JUST
PHONEYING IT IN
January
25,2007
Michael
Smerconish
I
HATE TO kick a man when he's down, particularly the president. But here's a
thought on his resolve on abortion.
As
an ex-advance man for Bush 41, I'm convinced that in this president's advance
office, the date Jan. 22 is permanently circled. I see it already blacked out
as "unavailable" in 2008, just as it was in 2001 through 2007.
Unavailable,
meaning not able to attend what will be the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and
the March for Life on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The
president will participate in the nation's premier pro-life event, as he always
does. But it will again be by phone, or satellite or CB radio, or some other
hookup that allows him to be far from the action.
This
year, it was particularly obvious that the president wanted no part of a
firsthand experience. According to the Associated Press, he stayed at Camp
David to not be in Washington when the event occurred, presumably lest he be
asked why he wasn't there:
"Bush
calls the rally each year, usually from distant locations. This year, he
extended his weekend stay at Camp David... to phone the participants from
there."
For
quite some time I've thought that the pro-life community lets itself be taken
for granted by supposedly supportive presidents. David Kuo agrees.
Kuo
is the author of "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political
Seduction." He served as a special assistant to the president in George W.
Bush's White House.
While
working with faith-based and community initiatives, he became disenchanted with
the treatment of evangelical leaders, whom he believed were belittled by the
White House staff.
As
he recently offered his insights, I thought of the annual March for Life and
told him so.
"This
is the most disturbing thing - and that is the White House has done the best,
and the campaign in 2000 did the best, to present George W. Bush as a pastor in
chief to Christians. 'Trust him, he's a Christian...'
"And,
listen, that's fantastic, he is a good Christian man. I want godly men in the
White House. Good Lord, I've seen what happens when it doesn't happen.
"But...
the president... is head of the government, he's the head of the GOP. He has
command of the bully pulpit. On things that are pro-life, for instance, he
should be leading the way.
"How
do you not go down to the Mall on a... day when hundreds of thousands of people
are shivering in the cold simply because they believe that babies have a civil
right to be born?"
I
wondered the same thing about Ronald Reagan. President Reagan never spoke to
pro-life activists in person at their annual rally, either.
Shortly
after his inauguration in 1981, Reagan declined an invitation to address the
crowd. Instead, he invited pro-life leaders to meet with him in the White
House, which they declined to do.
Later,
a March for Life spokesman said no member of the organization had ever met with
a president, and added, "We're glad" March for Life President Nellie
Gray "did not go to the White House. If Reagan wants to meet some pro-life
people, he should have come across the street."
In
1982, Reagan did meet with pro-life activists at the White House. In 1983, he
had Dee Jep-
sen,
White House special assistant for women's organizations, read a letter to those
at the March for Life. In 1984, he met with 30 members of the pro-life
leadership before the march, but again declined to speak to the crowd.
In
1985, after his re-election, Reagan became the first president in the post-Roe
era to address the pro-life marchers - by a phone hookup from the Oval Office.
Reagan addressed them in '86, '87 and '88 in the same way.
PRESIDENT
BUSH is following in the Gipper's footsteps.
Days
after his inauguration, in 2001, President Bush submitted a letter to be read
praising the pro-life community. From 2002-2007, Bush has addressed the crowd
via phone. He has called from events in West Virginia, St. Louis, Kansas and
now Camp David.
When
the connection gets made, the president says all the right things to the
pro-life crowd, but you'd think by now the phoner would seem a bit phony.
Michael Smerconish can be heard weekdays 5:30-9
a.m. on the Big Talker, 1210/AM. Contact him via the Web at www.mastalk.com.