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Keep reaching, keep working, keep fighting

Nov 7, 2012

By Dave Andrusko

Last night, having won a second term, President Barack Obama delivered the kind of conciliatory speech that has been conspicuous by its absence not just through this election season but throughout his divisive four years in the Oval Office. In a moment I’d like to quote from those remarks to draw lessons the President surely did not intend to make.

Let’s be both clear and fair. President Obama narrowly defeated Mitt Romney because of a host of factors. Collectively they prove yet again not only that Obama is a superb campaigner but, politically, the luckiest man on the face of the planet.

You combine amazing good fortune with an incredible voter identification/get out the vote enterprise and you have the formula for winning when you have no business prevailing.

Back to our single-issue perspective. The President ran on arguably the single most transparently bogus idea to muddy the political waters in decades: that Republicans in general, pro-life Mitt Romney in particular were waging a “war on women”—aka daring to be pro-life.

We will be told incessantly that Obama’s support for abortion on demand was crucial to winning the women’s vote. After all, his margin was 55% to 44%, according to CNN’s exit poll. Case closed, right?

The truth, in fact, is far different, nuanced, and utterly counter to the media narrative.

There are probably three people in America who bothered to notice that Mr. Obama was crushed among white women, who made up 38% of the electorate: 56% went for Mr. Romney, 42% went for Mr. Obama.

Obama’s 11 point advantage among women was provided entirely by women of color—96% of African Americans, who made up 8% of the electorate, voted for him; 76% of Latino women, who made up 6% of the electorate, did likewise.

No one with eyes to see can argue that abortion accounted for Obama’s advantage among women.

In light of Tuesday’s stinging loss for pro-lifers, it may seem paradoxical to quote from Obama’s remarks last night but please stay with me.

President Obama said

“What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations.”

No doubt it did never, could never, cross the President’s mind that it is our failure to recognize that we “have certain obligations to one another and to future generations” that makes possible the deaths of 1.2 million of our fellow Americans each and every year. And whether that little one is “planned” or “perfect” or neither, ethical obligations of the highest order accrue.

Mr. Obama also said this later in his speech:

“I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.”

Over the years the President’s misuse of “hope” has almost been enough to give a great idea a bad name. But in this sentence he unintentionally gave us our marching orders.

Hope means looking at the seemingly impossible and saying, “That may take a while to accomplish, I better get back to work.”

Hope means there are many kinds of “evidence,” and that election returns, while hugely important, is not the evidence that matters most. What will ultimately carry the day for the unborn is the evidence of your faithfulness, especially when you and I are tempted to be discouraged.

And finally, hope means a kind of stubbornness, yes, but one that is grounded in the sure knowledge that our cause is just and that we WILL prevail provided “we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.”

Thank you for all you’ve done. Thank you in advance for all that you will do.

Categories: Pro-Lifers