Posted by
Mike on Friday, January 09, 2009 9:43:19 PM
History has a way of repeating itself, and if we don't learn the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
McCain's fatal mistake was in forbidding his vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin to address the pro-life gathering in Minneapolis at the time of the Republican Convention.
Abortion is a grave moral evil. McCain received bad advise from his campaign handlers and tried to minimize the issue and sweep it under the rug. Think of what would have happened had not Abraham Lincoln come out forcefully against the spread of slavery into the territories in 1860. Instead, Lincoln chose to face the issue. In fact, we learn from history that this was his overriding issue throughout most of his life.
Ronald Reagan began his political career as being halfheartedly pro-choice. I remember as a high school student in California the day that he signed legalized abortion into law. I cannot say that I was always pro-life. In my college days, I was led into error by the libertarian point of view. Reagan was a libertarian who reversed course when he understood the centrality of the right to life to preserve our liberty and democratic way of life.
It is never easy to say whether one decision could have changed an election.
Could Abraham Lincoln have beaten Stephen Douglas if Lincoln had swept the slavery issue under the rug in 1860? Probably not.
Could Reagan have won had he not campaigned strongly pro-life in 1980?
The lesson of history is that Americans do not vote for candidates who avoid important issues.
Could McCain have won had he given Sarah Palin the chance to address the Minneapolis-St. Paul conference last year, and then go on from there with enough latitude to force the life issue with Obama and Biden? I think so.