The marching orders come from the top. It's G.W. Bush that will head the ticket in 2004 and *his* position will be the de facto administration position. And even this is of limited power while the SCOTUS stands firmly on Roe v. Wade.
I am pro-life. I want as many pro-lifers as possible at the top of the administration. But I fear more a government run by incompetents, no matter what views they hold on abortion, than a government run by sterling individuals who happen to disagree with me on this one issue (unless they are assigned to positions where their stand on abortion will, indeed, directly affect the issue).
I know a lot of people fear that, once a Republican VP is pro-choice, they become the new party leader on the issue should the president leave office by death or by proxy. It is a legitimate concern. But on the office alone, H.H.S. Sec'y Tommy Thompson, Atty General John Ashcroft and Surgeon General Satcher have far more power to actually help or damage the pro-life cause than the vice president does. And Satcher is a Clinton mole. I can only assume his race is what prevents Bush from firing the guy.
Exactly. So if something were to happen to the president, or when the president's two terms were up and the VP would want to run (and of course would have the inside track), you'd want the VP to be prolife.