Melinda Henneberger
Slate

Marlene Turnbach is a pro-life Democrat from Hazelton, Pa., who twice voted for George W. Bush over abortion. As she told me a couple of years ago when I interviewed her for a book on women voters, “Bush won because all my friends who are Democrats voted for him and put abortion over everything else.”

Though only about 13 percent of those likely to turn out at the polls are true single-issue pro-life voters, I met a surprising number of women, most of them Catholic, who said that they did not expect the Democratic Party to switch its basic position on Roe v. Wade but nonetheless felt increasingly marginalized and unwelcome in the party as dissenters from party orthodoxy on that one issue.

And now? Not so much. With the economy in freefall, abortion opponents afraid even to peek at their third-quarter 401(k) statements suddenly see their way around this obstacle on their road home to the Democrats. In Turnbach’s state, where one-third of all voters are Catholic (and six in 10 Catholics describe themselves as pro-life), pro-choice Barack Obama is nonetheless ahead of John McCain, who opposes abortion rights, by 12 points in one poll and 14 in another.

At a rally in Johnstown, Pa., on Saturday, Sarah Palin all but pleaded with pro-life voters to give her party one more chance to deliver on 35 years of pro-life promises: “In times like these with wars and financial crisis, I know that it may be easy to forget even as deep and abiding a concern as the right to life, and it seems that our opponent kind of hopes you will forget that.” Yet when I checked back in with Turnbach and others, it was clear that for them social issues are off the table, at least for now.

It isn’t that Turnbach’s stand on abortion has shifted any, she says. But her view of the Republican Party’s commitment to seeing Roe overturned has: “Even if McCain does get in, he’s not going to do anything” that would lead to a reversal of Roe. The legality of abortion “is not going to change,” she’s concluded, “and I really don’t think it should be an issue” in this presidential race.

Read more…

It seems to me, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.”  And not just because I’ve written a book called Why Women Should Rule the World, which comes out tomorrow.

Actually, the book isn’t about Hillary Clinton, though I do mention her.  And it’s not really a case for a woman president, though I think that would be great.  Rather it’s an argument that more women in public life makes things better, not because women are the same as men, but often because of the ways they are different.  It’s important to note here that my book isn’t “anti-men.”

I love men.  My father is a man.  I’m married to man.  And I gave birth to a baby man.  I don’t think women should replace men;  I think they should have more opportunities to shape the world alongside men.  What’s more, I don’t think we should create opportunities for women because it’s the “right” thing to do; we should do it because it’s the “smart” thing to do.

Empowering women strengthens the economy.  It makes our government more responsive.  It improves the quality of life for women, children and men.  In short, everybody wins.

Keep reading

Morning Folks!!! A tragic story still unfolding at Northern Illinois University. The Chicago papers are reporting now a 7th student has died and the gunman has still NOT identified. Take a look at Top Stories for the latest…

In Raw Politics…Obama took the day off yesterday to celebrate Valentine’s day, so Hillary took advantage of the air time and began the attacks….AND Mitt Romney endorsed John McCain. I didn’t think they liked each other, go figure!!! BUT make sure you tune into AC360 TONIGHT…Anderson hosts a special Uncovering America: Race, Gender & Politics…

PLUS…gorillas in LOVE…is it What YOU will be talking about TODAY…TGIF!!!

Top Stories
7th person dies in NIU shooting…
A seventh person has died in the shooting, according to DeKalb County Coroner Dennis J. Miller. In addition, he released the identities of four of the victims: Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Westchester; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero; Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville; and Julianna Gehant, 32, of Meridan.

Professor witness to shooting tells his story…
Northern Illinois University grad student Joseph Peterson was about ten minutes from finishing a geology class he was teaching, lecturing from a stage. Suddenly, a tall white man dressed in dark clothing appeared about 40 feet away from him.

Former student kills five…
A gunman dressed in black stepped from behind a curtain at the front of a large lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday and shot 21 people, five of them fatally, then shot and killed himself, said university president John Peters.

Al Qaeda recruiting females for suicide missions…
Al Qaeda in Iraq is recruiting female patients at Baghdad’s two psychiatric hospitals for suicide missions–with the help of hospital staff–according to the U.S. military.

U.S attempt to shoot down satellite…
The military will try to shoot down a crippled spy satellite in the next two weeks, senior officials said Thursday. The officials laid out a high-tech plan to intercept the satellite over the Pacific just before it tumbles uncontrollably to Earth carrying toxic fuel.

Major immigrant smuggling ring busted…
In a case highlighting this city’s prominent role in the smuggling of illegal immigrants across the border, the authorities conducted a series of raids on Thursday, arresting what they said were the leaders of a ring that helped transport hundreds of people to way stations in Phoenix.

Bush & Congress in spy bill standoff…
With a deadline looming, President Bush and congressional Democrats are locked in a standoff over the government’s authority to spy on foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States.

Raw Politics
Clinton sharpens attacks…
Sen. Hillary Clinton on Thursday sharpened her attacks on Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama as she faces what even her supporters admit are must-win situations in Texas and Ohio in the weeks ahead.

John McCain on Larry King Live…
Republican presidential front-runner Sen. John McCain on Thursday defended his statement that U.S. troops could spend “maybe 100″ years in Iraq — saying he was referring to a military presence similar to what the nation already has in places like Japan, Germany and South Korea.

The man behind the Obama message…
Sen. Barack Obama strode into a hotel ballroom filled with expectation one recent Tuesday and declared that his quest for the Oval Office, which “began as a whisper in Springfield, has swelled to a chorus of millions calling for change.”

More signs of Clinton trouble…
In a fresh sign of trouble for Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of the former first lady’s congressional black supporters intends to vote for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, and a second, more prominent lawmaker is openly discussing a possible switch.

Limbaugh no let up on McCain…
Rush Limbaugh took his show on the road this week, forsaking his main broadcast studio in Palm Beach, Fla., for one in Midtown Manhattan. But the change of scenery did nothing to dampen the Republican-on-Republican smackdown he has been waging from afar against Senator John McCain, the party’s likely presidential nominee, whom Mr. Limbaugh considers too moderate.

Crime & Punishment
Man questioned in therapist shooting…
NYPD investigators on Thursday questioned a man in Pennsylvania in the slaying of a psychologist hacked to death in her office with a meat cleaver, law enforcement officials said.

Keeping Them Honest
Accidental suicides…
There have been at least three accidental drug overdoses and four suicides among soldiers in special units the Army set up last summer to help war-wounded troops, officials said late Thursday.

F.D.A brokes its own rules…
The Food and Drug Administration violated its own policies when it approved for sale a crucial blood-thinning drug without first inspecting a Chinese plant which, along with a plant in Wisconsin, made the drug’s active pharmaceutical ingredient.

What YOU will be talking about TODAY
Gorillas in a trist…
Leah and George aren’t star-crossed lovers caught in mid-tryst. They’re western gorillas in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, observed by primatologists whose interest is far more scientific than it is prurient.