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The Obama Nation vs. Terri's Legacy...

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In none of the endless presidential candidates' debates has there been a meaningful discussion of the rights of disabled Americans. However, in the Feb. 26 debate in Cleveland, Barack Obama casually and ignorantly revealed his misunderstanding of the basic issue in the highly visible and still-resonating official death sentence of a disabled woman, Terri Schiavo. I repeatedly have called her death the result of "the longest public execution in American history."

When moderator Tim Russert asked Hillary Clinton and Obama if "there are any words or votes that you'd like to take back ... in your careers in public service," Obama answered that in his first year in the Senate, he joined an agreement "that allowed Congress to interject itself (in the Schiavo case) into the decision-making process of the families."

Obama added: 'I think that was a mistake, and I think the American people understood that was a mistake. And as a constitutional law professor, I knew better."...................

Barack Obama vs. Terri Schiavo

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Catholics will be repelled by B.O...

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I don't want Senator Obama to win -- our political positions are too far apart -- but I do want both political parties to understand the Catholic voter.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Inside Catholic) - I am writing this unsolicited memo to help the Obama campaign understand the Catholic vote.

It has been the practice of Democratic presidential candidates, including former Vice President Al Gore and Sen. John Kerry, to enlist the help of well-known Catholic dissenters as advisers to their campaigns (no need to name names). As a result, the Democratic presidential candidates have failed to understand Catholic voters, much less connect with them.

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The candidate's decision in a televised debate to call his vote on Terri Schiavo a "mistake" turned off many sympathetic Catholic voters -- especially young people -- displaying an amazing lack of insight regarding the Catholic voter. Again, it suggests he is getting bad advice.

Senator Obama will have to stretch himself to reach Catholic voters, and should not deceive himself into thinking that he's a "natural" for them. He needs to be himself, act humbly toward social conservatives, and acknowledge the differences while looking for places where he can connect with them.

A Memo to the Obama Campaign

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