Thanks for this post—that really nails it.

I am most saddened by the outcome of the ballot proposals.  Voting for a president can be complicated but with these proposals there are few conflicting issues at play. 

A brief list…S. Dakota can’t pass its anti-abortion measure.  Colorado’s personhood amendment is defeated almost 3 to 1.  Californians will not even accept parental notificaton for abortion with minors.  Michigan allows embryonic stem cell research; Washington approves physician-assisted suicide…life issues repeatedly defeated.

Rebecca, you have written before that Americans are really pro-life—that surveys bear this out, that oppressive rulings like Roe v. Wade restrain our abilities to vote and legislate for life.  After these proposal results, I am having a difficult time seeing this.  I want to believe that the life issue just got “out-prioritized” in the presidential race, but it seems that the passage of these ballot proposals speaks to a much deeper problem: we do not live in an America that wants to limit “personal choice” or severely restrict/outlaw abortion.

It’s been reported that over 50% of Catholics voted for Obama: reflective of the nation.  Despite speculation, I doubt that all of these Catholics have been inadequately catechized or have poorly-formed consciences.  I worry that the polarization we see across the country has split Catholics as well; I have seen it in my own parish.  I worry that this election has left hard feelings between faithful Catholics of different political ideologies.

Still, I am hopeful that we, as Catholics, can unite behind the common cause of life, and work for real change over the next four years.  That we can challenge both parties to protect children, before and after birth.  How can we not?

Yes. You have put into words—beautifully, tragically—exactly what I am feeling.

This is so heartbreakingly true, but thank you for leaving us with hope.

God Bless,
Kate

The number of African American babies aborted in America is disproportionately high.  Planned Parenthood specifically targets minorities by strategically opening their killing centers in low-income neighborhoods with a high minority population.  How very sad & ironic that Mr. Obama ignores these tragic realities.  May the holy & glorious apostle, St. Paul, intercede for the conversion of our new president - for the salvation of his soul & of our nation.

Thank you Rebecca.  Hopefully now that Obama has been elevated to the highest level Office in America, it won’t be above “his pay ” anymore to know when life begins.  We must continue to pray for conversion of heart for Obama, Biden, and our country.

This so well states the way I think many of us are feeling about the election! Thank you!

I ask, by what means did Obama break this barrier?  If the means (his unethical, culture of death policies) do not justify the ends, then this is not a victory.

Our President and our country, especially its most vulnerable citizens, will be in my prayers.

The American people voted Obama into a Democratic state anyway so it’s no suprise that he won - not to mention he’s a very good, convincing speaker vs. McCain who didn’t know how to properly answer questions during the debates last month.

Obama isn’t going to focus on one policy, such as abortion, the next four years - he has many hopes & plans which we should embrace too.  Even though he is Pro-Choice, this doesn’t make him a bad leader.  It’s the women who choose what to do with their bodies; not him…he’s merely stating his beliefs and it’s up to women to decide if they want to listen to him or not. 

If she so chooses to not rear the child, she should give it up for adoption as there are thousands of couples wanting to adopt.

However, majority has ruled and I believe Obama will do a well enough job to serve our country.

I am with you Mia. I do get very tired of the despair surrounding Obama, as if once he is in office, abortions will skyrocket and the world will be turned upside down. The “culture of death” comments seem very extreme and dramatic to me.

I believe he stands for a lot of good and also believe that his views on social issues and plans to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place are very in line with Catholic and Christian ideals.

Your post really nailed it. I was overwhelmed by the emotions election night also. I explained to my daughters that he is our president now and we should accept that. But also, more importantly, we need to pray for him. Not just for his safety and decision making - but for his soul.

Thank you for this. You have completely captured my conflictedness about all this.

God bless my American cousins (Canuck, here.) Let’s pray for the conversion of this president-elect to the pro-life cause.

What a tragic irony that we elect a person based on the color of their skin to disprove the notion that we care about the color of their skin!

