I’m not defending robocalls as a genre of campagning. Nor am I saying it’s politically wise for the McCain campaign to be spending much time on the “born alive” issue. But I will say this: the language of the robocalls on born-alive is close-to-accurate and that piece of legislation is a legitimate issue for those concerned about abortion policy.
In the taped message, apparently coming to voters in key battleround states, a woman says:
“Barack Obama and his Democrat allies in the Illinois Senate opposed a bill requiring doctors to care for babies born alive after surviving attempted abortions.”
The ad does not say (as many other Republicans have) that Obama “supports” the “killing” of infants. It actually hews pretty close to the details of the proposed law. No, it doesn’t offer Obama’s key stated rationale — that the law already required such medical intervention for babies — and is somewhat misleading that way. Nor does reveal some of the nuance that makes Obama’s behavior seem less egregious.
But that’s probably a bit much to expect, and in any event this ad is far more accurate than others on this topic and others that the McCain campaign has put out.
My full take on the “born alive” bill and Obama here.