EDITORIAL: Obama Chooses Senator Biden for VP and the Battle for Life is Engaged

By Deacon Keith Fournier
8/23/2008
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

In choosing Senator Joe Biden, the Obama campaign has guaranteed that the Right to Life will continue to be a preeminent issue in the Presidential campaign of 2008.

By choosing a practicing Catholic who dissents from his Church's infallible teaching on life, the Obama campaign has guaranteed that the Right to life will be at the forefront of the continuing American presidential campaign.

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CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - After the most intense media game of �cat and mouse� in modern political history. After the Obama campaign managed to keep the suspense alive for well over a week. After promising to be the first campaign in history to make the announcement through the use of text message. The old fashioned �leak it to the media� game prevailed over high technology in Washington D.C. as speculation evolved into reliable rumors. Finally, around 3 AM, EST, it was confirmed as fact. Senator Barack Obama had chosen long time Senator Joe Biden of Delaware to be his Vice Presidential running mate.

The Obama campaign scrambled to fulfill their promise to the faithful, and the curious, who had signed up to be a part of political history. They sent the long awaited cell phone text message, probably awakening millions, at least on the East Coast, to herald what was essentially old news, "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee."

The major networks were all following the homes and the travels of the three �finalists� most of the day. The speculation was running rampant and the news cycle focused on very little else throughout the day. It appeared to this political observer that Fox News zeroed in on Joe Biden first on their Friday evening telecast.Others say it was MSNBC. Soon,all of the networks broke the story.

The Obama campaign placed a new banner on their Web Site picturing the two men, announcing the new Democratic Ticket with these words underneath: �Barack has chosen Joe Biden to be his running mate. Joe Biden brings extensive foreign policy experience, an impressive record of collaborating across party lines, and a direct approach to getting the job done. We have our team, but we also have our work cut out for us. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the leaders who will bring the change our country needs. But they can't do it alone. Show your support for the Obama-Biden ticket by making a donation today.�

The Choice of a Catholic Running Mate

So the fresh face of American politics has chosen as his Vice Presidential running mate a �seasoned� white haired fixture of Democratic politics, best known for his interest in foreign policy, with 30 years in the US Senate. Senator Biden has served as Chair of the Senate Foreign relations Committee and the Judiciary Committee, with its significant role in Supreme Court nominations. Already the Washington rumor mills are abuzz and the pundit class has taken a deep breath preparing for a new round of pontification. Frankly, there seems to be very little excitement and a whole lot of surprise.

I suggest that the choice of Biden was strategic on a number of fronts,many of which will be dissected in the endless punditry which will fill the airwaves this weekend. However, what will soon become apparent is the Obama campaigns� efforts to stem the steady loss of Catholic and Evangelical support based upon the candidates support for unrestricted abortion affirmed during the Saddleback Civil Forum. He had tried hard, through surrogates like Doug Kmiec and others, to present a softer side, an apparent opening to reconsidering the Democratic Parties� obsession with the deprivation of human rights from children in the womb over the last two decades. All of that was teetering on being lost.

So, enter Joe Biden the Catholic. Joe Biden is a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania has Irish, blue collar, working-class roots which he will certainly attempt to bring to the campaign. He is a practicing Roman Catholic Christian. Along with his wife Jill, he attends St. Patrick Church, which is a part of the Diocese of Wilmington in Delaware. His careful discussion concerning all of the issues related to the deprivation of rights from children in the womb have been careful and strategic. He is a talented debater, a solid interviewee, a careful speaker on this issue. I believe that the Obama campaign is counting on this to stem the loss and attempt to reengage the efforts to attract Catholics and other orthodox Christians who simply will not accept any candidate who argues that an entire class of persons, children in the first home of the whole human race, can be summarily killed and that such an action should be called a �right�.

Joe Biden is also a member of that group of Catholics, from both major parties, who have come under unrelenting scrutiny from a growing and vocal part of the Catholic lay faithful. These Republicans and Democrats try to expound a �public/private� dichotomy on the fundamental human rights issue of our age, the Right to life from conception to natural death. Senator Biden the Catholic purports to be personally opposed to abortion and to �accept� the clear Catholic teaching that all human life is sacred and must be protected and respected from the moment of conception, throughout all of life�s spectrum and to a natural death. Yet, in his own ...

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1 - 10 of 37 Comments

KRL
4 years ago
I'm just a visitor here but reading some of these comments just wanted to say -

Creating a baby should be an act of love - a miracle. A commitment that a couple makes to each other and to a new life.

Seven years ago my 17 year old baby sister was acousted, raped, beaten and left for dead by three African American THUGS. She barely survived and sustain serious internal and external injuries that took many months to heal. She still has scars both physically and emotionally to this day. She Has never married or really dated and lives still at home. She's the shell of a girl she used to be and my heart aches for her. Sadly, as the years progress it's becoming more apparant she won't have a 'normal life' or probably even close.

Imagine if this were your sister or mother or wife? Think about that for a moment please.

Until you walk in our shoes - how dare any of you judge my sister or our good Catholic family for eliminating that atrocity!!

Which was a by-product of evil, hate and violence???

You know what - God forbid it would ever happen in your family but YOU go ahead raise that horror- as your own.

As far as we are concerned-

That was no baby - it was the Devil himself and we did the world a favor.