I wish I could see triumph in this election.  It is just as bigoted, however, to elect an individual because of the color of their skin as it is not to elect them for that reason.  Given the delight of the American people in spectacle and the extreme positions of this particular candidate, I see nothing to disabuse me of the notion that our president elect was elected because of his race not in spite of it.

I am extremely troubled by the comments that Obama was elected only because of his race.  We can celebrate his victory as historic without attributing his win to race.  Yes, black voters overwhelmingly supported Obama.  But exit polls have shown that, as an electorate, other issues (economy, Bush’s unpopularity) held sway.

Obama won my state by double digits; 70% of people in my county voted for him.  I know of no one whose vote was cast for race.  Were they happy to vote for a black man?  Sure.  It’s the icing on the cake.  But he won their votes because they believe he will be a great President.  We can disagree with people’s reasons for supporting Obama without assuming that race motivated their decisions.

(There are two commenters named Laura on this thread, by the way.  I’m the one from comment 2.)

Thank you, Laura.

I think we start getting uncharitable when we make this about race in the “Oh! How could he win! It’s just because he’s a minority!”” sense.

Let us be Catholics above all.

My exact feelings on Obama’s election. What a crying pity that someone so obviously educated, even-tempered, and apparently thoughtful should be so radically hostile to the unborn, esp. when so many of those unborn might have grown up to vote for him! (And not because of race.)

It is hard to be optimistic. And whoever said that Obama’s ideals and aims are consistent with Christian teaching is simply wrong. This man voted against the Born Alive act, which means that if a baby survives an abortion, Obama supports leaving that poor infant to die, weeping and naked, in a trash can. And that’s not exaggeration. That’s what happens.

Our first African American president. I wanted to be drinking champagne. But it’s just too bitter a victory.

THANK YOU Laura #15!  You are *so right* that Barack Obama was *not* elected only because of his skin color.  He was elected because the American people believe that he is better fit to run our nation than John McCain.

To say that President-Elect Obama won just because he’s black is not only a huge insult to him, but also to the people of this country.  What an insult to their intelligence!  The American people are better than that, and I wish we as Catholic Christians would treat them as such.

Now is the time to get your senators and local rep in DC on your speed dial.  “Change” happens when the congress allows it(for the most part).  So, keep informed and stay ON your reps!  They work for you!

Thanks for writing this. I felt the same way. “Bittersweet” doesn’t cut it.

I agree with Laura#2 that the state-level amendments were where real change could happen, and happen immediately.  A vote for president has a much more hypothetical possiblity for good.  But these state constitutional amendments could have done an enormous amount of good and they were solidly out-voted.  I do not know that we can conclude otherwise than to say that the majority of Americans do not want this kind of change. How sad.

And yes to Patricia #5: Margaret Sanger’s “Negro Project” laid the groundwork for the elimination of minority unborn at a much higher rate.  How tragic that Mr. Obama ignores this part of abortion history.

Let’s see, the Catholic Church teaches same-sex marriage is wrong.  Obama doesn’t agree.  The Catholic Church teaches embryonic stem-cell research is wrong.  Obama doesn’t agree.  The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is wrong.  Obama doesn’t agree, in fact he admits he would procure one for his own daughter so she wouldn’t be “punished” by pregnancy. 

I don’t know how on earth you can convince yourself that Obama’s social views are similar to the those of the Catholic Church.

What do you think his plans will be to “prevent unwanted pregnancies?”  Force all of us to pay for even more contraception (which, if you don’t know, is abortifacient, at least most forms) for everyone.  Hmm, yet another area where his views differ from those of the Catholic Church.

Barack Obama came to my city during the primary, and my children and I held signs reading “Abortion Kills Children” outside the venue where he was speaking.  While many white people made offensive remarks regarding our signs, all of the African- Americans who commented on the signs were supportive of us.  Several expressed disappointment that Obama was for abortion.
Then, I read this morning in the New York Times that African Americans vote in California was 70% against allowing gay marriage.  I am wondering if those of us who are for traditional morality need to do more reaching out to the African American community- maybe a political candidate who espouses certain issues that help the African AMerican community and also espouses traditional morality would do very well.

