Uncovering the rest of the story in recent TIME poll on McCain and the Catholic Vote

On InsideCatholic.com Deal Hudson writes a blog about a Time article by Amy Sullivan concerning the upcoming election and the Catholic vote. From reading the article it would appear that Time Magazine wants Catholics to believe that they can vote for Obama with impunity and without any constrictions. The writer therefore showcases Doug Kmiec, a conservative law professor, former dean, and well known Catholic who appears “hell bent” on making himself the Benedict Arnold of the pro-life movement.

The article suggested that Catholics were evenly split between McCain and Obama and that such polling did not bode well for McCain. Hudson begged to differ and I would agree although maybe for slightly different reasons.

The story pulls up the old canards and reminds everyone of Pastor Hagee's past anti-Catholic statements, ignoring what one could would suggest was a serious step in the improving Catholic-Protestant relations when conversations between Hagee and Bill Donahue of the Catholic took place this Spring. There is also the typical arrogance of such magazines as Time, suggesting that the priests had better be careful or else.

The story also failed to address some of the reasons that this theory was suspect or any person who thought different from Kmiec. But enough of the bias, I was concerned if there was any truth to the story. After all Sullivan referenced a poll done by Time/CNN and as much as I poured over the story, I could not find any of the details. So I clicked on a cgphic and there on the bottom of the page was the source of the data and the polling organization.

There was the headline. “Catholic Vote Up For Grabs”

It sounded as though Sullivan was right. Then I read the next paragraph.

"John McCain holds a wide 11-point lead over Barack Obama, 42% to 31%, with 26% undecided among likely Catholic voters, according to the latest national Time Magazine Poll, conducted June 18 – 25."

Sullivan throughout her whole article conveniently ignores this bit of data. She does not even mention this part that likely voters support McCain by 11 points.

It is only when polling all those who state that they are Catholic (and that could include a lot of non-practicing Catholics) one getsthe results that the vote is ‘up for grabs.”

So why the slippery reporting.

Why.

Go back to the story’s use of Kmiec. The democrats know that they have to weaken the Catholic vote on the pro-life issue. They know that they cannot attack it straight on or we pro-lifers will just quote Obama as supporting infanticide, Planned Parenthood, PBA, etc.

So the Obama people have decided to dust off Kmiec, quote him as being for Obama and point out how "pro-life" and "Catholic" he is, using the daily mass language, etc.

Next Obama gives a speech on faith based initiatives. The press speaks in glowing terms. Barry Lynn of the ACLU laments Obama’s tack toward the Center and everyone is suppose to believe that he is moving toward reasonableness. Until you read the speech. Until you realize that in Obama’s world, religious and faith based organizations would not be allowed to exercise freedom of speech.

.

Let me quote directly from my friend Hugh Hewitt

Here's the core of Obama:

He's hard left.

He wants the marginal rate on total federal taxes, including his social security tax hike, to immediately rise at least 57% on the highest earners. Obama wants to raise taxes even in a weak economy, though this is a recipe not just for recession but worse. Obama also wants to raise taxes on dividend income and to return the death tax to its highs of eight years ago.

Obama has proposed more than a trillion dollars in new spending.

Obama wants to cut and run from Iraq, with withdrawals of crucial forces beginning immediately upon his entry into office. Obama has never met one on one with General Petraeus and has not been to Iraq in more than 900 days. He is indifferent to the incredible progress made by our troops and the Iraqi Defense Forces and the Iraqi government in the last 18 months.

He supports the decision extending habeas rights to Gitmo detainees and he thinks the most liberal member of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is a great model for future Supreme Court appointments.

Obama supports gay marriage, and opposes the California constitutional amendment to restore marriage to the definition overturned by a 4-3 vote of the California Supreme Court in May. He supports abortion on demand, including partial birth abortion.

Obama has the slightest grasp on history, and routinely makes the sort of errors about basic facts that shock knowledgeable observers, like arguing the Kennedy-Khrushchev summit in Vienna was an example of the benefits of one-on-one diplomacy.

Obama is not a strong friend of Israel. He spent 20 years in a church that was openly hostile to Israel, and he reversed himself on Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel after one day of criticism by Palestinians.

Obama is running a dirty campaign, and the serial assaults on John McCain's service, most visibly by Wesley Clark but by many others closely associated with Obama, is repulsive. These are not hits by independent 527s but by close associates and advisors of Obama.

Michelle Obama's campaign rhetoric has been very divisive, is full of anger and resentment about "moving the bar," and not being proud of the country, and has led to her high negatives with the public.

Obama's close friends, mentors and associates are deeply troubling: the radical pastor Jeremiah Wright, the unrepentant terrorists William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, the convicted swindler Tony Rezko, and now a long line of "public housing developers" who took the money and failed to deliver on promises of safe and secure housing for Obama's poorest constituents.

Obama's judgment on key appointees is suspect, and he has had to fire the head of his vice presidential search team because of ties to the subprime mess and dump numerous "foreign policy advisors" for their hostility to Israel.

Obama's deal with the Teamsters to end federal oversight of the union smells very bad indeed and telegraphs the sort of cronyism we could expect from an Obama Adminsitration. Obama's mentor and real estate partner is Rezko, who helped the Obama's buy their home, a home on which the Obamas received a mortgage that looks to many like a sweetheart deal.

Obama, like the other leaders of the Triple D Democrats --the Don't Drill Democrats-- doesn't care about the price of gas, and refuses every initiative to increase supply and thus bring that price down.

Obama has broken his word on his commitment to public financing of the campaign and to meet John McCain in frequent debates. Obama can't be trusted to keep even high-profile promises he made even only weeks ago.

Away from a teleprompter Obama stumbles and stutters and lapses into a closed circle of cliches that betrays almost no reading or curiosity about the world around him,and a massive ignorance of the war in which we find ourselves. Even when he works from a prompter he says nothing at great length with wonder phrasing but zero substance.

Make no mistake. The national media is going to put an all out push for the election of Barack Hussain Obama. The press and the media hate the Republicans and Bush so much that there will not even be any hint of fairness.

Be prepared. This is going to get ugly.