****************************

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; as it is written,

As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me
and every tongue shall confess to God.

So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

9.Christianity. Romans 14.10-12
Therese Peck
4 years ago
"As far as the right to life is concerned, every innocent human being is absolutely equal to all others. This equality is the basis of all authentic social relationships which, to be truly such, can only be founded on truth and justice, recognizing and protecting every man and woman as a person and not as an object to be used. Before the moral norm which prohibits the direct taking of the life of an innocent human being "there are no privileges or exceptions for anyone. It makes no difference whether one is the master of the world or the poorest of the poor' on the face of the earth. Before the demands of morality we are all absolutely equal".

Since we are unqualified to judge innocence (only God can do that) how does the above quote apply to war, poverty,lack of health care and capital punishment? My major objections to most 'pro-life' tracts is that they are only anti-abortion. How can we respect the life of the un-born "who we do not see" when we don't respect the lives of the born?
fred m garcia
4 years ago
Joe Biden is thinking about money thats what it all comes down to in the end. its the most hardest thing in a persons life when you walk the walk, and not the talk.
Ken Suarez
4 years ago
From his comments, its clear that Senator Biden has read Roe v. Wade and understands the ruling, which most people obviously do not. Both those who are "Pro-Life" and those who are "Pro-Choice" would benefit from a clearer understanding of the legal basis for the Roe decision. As an attorney, I believe focusing on the decision is the best approach to advance the Pro-Life position. As Biden notes, there is a "sliding scale" rule within the opinion (not unusual at all as far as legal tests go), that, if understood, could be very advantageous to reduce the scope of abortions through legislation. A better appreciation of the basis of the Court's decision in Roe would lead to a far more productive debate on the issue. I applaud the choice of Biden.
Harold Olsen
4 years ago
So, Obama chose Mr. Plagerism as his running mate. No surprise there. Obama is the most Liberal member of the Senate and Biden is #3. Both are pro-abortion extremists. I wonder how Catholics who support Obama will be able to justify voting for two individuals who want to continue murdering babies no matter what. They can not be voting their conscience if they are. And if they are then they can not be true Catholics. Neither of the two major parties is fielding a candidate that I will vote for. This year it will be a third party candidate, probably Bob Barr unless Alan Keyes shows up on the ballot--particularly since Obama and his minions are claiming that it is Alan Keyes who is lying about Obama's pro-abortion record.
sthuntz1
4 years ago
The scene: Roe v. Wade has been overturned, equal protection clause extended to the moment of conception. You are a state legislator (Catholic) and you are to write a bill to deal with the abortion issue.

What would you propose in the following scenarios?

A. Your sister-in-law announced she is pregnant. She isn't thrilled. Two weeks later, she's no longer pregnant. Family inquiries are met with "none of your business." If this happened to a 3 month old post-utero child and it was shown that the parents had conspired to have the child killed, they would face 1st degree, premeditated murder with special circumstances - death penalty. Would you extend the law to cover your once pregnant sister-in-law and her husband? Why not?

Scenario B: Doctor informs woman she is pregnant. Woman requests abortion. Dr. refuses, notes that the woman has had 2 already. She informs the Dr. she knows where she can procure one and intends to do so. Dr., as mandated reporter, informs authorities. Is unborn child then placed in protective custody? If not, why not?

Just what do the bishops foresee once R v. W is overturned? All I ever get to these questions is vague and evasive answers...or, just silence. Moralizing is easy. Legislating morals is not so easy.
Elohist
4 years ago
Dear Deacon:
Calm down. The issue is whether or not Catholic doctrine is binding on non-Catholics. Moreover, refusal to overturn the government that is made up of non-Catholics is not cooperation in abortion. Your thinking is confused and I suggest you consult Prof. Kmiec who seems to have better grasp (and the degrees to teach authoritatively about the legal issues) of what is at stake.
Casey
4 years ago
Just when you thought the Dems could no deeper on the right to kill the unborn, Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a Sunday Show 8-25-08 spoke for the Catholic Church saying,"The church is in debate on when life begins".

How can Catholic's keep supporting these immoral elites.
Ed Burke
4 years ago
I agree with Senator Biden. The issue is clear we cannot condone abortion. The question that is undecided is can we ask the government to jail and punish women, never men, for seeking an abortion knowing full well that many such women are desperate, frightened, and according to Republican led efforts, unable to get government assistance once the child is born, and the mother can not work. It is hypocrisy and unChristian to not equate government social programs to help such women and infants, while professing they should be jailed for seeking, what appears to them, the only other way out, an Abortion. As a Christian, and a Catholic I see Senator Biden's as the more enlightened and Catholic point of View. When we have a nation that is compassionate, and willing to help its most desperate citizens, and let them 'Fend for themselves' when in dire straits, then and only then should be thinking about jailing women for decisions they make about abortion. That day sin't even on the horizon, but it's more possible under a Democart, than it is under what currently passes for the party of Lincoln.
Jarrad
4 years ago
"Genesis 2:7 implies life does not begin until the first breath."

Are you serious? Maybe if your name is Adam and you were formed from clay. And whose breath are we talking about? Your own? Adam got God's breath. And so did the Apostles by the way... And their successors are the ones telling you life begins at conception!

But if consistency is what your after then here it is...

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you,a prophet to the nations I appointed you" Jeremiah 1:5

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