Hi Sibyl—

I just wanted to clarify that I said his social issues align with Christian/Catholic ideals, obviously not his views on abortion. I do realize that I should have replaced “social issues” with a general “some other issues”. In the same vein—

Janet-

Obama opposed the war in Iraq in 2003, which is also when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stated “reasons sufficient for unleashing a war against Iraq did not exist”. That’s a strong Catholic-Obama correlation. His plan on foreign policy looks promising to me.

I think there’s an obvious link between reducing poverty and Obama as well. His plan to create jobs, provide tax relief, promote “responsible fatherhood” and “support parents with young children” are all very Catholic social ideals. (The quotes are from his website.)

We shall see if any of these things come to pass!

Incidentally, I find your tone extremely self-righteous and condescending. It makes people like me (a young Catholic woman seeking out answers) not want to comment on this website, perhaps that was your point.

wow, that was so charitable and well-worded.  If you don’t agree with the views in this blog, you are welcome to read elsewhere!

Laura-

If I came across as self-righteous and condescending, that was not my intent.  I’ll try to do better this time.

The Catholic Church has never come out and said the war in Iraq is intrinsically evil, so in that issue there is room for debate.  Reducing poverty, cutting taxes, etc. are all good things, but I am very skeptical that Obama will actually accomplish any of those.  There is no way he can fulfill all of his promises without increasing taxes.  There is also room for debate on these issues as well, as in how best to accomplish the goals.  I don’t happen to agree with Obama that redistribution of wealth is going to solve problems, I think it will increase them (And no, I am not rich, we are a modest one-income family with 4 little kids).  Did you hear him say in his acceptance speech that everyone is going to have to sacrifice now?  He is already starting to backpedal from his promises.

That being said, those things that are intrinsically evil (meaning always wrong, in every circumstance) are abortion, euthanasia, cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage.  These things should be the primary issues of our times.  I think abortion will be seen as the scourge of our time, as slavery was in the past. 

Bottom line, I respect your opinion of Obama.  I just don’t happen to agree with it.

Just for the record, I am not of the opinion that Obama was chosen solely for his race, nor is that in any way the point of the original post. It’s a genuine achievement on the part of the whole country that these two candidates were taken as candidates and not as emblems of their respective races. That’s a dimension of the campaign we can all be proud of. What a country!

Wasn’t it moving the other day when Sec. of State Condoleeza Rice was brought to tears by the Obama victory? She’s extremely close friends with President Bush and loyal to him, and likely voted for McCain (though who knows?), but she was moved by the moment—as I think so many people are.

To Laura #2 and others worried about the pro-life ballot initiatives. Taken as a whole it’s a devastating result, but the most recent polling still shows that Americans disapprove by large majorities of the vast majority of abortions actually performed in this country.

The ballot initiatives don’t reveal a national mood; you have to examine each on a case by case basis to see what happened. You have to see which side was better funded, what dirty tricks were pulled, what celebrities did ads, what strategies supporters employed, etc.

For example, my understanding is that the Washington State right to die measure was more or less paid for by three billionaires who simply saturated the market with advertising and there was no effective opposition.

In Colorado, I’m not sure what people were thinking; I don’t want to make reckless accusations without doing research, but in such a liberal state, that measure seems like overreach, pure and simple. We have to choose and fight our battles wisely—wise as serpents, harmless as doves.

In Michigan, as in every stem cell battle, the opponents of life hit hard that those defending life are against “science” and not merciful towards the sick and handicapped. That’s a tough fight.

The fact that there were so many initiatives that actually got on the ballot is itself a sign there’s great support out there—it’s no easy thing in most states to get a referendum.

