Big Lies: Obama on Ayers, born-alive bill

posted at 8:30 am on October 16, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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In presidential debates (and campaigns), candidates usually try to put their policies and records in the best possible light.  The spin usually focuses on the positive aspects of these points to the point of hedging the entire truth, but flat-out lies are pretty rare.  Last night, Barack Obama treated us to two of them, and not surprisingly, on the two most controversial points of his record.

The first was subtle, and unless you paid attention to the split screen, you may have missed it.  John McCain, after being asked about William Ayers, noted that Obama had launched his campaign in Ayers’ living room:

MCCAIN: Well, again, while you were on the board of the Woods Foundation, you and Mr. Ayers, together, you sent $230,000 to ACORN. So — and you launched your political campaign in Mr. Ayers’ living room.

OBAMA: That’s absolutely not true.

MCCAIN: And the facts are facts and records are records.

OBAMA: And that’s not the facts.

Unfortunately for Obama, those are the facts, both about Ayers and ACORN.  Obama paid ACORN over $800,000 this summer for GOTV efforts, which Obama now denies, although he did finally admit that he represented ACORN as an attorney in a lending-practices case.  Obama did launch his career at a party hosted by Ayers, which is such a matter of public record that I’m frankly surprised he bothered to deny it.

The next big lie came during the debate on abortion.  McCain pointed out Obama’s radical positions on the issue, including his repeated opposition to the Illinois version of the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act.  Obama responded with a series of lies:

There was a bill that was put forward before the Illinois Senate that said you have to provide lifesaving treatment and that would have helped to undermine Roe v. Wade. The fact is that there was already a law on the books in Illinois that required providing lifesaving treatment, which is why not only myself but pro-choice Republicans and Democrats voted against it.

During that period, the Attorney General reported that the practice of abandoning infants born alive during late-term abortions was not covered by the law.  Jill Stanek and others testified to the practice, and the Illinois Senate heard testimony that suggested that as many as 20% of all late-term abortions resulted in a live birth.  Obama lied about the circumstances of the bill; the reason it was being proposed was because existing law was ineffective at protecting infants born alive.

And the Illinois Medical Society, the organization of doctors in Illinois, voted against it. Their Hippocratic Oath would have required them to provide care, and there was already a law in the books.

There wasn’t a law on the books, and who would be surprised that the people performing the abortions and leaving the children to die wouldn’t want more oversight to prevent that practice?

You can read my previous posts on the subject:

• Infanticide, revisited
• Yes, we can … elect a guy who votes for infanticide
• There are a lot of things above Obama’s “pay grade”
• Team Obama acknowledges infanticide lie
• Obama camp: He only voted against that born-alive abortion bill because it might actually have an effect
• Obama’s support for infanticide breaks into mainstream media
• Obama: Bill unnecessarily burdened doctors with … babies; Update: AOL Hot Seat poll added
• McCarthy: Obama’s moral failing on infanticide
• Obama’s ad lies about infanticide vote

Obama voted against the bill that would have protected infants born alive even after the “neutrality clause” he demanded was added to protect abortion in Illinois.  That is the truth in this case, and Obama lied last night to the American people in an attempt to hide his radical position on abortion.

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