And Now On Abortion

On CNN on September 4, regular contributor Paul Begala started to tick off a list of issues on which John McCain has radically changed position, including abortion. Host Campbell Brown, upon going to a commercial, stopped Begala to assert that McCain has not switched on abortion. With almost no time before CNN went to break, Begala could only say that his upcoming book would describe McCain's apparent conversion.

Ontheissues.org has an excerpt from an appearance the Arizona senator made on May 13, 2007 as part of the "Meet the Candidates" of Meet the Press. Check out the convenient switch:

Q: In 1999, you said, "In the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe vs. Wade, which would then force X number of women in American to undergo illegal and dangerous operations."
A: That was in the context of conversation about having to change the culture of America as regards to this issue. I have stated time after time after time that Roe v. Wade was a bad decision, that I support the rights of the unborn.
Q: If Roe v. Wade was overturned during a McCain presidency, and individual states chose to ban abortion, would you be concerned that, as you said, X number of women in America would undergo illegal and dangerous operations?
A: No, I would hope that X women in America would bring those children into life in this world, and that I could do whatever I could to assist them. Again, that conversation from 1999, so often quoted, was in the context of my concerns about changing the culture in America to understand the importance of the rights of the unborn.

John McCain in 1999 said that he opposes the repeal, now or in the future, of Roe v. Wade. In 2007 the same guy criticized Roe v. Wade. On abortion, as on so many issues, John McCain has switched his position for political expediency. "Country First," indeed.