had, until now, sought to appeal to women primarily on economic issues such as health care and workplace discrimination; abortion rights were hardly mentioned at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last week. But women’s rights groups have been urging Obama to attack McCain on the issue, pointing to polling showing that some women who support McCain think he supports abortion rights. In fact, the Arizona senator has long supported a ban on abortions, with exceptions for victims of rape and incest, and for pregnancies that threaten the life of the mother. Palin has an even firmer anti-abortion stance: She would require rape and incest victims to carry their pregnancies to term.

“Let me tell you: If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, the lives and health of women will be put at risk. That's why this election is so important,” says the nurse-practitioner who narrates Obama’s ad. “John McCain's out of touch with women today. McCain wants to take away our right to choose. That's what women need to understand. That's how high the stakes are.”

An announcer then claims that “as president, John McCain will make abortion illegal,” before playing an exchange on "Meet the Press" in which McCain told moderator Tim Russert that he favors “a constitutional amendment to ban all abortions.”

“We can't let John McCain take away our right to choose. We can't let him take us back,” says the ad.

The campaign didn’t release further details of the ad buy, but Politico readers reported that it’s airing in Florida, Virginia, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Colorado.

One Colorado reader said he’d heard it about a dozen times Tuesday — signs of a large buy.

[Harry Wurzbach]

Good.

Obama’s campaign thinks the way to connect with rural voters is to run pro-abortion ads. About the only thing that will do is fire up the GOP base even more so.

[SMCC1]

I have a question: What exactly is the breakdown of the numbers of Americans who are in favor or who oppose abortion?

Because I ALWAYS see democrats use the “blah blah blah will take away a woman’s right to choose” in tv spots. Does that appeal to most Americans?

[willgetsome]

The gloves should come off.

Let’s talk about Obama and BAIPA.

[Question Liberal Authority]

I can't help but think that's an enormous rope-a-dope by McCain. The one thing Obama can't afford is to actually take a stand on an issue.

In less than a week, Obama went from Messiah in the Temple to "What matters most is experience" and "We need abortion".

[Hattie]

Boy they really are worried about women voters going for McCain/Palin. Have to remind all those liberal women about Roe.

[jonrick46]

The Left can make Abortion as legal as they want, but no government dollars shall go for them.

[Snurple]

YAWN ....lmao...YAWN

[WKL815]

This seems like an incredibly desperate move to me. I don’t think they’d be doing this if they didn’t feel like they had to do something drastic to stop a bleed.

[BossLady]

Yes, the ads were on the Smooth Jazz station here today. I thought ....Oh now were going back to the same old song and dance....threatening the whole Roe V Wade thing if a Republican gets in office. Then I followed Obamas suggestion and voted for change....and I changed the station...hahaha!

[Reagan Man]

Obama is an abortionist. He believes that there exists in the Constitution a right that grants women the choice to kill their unborn child for any reason whatsoever. This is at the center of the culture of death in America, that has seen 50 million dead from abortion on demand since the inception of Roe v Wade in 1973. The abomination continues. A true 21ST century holocaust.

[444Flyer]

Here’s a great idea for an opposing commercial, “Barack Obama, carrying on the legacy of racist Margaret Sanger’s eugenic plan for black Americans , one baby at a time.”

[pepperhead]

I hope Mr. Infanticide keeps talking about abortion because he is even out of them mainstream of his own party.

[Hattie]

Just think about this, actually running ads to kill babies. What kind of monstrosity has the Dem Party become? Please will the Catholic Church wake up and really say something. Please Protestant churches speak to your people.

[Red Steel]

Yes, Obama is throwing the dice here.

[pepperhead]

I hope Mr. Infanticide keeps talking about abortion because he is even out of them mainstream of his own party.

Time to go to sleep.

[hsalaw]

McCain needs to immediately do an ad about Obambi wanting to let babies who survive abortion die of neglect. And that ad needs to go out right now.

[wastedyears]

Infanticide is not a “right.”

[beaversmom]

John McCain and/or the prolife movement need to swiftboat this quickly. And by swiftboat, I mean tell the truth about Obama and abortion like they told the truth about Vietnam and Kerry. Have Jill Stanek do a commercial if she hasn’t already.

[advance_copy]

This thread needs that cartoon with Obama “just making sure there were no survivors”. Obama is a man who voted against protecting living babies. How in the world does he think bringing up this issue will help him?