“That’s Above My Pay Grade”
Barack Obama and John McCain appeared together before religious leader Rick Warren to talk about issues that matter to those of faith (supposedly).
As is well know, both men try to ‘win’ this vote by appealing to the voters time and again.
It could very well be that Obama has just lost a cause he already lost when he started to pursue it; when asked when a baby gets “human rights” he responded with “whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.”
McCain answered far more forcefully and convinced. They begin “at the moment of conception … I have a 25-year pro-life record,” he said.
The debate will undoubtedly give many people the impression that Obama has, quite simple, not though much about this issue. Those who are truly religiously interested in this subject cannot help but think about this question and come up with an answer. Not being able to answer it is a sign that one does not know what to think. This is strange if one takes a strong public position on the issue nonetheless.
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"Above my pay grade" struck me as an odd response for someone seeking the highest policymaking job in the world. McCain’s response was too simplistic for me (I would love for someone, ANYONE in politics to acknowledge the genuine moral dilemmas inherent in abortion policy), but I suppose it was well-selected for that particular audience.
The main stream media has steadfastly refused to ask Obama any difficult questions leaving the public in the dark regarding his true positions. It is ironic that it took a pastor to finally ask those difficult question in a venue that afforded the American public a glimpse into Obama’s underlying values. It is disappointing that when those difficult questions were aired, they were above Obama’s pay grade. What a clear demonstration of lack of judgment! Thank you Pastor Warren. Clearly there is a major role for the Church in Politics!
I’m still shocked that a pastor can get both candidates to agree to do a show where they answer direct hot issue questions.
Anyway, I think Obama was simply trying to put two positions for the same question. Trying to sound neutral as possible and confuse people about his stance on the issues. It just won’t work, and he would be better off just doing whatever it takes to get the Democratic vote
It probably would have been better for him to say either, "I can’t decide this for all Americans" (which might sound as wishy washy as the answer he gave) or "abortion legality should be left to the states" like he did with gay marriage. Though, that might not be quite representative of his true position if he’s had a lot of positive votes on federal funding of the practice (I need to check on this).
Considering he’s a liberal, I think he completely distanced himself from the gay community. He flat out rejected them… He said "Marriage is between a man and a union. And it’s a sacred union" (to appeal to religious).
So that is just a flat out rejection letter to the gay community, I wonder what will be the backlash.
The problem with Obama’s answer isn’t that it’s nonsensical or silly–it’s most assuredly not–but that the phrasing itself was flip and shallow and indicated indecisiveness.
McCain could answer it quite safely with a solid affirmative sound bite because, given the current composition of Congress, there’s pretty much no chance he could do much about it as President, and because no one expected any different answer from him. Obama needs to learn that a quibbling non-answer (even when realistic) is something that may play well in a Congressional run but does not play nearly as well in a Presidential run.
But he is shooting to be in that pay grade
No he’s not, he’s not shooting for the position of becomeing a deity of some sort, he’s a human, and humans wrestle with the question of when life begins. whatever gods exist, if any do, probably don’t have that issue