I think it’s safe to say Family Research Council types are not that into this election. From an FRC Action e-mail yesterday:
Not So Straight Talk Express
While the firestorm over gay “marriage” rages on, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has managed to keep a relatively low profile on an issue that is certain to take center stage in the general election. During his visit to California this week, local conservatives hoped he would seize the opportunity to speak openly about the threats posed by same-sex “marriage.” Then he appeared on this morning’s “Ellen DeGeneres Show” alongside one of America’s most popular comedians, who has talked repeatedly about being a lesbian. When a reporter from The Mercury News asked McCain why he took the interview, the senator said, “…People [will] get to see me in a different setting.” Last week, Ellen announced that she and her female lover will take advantage of the court’s decision to marry this summer. Although McCain said that he preferred to talk about “the economy, health care, and national security,” DeGeneres asked some pointed questions about marriage: DeGeneres: “Let’s talk about the big elephant in the room. I was planning on having a ceremony anyway this summer, even though it wasn’t legal, but I feel that at least I get to celebrate my love. And then, it just so happens, I can now legally get married, as everyone should. To me this is only fair and only natural… What are your thoughts?”
McCain: “My thoughts are that I think people should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue.”
DeGeneres: “To me… it feels like when someone says you can have a contract, and you’ll still have insurance and you’ll get all that, it sounds to me like saying, ‘You can sit there, you just can’t sit there.’ That’s what it sounds like to me. It doesn’t feel inclusive; it feels isolated. It feels like we aren’t owed the same things and the same wording.”
McCain: “Well, I’ve heard you articulate that position in a very eloquent fashion, and we have a disagreement. I, along with many many others, wish you every happiness.”
Meanwhile, in Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) camp, a fundraising letter has surfaced from his 2004 Senate campaign in which his wife Michelle advocates for partial-birth abortion. In her words, the federal ban on infanticide “is clearly unconstitutional” and “a flawed law.” She writes, “The fact remains, with no provision to protect the heath of the mother, this ban on a legitimate medical procedure is clearly unconstitutional and must be overturned.” Before signing off, Michelle Obama tells donors that they can “count on” her husband to “keep the Bush team from appointing the Supreme Court justice that will vote against Roe v. Wade.”
I actually was surprised McCain — who we know is not that interested in the issue — said as much as he said, in a hostile environment where he was unlikely to make friends and influence people by disagreeing with Ellen.
Despite the title for the item, the partial-birth abortion notice is a reminder there are real differences in this election. (Differences obscured, Jonah, if McCain picks Lieberman as his veep!)
UPDATE: Here’s the Ellen video: