• Christianity,  Politics

    Illegitimate Responses to Illegitimate Rape Remarks

    I have been out of pocket this week and until now unable to comment on the controversy surrounding Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks about rape. As a result, much of what needs to be said in response to this enormous gaffe has already been said by others. Nevertheless, I would add one observation to the discussion that has been bugging me all week. I have been disappointed by Republican responses to Akin that are driven more by politics than by pro-life principles. Over and over, I have seen politicos trying to dissociate the Republican presidential nominee from Akin’s “illegitimate rape” remarks by emphasizing that Mitt Romney supports abortion rights for women…

  • Politics

    Paul Ryan on Marriage and Abortion

    NBC News is reporting that Rep. Paul Ryan will be announced as Mitt Romney’s VP pick tomorrow. I suppose this could be a head-fake, but NBC says that it has confirmed it. For now, I’m going with NBC’s report. Most people who know Paul Ryan for his wonkish mastery of economic policy. He put forth a serious and controversial plan to balance the federal budget and rein-in entitlement spending. It eventually passed in the house but died in the Senate. Although the plan was controversial, many conservatives loved it and admired him for his boldness. He looks like a boy, but he’s the man with the plan when it comes…

  • Politics

    An Unscientific Postscript on the Iowa Caucuses

    The Iowa caucuses are over, and Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee are the winners. A couple of items are worthy of note after tonight’s results. First, Obama emerges as the first viable African American candidate for President in the history of the United States. At least he seems viable, and that’s a big deal. Second, Huckabee, who was outspent 20 to 1 by Mitt Romney, came out of no-wheres-ville and is now a front-runner for the Republican nomination. (I’m wishing I would have taken the trouble to shake his hand when I saw him last summer and snapped this picture.)

  • Politics

    The Most Viable Candidate for President

    The editors of The National Review have decided to endorse Mitt Romney as their choice for the next president of the United States. They raise a number of issues in their editorial that I think all serious voters need to consider. But their stated criteria for endorsing a candidate is very clear: “Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate.”