I think people oversimplify the reaction to the historic aspect of our first black president.  I didn’t vote for Obama and having never faced the horror of racism.  I do however believe the almost visceral joy that we see in our black brothers and sisters is justified on a basic level.  Many remember not even being able to vote and even those too young for that memory know the feeling of being suspect just for being black in a white area.  For our country to have come so far in just a couple of generations is truly incredible.  I feel we can acknowledge this while also fervently praying that God changes the hearts of those who don’t value all human life.

I wanted to quickly comment about the pro-life initiatives in some states.  I’m in Colorado where Amendment 48 was among the initiatives.  While it was crushed by voters in the 75% vs. 25% range, I do have hope that many who voted against it aren’t all necessarily against abortion.  Our well known shepherd, Archbishop Chaput of Denver actually did NOT support the amendment.  Based on what I understood, his reasoning was that if the amendment did pass it would call too much attention to the current abortion laws on a national basis in a time of unfriendly politicians who would hands down reaffirm the ruling of Roe v. Wade.  I, of course, can not word it with the knowledge and eloquence that Archbishop Chaput can, but maybe that was a common theme among other American bishops.  I don’t know.  I voted in favor of the amendment because I hadn’t heard that he wasn’t supporting it.  However, had I known, I may have still voted for it knowing it probably wouldn’t pass and having confidence in voting my conscience.

I’m here again! Just wanted to say I’ve been talking about this with my sister throughout the election. I emailed it to her right away.This really resonated with us, and it is actually a relief to have it expressed so clearly.

Janet -

Thank you!! You make some excellent points and have given me food for thought. I really appreciate your viewpoint.

To Lina and others—

I apologize if it seemed I hijacked a Catholic website and began raving about Obama! I do see the rudeness in that and it wasn’t my intention. As a Catholic woman, I just wanted to share my feeling that it isn’t all bad and that all this chatter might just be a moot point until Obama is in office and we can see for ourselves what comes to pass.

Thank you all for sharing with me! I shall now go back to lurking.

It is good to see the charity in this discussion.  The blog is a source of support to be able to share our feelings and not be torn down.  Thanks!

re: Amendment 48 and Bishop Chaput.  Our Archbishop in ATL did not support a similar proposed amendment. The feeling is that these amendments are like to cause a panic.  Unfortunately, although many people, even many Catholics, feel that abortion is wrong…they feel they don’t have the right to tell others that.  They feel it is still a “right” (and the vote in CO showed that).  The fear of the Catholic Church is that many of these people will assume that a fundamental right is being taken away by these types of amendments and they may try to start enacting Roe v. Wade statutes in various states.  This would be devastating to the existing abortion restrctions that have sprung up since Planned Parenthood v. Casey.  Although that case did not overturn Roe as was hoped, it did replace the higher “strict scrutiny” standard with “undue burden,” thereby making these restrictions possible - restrictions which have a concrete impact and saved the lives of millions of babies.

Keep in mind - our bishops are advised by full-time Catholic pro-life attorneys who have made the pro-life cause their life’s work.  We pray that someday when the Supreme Court looks suitable (and that it always dicey…look what Sandra Day O’Connor did in Planned Parenthood v. Casey) AND when restrictions on the state level have risen to the part where Roe has essentially been gutted…that the public will not be so shocked at the idea of overturning Roe.

I’m going to copy and paste a good explanation from the ATL archdiocese.

“The following is a response from Pat Chivers, communications director of the Archdiocese of Atlanta:

The belief in the sacredness of human life is the foundation of Catholic social teaching and the bishops of Georgia are very clear in their recent statement that they will unceasingly advocate for the protection of human life. With expert legal advice in constitutional law and with careful consideration of the goal, potential impact and implications of HR 536, as well as the current make-up of the U.S. Supreme Court, the bishops of Georgia are not supporting the passage of the state human life amendment. A state human life amendment (HLA) is not an effective means to achieve the goal of the legislation to gain full legal recognition of the right to life of the unborn child and bring an end to all abortion.

