Tim Ellsworth

Michael Gerson writes in the Washington Post about Barack Obama’s extremism on abortion.

Hat tip: Denny.

Great quote from Attorney General Michael Mukasey, when asked about the profiling of Muslims:

Mr. Mukasey said that tactic is not used at airports. However, he used blunt language to defend extra scrutiny the Justice Department gives to militant Islamic groups.

“So far as focusing investigations, we investigate where the threat is coming from. The threat is coming from Islamist extremism. It’s not coming from Calvinism,” the attorney general said.

Douglas Groothuis writes about the “fetus fatigue” that has taken its toll on millions of evangelicals.

It appears that millions of evangelicals, especially younger ones, are experiencing fetus fatigue. They are tired of the abortion issue taking center stage; it is time to move on to newer, hipper things–the sort of issues that excite Bono: aid to Africa, the environment, and cool tattoos. Abortion has been legal since they were born; it is the old guard that gets exercised about millions of abortions over the years. So, let’s not worry that Barak Obama and Hillary are pro-choice. That is a secondary issue. After all, neither could do that much damage regarding this issue.

Evangelicals (if that word has any meaning), for God’s sake, please wake up and remember the acres of tiny corpses you cannot see. Yes, the Christian social vision is holistic. We should endeavor to restore shalom to this beleaguered planet. That includes helping Africa, preserving the environment, and much more. However, the leading domestic moral issue remains the value of helpless human life.

Hat tip: Denny Burk

Rick Santorum has an op-ed piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer in which he examines Barack Obama’s voting history on the issue of partial-birth abortion.

Let’s be clear about what Obama did, once in 2003 and twice before that. He effectively voted for infanticide. He voted to allow doctors to deny medically appropriate treatment or, worse yet, actively kill a completely delivered living baby. Infanticide - I wonder if he’ll add this to the list of changes in his next victory speech and if the crowd will roar: “Yes, we can.”

Hat tip: Justin Taylor

Mary Matalin doesn’t like the fact that Mike Huckabee is still in the race.

Matalin admits that Romney still faces an uphill battle against McCain for the Republican nomination. But his primary obstacle is the sinking Mike Huckabee, whose presence in the race Matalin finds questionable. “Rich Lowry has said that Huckabee has a man crush on McCain,” Matalin said. “If Huckabee got out, Romney could win Georgia, Missouri, and probably Tennessee and Alabama. He could pick up a chunk of California, and then it would be a delegate race.” Huckabee clearly can’t win, so why is he in the race? “Whether it’s a man crush or the promise of a job — I don’t know what his motive is, but it seems to me that it could be less than pure.”

Matalin added that voters need to understand the ramifications of votes for Huckabee. “It’s possible to get out the message that a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain. After all, Huckabee supporters are not McCain supporters,” she said.

A story by NPR reports on John McCain’s stance on abortion, and why some people mistakenly believe that he’s not pro-life.

We must not allow ourselves to grow comfortable with and calloused to this holocaust going on in our midst.

Justin Taylor has an interview with Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, about Roe v. Wade. An excerpt:

The justices who manufactured a right to abortion in Roe violated and dishonored the very Constitution they purported to interpret by substituting their own moral and political judgments for those of the elected representatives of the people. Their ruling was a gross usurpation by the judiciary of the authority vested by the Constitution in the people themselves, acting through the constitutionally prescribed institutions of republican democracy. As dissenting Justice Byron White put it, Roe was nothing more than an exercise of “raw judicial power.” It was not merely an incorrect decision, but an anti-constitutional one.

Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama win in Iowa. John McCain and Hillary Clinton win New Hampshire. Mitt Romney and Clinton win Michigan (although given the situation on the Democratic side, the win for Clinton was much less meaningful).

If anybody tells you they know how the primaries are ultimately going to shake out, they’re full of it.  Nonetheless, if you’d like to make your predictions about the winners, go right ahead. If you’d like to try to convince someone to support your candidate, feel free. I’m still not 100 percent certain who I’m voting for, although I’m probably leaning toward Romney.

My predictions: John McCain and Hillary Clinton.

Kim Riddlebarger has an interesting post about Mike Huckabee and his confusion over his role as a minister and a candidate for public office.

When viewed from the perspective of the two kingdoms, every Christian is simultaneously a citizen of both kingdoms and our theological beliefs should inform how we behave as citizens. But there’s no distinction of kingdoms with Huckabee in a pulpit, and Huckabee’s “soldiers in God’s army” are people who will serve his political cause. In other words, they’ll vote for him and encourage others to do the same. Fine for a political rally. Not fine for a church service.

Hat tip: Larry

Here’s a long, but good, profile piece about Mike Huckabee in the New York Times.

In other political matters, the editors of National Review have endorsed Mitt Romney for president.

Mitt Romney addressed Mormonism, religion and the presidency in his speech today in Texas.

“I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith, nor should he be rejected because of his faith,” Romney said at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, 90 miles from Kennedy’s speaking site in Houston.

“Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin,” Romney said.

He added: “If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause and no one interest. A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States.”

Mike Huckabee is under fire in some quarters for his role in the release of rapist and murderer Wayne Dumond.

Mike Huckabee has moved ahead of Rudy Giuliani in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

According to the poll, Huckabee has the support of 20 percent of likely voters, compared to 17 percent for Giuliani.

Just as significant as the new leader is the amazingly competitive nature of the race. Five candidates are within ten points of the lead and all five could conceivably become the party’s eventual nominee. In addition to Huckabee and Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney are at 13%, and Fred Thompson is at 10%.

I didn’t watch the Republican debate (see the transcript: part 1 and part 2) last night, but there was a question about the Bible posed to the candidates by a man via YouTube: Do you believe every word of the Bible? See the end of part 1 and the beginning of part 2 to read the responses.

In short, Rudy Giuliani said it’s the greatest book ever written, but that he doesn’t believe everything should be taken literally (such as Jonah in the belly of the fish). Mitt Romney said he believes the Bible is the word of God, but that some people might interpret it differently. Mike Huckabee said the Bible is God’s revelation to us, but added that not everything in it should be taken literally.

An interesting exchange, I guess — but as I’ve said before, I don’t think it’s necessary for someone to have a proper understanding of the Bible in order for him or her to be a capable president.

Your thoughts?

Hat tip: Brett