- An unlikely Obama endorsement
This one is a real surprise - Doug Kmiec, law professor at Pepperdine University, but better known as a former constitutional legal counsel to two Republican presidents. Over the years, he's also been a frequent conservative talking head (especially during the Clinton impeachment). "No doubt some of my friends will see this as a matter of party or intellectual treachery. I regret that, and I respect their disagreement," he writes in Slate.com. Endorsements are not that big a deal in today's politics, but Republican defections to Obama - certainly public ones- have been rare.
I believe him to be a person of integrity, intelligence, and genuine good will. I take him at his word that he wants to move the nation beyond its religious and racial divides and that he wants to return the United States to that company of nations committed to human rights. I do not know if his earlier life experience is sufficient for the challenges of the presidency that lie ahead. I doubt we know this about any of the men or women we might select. It likely depends upon the serendipity of the events that cannot be foreseen. I do have confidence that the senator will cast his net widely in search of men and women of diverse, open-minded views and of superior intellectual qualities to assist him in the wide range of responsibilities that he must superintend.
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As a Republican, I strongly wish to preserve traditional marriage not as a suspicion or denigration of my homosexual friends but as recognition of the significance of the procreative family as a building block of society. As a Republican and as a Catholic, I believe life begins at conception, and it is important for every life to be given sustenance and encouragement. As a Republican, I strongly believe that the Supreme Court of the United States must be fully dedicated to the rule of law and to the employ of a consistent method of interpretation that keeps the court within its limited judicial role.
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In various ways, Sen. Barack Obama and I may disagree on aspects of these important fundamentals, but I am convinced, based upon his public pronouncements and his personal writing, that on each of these questions he is not closed to understanding opposing points of view and, as best as it is humanly possible, he will respect and accommodate them.
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| 05:00 PM Mar 24, 2008 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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