Since the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court reaffirmed the federal right to an abortion focusing on the woman’s health and her right to control her reproduction. Proponents of the state HLA argue that a HLA will present medical evidence that human life begins at conception and that evidence will cause the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, leading to Roe v. Wade being overturned. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused at least nine times over the past 15 years to hear a case that directly challenges Roe using this same evidence. As recently as Oct. 1, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case on appeal from the New Jersey Supreme Court, Acuna v. Turkish.

If HR 536 passed in Georgia and was passed by the voters of Georgia, its enactment could be interpreted as repealing existing abortion laws in Georgia, such as the parental notification law, woman’s right to know law and the law requiring that an ultrasound be offered to a woman before an abortion. When these laws were considered by the Georgia General Assembly, they were supported by the bishops because they reduce abortions and help to educate others on the negative impact of abortion on women. Recent research published by the Heritage Foundation provides compelling evidence that incremental abortion laws were responsible for the more than 17 percent decrease in abortion during the 1990s. It is a fact these laws are being implemented in Georgia, despite misinformation being distributed by the proponents of HR 536 to the contrary. There may be a misunderstanding by some of the requirements of the laws.

The U.S. bishops have always supported a federal human life amendment and will continue those efforts on a national level, rather than state constitutional amendments. Currently National Right to Life and Americans United for Life are not supporting state HLAs either.

The statement by the bishops of Georgia was published recently because Catholics throughout the state have asked for clarification from their bishops on this piece of legislation and on the misinformation being distributed. We will continue to monitor this bill throughout the legislative process and will offer follow-up information through The Georgia Bulletin.

The state personhood amendment approach has not saved and, in current circumstances, is not likely to save a single life. The bishops of Georgia will support legislation that will save lives.”

And here is quote from a great man from my home state, Henry Hyde.  He never wavered in his fight for life.

“When the time comes as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I’ve often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God - and a terror will rip through your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there will be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world - and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, ‘Spare him because he loved us,’ - and God will look at you and say not, ‘Did you succeed?’ but ‘Did you try?’”

Aileen, thank you for those explanations.

Thanks to everyone for more information on the ballot proposals.  For me, all of this points to the larger picture of the most effective way to carry on the pro-life cause.  This was discussed (ideologically, top-down vs. bottom-up, etc.) in the comments to another of Rebecca’s posts, so it’s not worth belaboring here.  But I’ll say that I looked at the poll numbers Rebecca cites and I am still skeptical of the finding that Americans want to overturn Roe v. Wade.  It depends so much on how the questions are asked and the way the responses are interpreted.  Americans may disapprove of the way abortions are carried out but they don’t seem willing to legislate it.  For a lot people, there are just too many shades of gray.  I do think this is reflected in the ballot proposal results. 

I would be interested in seeing a separate post with practical ideas for advancing the pro-life cause under the Obama administration and Democratic Congress.  A similar situation was faced during the early Clinton years and I’m sure some valuable lessons were learned. 

To do this effectively, though, I think we need to get beyond the assumption that working for life means fighting the Democrats.  I’d like to start by reaching out in charity, by taking Obama at his word that no one is pro-abortion.  Let’s work with Democrats for Life to push their 95-10 Initiative, for starters.  With avenues for legislative change drying up, grass-roots cultural change seems the way to go.

I am a voter in Michigan who voted to pass Proposal 2 and I would like to pass along the actual wording of the proposal:
The proposed constitutional amendment would:
• Expand use of human embryos for any research permitted under federal law subject
to the following limits: the embryos -
■ are created for fertility treatment purposes;
■ are not suitable for implantation or are in excess of clinical needs;
■ would be discarded unless used for research;
■ were donated by the person seeking fertility treatment.
• Provide that stem cells cannot be taken from human embryos more than 14 days after
cell division begins.
• Prohibit any person from selling or purchasing human embryos for stem cell research.
• Prohibit state and local laws that prevent, restrict or discourage stem cell research,
future therapies and cures.

