It's a long campaign

Sen. Barack Obama's current strategy of being soft and fuzzy on issues is starting to wear thin with some political observers, but it may be smart at this stage of the game. He's trying to convince us that he is a different kind of candidate, and his outsider status may carry him a long way in this long campaign. My views of Obama the candidate have mellowed somewhat since his lackluster appearance at the health care forum last month. I'm not in favor of being vague on purpose, but I can understand why he's doing it. He's trying to get a broad base of support around the country, and he doesn't want to dilute that support by alienating moderate voters who aren't paying a lot of attention at this point. Trouble is, the experts in the media are already sizing him up. (See David Broder's analysis of "spring training" in my Google Reader page.)

In other news, Rudy Giuliani shared his position on abortion, that he's more or less in favor of the status quo and believes in "strict construction" in choosing Supreme Court justices, meaning he favors a restrictive view of what the federal government should be allowed to do, but doesn't believe a potential justice's abortion stance should be considered. In my view, abortion is wrong, life begins at conception, and the laws of the land should reflect a Biblical worldview. I have said in various contexts that I oppose abortion, but I consider myself somewhat of a moderate on the issue, since I acknowledge that there are some limitations on what a President can do about abortion, so Rudy's comments should make me feel better, right? Well, they didn't. I'm not sure abortion should be the only issue that decides a Supreme Court nomination, but I do think it merits some consideration. Heck, I'm struggling myself in conversations with Mariellen to say that abortion is murder, so why shouldn't a Supreme Court Justice and a President do that kind of soul-searching? Giuliani's exact words as reported by the AP were, "Ultimately I believe it's an individual right and a woman should make that choice," and, "the present state of the law on these issues is not something that I would seek to change." We'll see if he starts to waffle on this issue. I have a feeling he will swerve right in South Carolina when it gets closer to the primary.

I also don't like the cult of personality that has sprung up around Rudy Giuliani, and I don't think we should hand him the Presidency. Obama has "cult-like" status for some people too, but I hope the personality issue doesn't become the only one in the campaign besides money.