In a recent interview between Cindy McCain and Katie Couric, one finds the following exchange:
Katie Couric: Abortion has suddenly become, again, a hot button issue, because of [Gov. Palin]. … Where do you stand on abortion?
Cindy McCain: I’m pro-life, I’m on the record as being pro-life, like my husband.
Katie Couric: So, do you oppose it even in the cases of rape and incest?
Cindy McCain: No.
Katie Couric: No? So, that’s where you two differ?
Cindy McCain: Uh-huh [affirmative].
News reports on this exchange have tended to focus on the differences between the two on the subject of abortion. From my perspective, however, the newsworthy fact here is not the limited disagreement between Gov. Palin and Ms. McCain on the subject of abortion, but there general agreement. While Republican politicians have tended to be at least nominally pro-life, this has not been true of their wives, who often are supportive of abortion rights (and who, it has been theorized, have made life difficult for their husbands when they try to act on the issue). In fact, if I’m not mistaken, Ms. McCain’s statement means that, should her husband win election in November, she would become the first First Lady since Roe v. Wade who was not in favor of that decision.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In