Bob, I was interested to see that Axelrod said, “They omitted mention [of abortion] in their ‘pledge,’ and I think that was telling.” I know the Axe is a busy man, what with fundamentally transforming America and all, and I’m sure he doesn’t have much time to read things like Republican pledges. But I have just checked the Pledge, and, using this new-fangled “Find” device, found this:
We will permanently end taxpayer funding of abortion and codify the Hyde Amendment.
And,
Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to using tax dollars to pay for abortion, and the executive order issued by President Obama in conjunction with congressional passage of the health care law is inadequate to ensure taxpayer funds are not used in this manner.
And (pardon the repetition, but I’m just being thorough),
We will establish a government-wide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion and subsidies for insurance coverage that includes abortion. This prohibition would go further and enact into law what is known as the Hyde Amendment as well as ban other instances of federal subsidies for abortion services. We will also enact into law conscience protections for health care providers, including doctors, nurses, and hospitals.
The Pledge has a section titled “Abortion.” For a document that omits mention of abortion, the Pledge mentions it rather a lot.