The proposal does NOT “permit creating embryos for the sake of experimenting on them.”  They can only be donated by couples who have them left over from fertility treatments.  However you feel about that is your own business and not the point.  I am writing to clarify that they will not be created just for research.

Before I go to bed I want to say one more thing.  I read a disturbing post earlier in this thread that said something to the effect that Obama will be a good leader for this country despite his extreme pro-abortion views and that it is, after all, women who are responsible for their own choice to abort.  The callousness of that post made me very sad.

Let us not forget that we are called not just to defend these unborn people - but their mothers.  There are many, many women that are tormented by past abortions.  This is why so many parishes have post-abortion support groups.  These women wish deeply abortion had not been a choice.  We, every single one of us, have many moments of weakness and sin.  We all need help!  Yes - they chose wrong - but we all choose wrong!  We are called not just to try to get ourselves to heaven…but to help each other get to heaven.  We need to help girls and women by restricting/removing this choice to abort.  We cannot just abdicate our duty as Christians and say - “well…that was her choice.”  Remember this - “there but for the Grace of God, go I.” 

Obama has promised to sign the FOCA which will remove all restrictions on abortion.  That’s it.  Gone.  And with the Democratic House and Senate - this may well happen.  There are women out their with babies…babies they can’t imagine life without…but that would not exist if not for restrictions such as parental notification.  Girls who were scared - but were forced to tell their parents…and, their babies now live.

I came to this blog via Danielle Bean.  She helps me to be a better mom and better Catholic.  She has made a concrete impact on my life.  We are called to do the same.  Help these women by not letting them do something that many of them will so deeply regret.

I am a voter in Michigan as well, and attempted to make the clarifications that Meghan has made, but was too lazy.  Thanks, Meghan!

I could not vote for proposal 2, though, because although what Meghan says is true, human embryos are precious human life, not to be “used”  in order to obtain a greater good.  This is utilitarianism by definition, and morally wrong.  I have heard of some heroic women who actual rescue these babies (embryos) by having them implanted in their own bodies and born.  Our bishops were fantastic in getting the word out and it was very clear to Catholics that they needed to vote for life in this matter. 

Human embryos to date, have not lived up to the expectations the medical community have, and have not resulted in any great cures for anything.  Stem cells have been more successful.

To That Laura Again

oh that wasn’t to you, i’m sorry!  there were some NASTY comments that got deleted that i was responding to (swear words and all)

i might not agree with everything you say, but i think its been said pretty politely

“Let us not forget that we are called not just to defend these unborn people - but their mothers.  There are many, many women that are tormented by past abortions.”

Yes, Aileen, you are absolutely right.  We cannot stand by and let women make these decisions.  Many times they we are not thinking clearly and cannot “see"the truth.  If you see someone standing in front of a bus, you push them out of harms way. 

There are many dead babies and many grieving moms out there.  Unfortunately, many in the pro choice movement do not want to hear about the regret and pain we are experiencing. Thank you for making that point.

Maryellen (#39) makes the right points: every embryo is a human life and ESCR isn’t working anyway.

But to address the specific objection she & Meghan (37) raise: I appreciate having the precise wording of MI’s Proposal 2 available, but this is the game where bioethics are concerned: make the exception sound reasonable and limited so voters will go for it.

We have to ask ourselves what biomedical and ethical culture is created by whatever ballot measure is before us.

MI’s Prop 2 will encourage IVF doctors to create extra embryos—maybe I’ll be contributing to a cure for Parkinson’s!—and it’ll be presented to couples in the most innocuous way: a box they check that says something like, “yes, I want to contribute my extra embryos to this clinic’s humanitarian program to save lives and prevent suffering.”

The culture created and the net effect will be to create embryos for the sake of research even though the plain language of the measure says otherwise.

Here’s a report done on the measure by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, ostensibly a voter-information group, although the language is pro-ESCR throughout.

http://crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/2000s/2008/rpt353.pdf

The last section, Michigan Impact, is the key. What is the purpose of the measure? To attract firms doing embryonic stem cell research to Michigan. What direction do we suppose Michigan will be lobbied to go once an ESCR industry exists there? And Michigan voters have just given the green light to that.

I don’t want to encourage cynicism, but wherever bioethics measures appear on the ballot, the actual effect and intent is often precisely the opposite of what the plain language says. It’s always good to consult your local Right to Life group whose lawyers will have researched the matter before voting on ballot initiatives.

I posted #21 yesterday.  Thank you to #29 and #33 for their contributions, I was not aware of this.  And thank you Rebecca, for your follow-up comments; I feel a lot more hopeful today than yesterday about the direction of the country.

Janet (#26) wrote: “That being said, those things that are intrinsically evil (meaning always wrong, in every circumstance) are abortion, euthanasia, cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage.”

Don’t forget to add contraception to that list. Abortifacient or not, it too is intrinsically evil.
We kid ourselves if we don’t think it has impacted our society.  Which isn’t to say YOU were saying that Janet—just speaking in general.

I am proud that we have an African-American president.  But I really, really wish it was a different African-American but all the same it is historic and will hopefully end the race-baiting rhetoric that has cause much division and anger in our country.  Nothing is accomplished by hate and division weakens a country as we have seen over the last four years - when people and the media publicly and proudly proclaimed Bush wasn’t their president - as soon as he was elected.  Our divisive within our country has done as much damage to our country’s world image as our policies in Iraq.  I fine it interesting study of liberals vs. conservatives that the 46% who voted for McCain are not doing what the 47% who voted for Kerry did… that is start a civil war to tear apart and disrespect the office of the presidency.  very interesting…

Fantastic article.  Let’s pray for his conversion!  There are several key similarities between Obama and St. Paul:  both were well-educated members of the elite (Saul was a Pharisee, Obama a lawyer and Senator), both had genuine respect and fear for God (Saul was a devout Jew, Obama claims to be a Christian) and both were promoting the persecution of the vulnerable (Saul of the early Christians, Obama of the unborn).  However, with God all things are possible! Obama is undoubtedly a very intelligent man.  Let’s pray that God opens his eyes, heart and mind to the truth of the dignity of all life.

Thank you for this post.  You have put into words so much of what I have been thinking and feeling ove rthe past few days. —I live in SD and spent much time and effort working and praying for the success of our pro-life initiative.  It allowed for exceptions of rape, incest, life and health of the mother… which I do not favor but was willing to vote in favor on the basis of “gradualism”.  It would have saved 97% of the babies who die each year in our state through the evils of abortion.  If passed, it would have been fought in courts… and probably wasn’t timed well for that in light of our new president.  However, I was absolutely DEVastated on election night when I learned that it had failed.  I cried… my children cried… how could people NOT want to save babies?!?  In my county, over 60% voted against.  So, it is my assumption that many of my fellow Catholics voted against.  NOt to mention the countless people who we visited when going door-to-door during the weeks leading up to the election. —- Our opposition (funded greatly by Planned Parenthood) out spent us by over 3 to 1.— Even pro-lifers amoung us (National Right to LIfe) were against this - -  I have come to the conclusion that there needs to be a greater effort made by Pro-life groups to reach out to the community-at-large and educate others about the evils of abortion.  NOW.  We must not sit back and wait for the next critical election.  Especially, because of our newly elected president being so strongly opposed to ending abortions… we must work in our communities and educate others AND pray for our priests - that they preach and teach from the pulpits about the Church’s teaching on LIFE!

God Bless our new President, his family and our goverment.  They need our prayers more than ever !
God Bless our United States of America !

This is even more true now than it was election night.