Cain's Choice Words

Herman Cain says he's "100% pro-life. End of story." This tweet was in response to the reaction to his interview on Piers Morgan's CNN show where he said, "I believe that life begins at conception. And abortion under no circumstances" ... until he was asked about what his reaction would be if he had a daughter or granddaughter who became pregnant by rape. His response was interesting:

CAIN: [I]t comes down to it's not the government's role or anybody else's role to make that decision. Secondly, if you look at the statistical incidents, you're not talking about that big a number. So what I'm saying is it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make. Not me as president, not some politician, not a bureaucrat. It gets down to that family. And whatever they decide, they decide. I shouldn't have to tell them what decision to make for such a sensitive issue.

Steve Benen noted, "there's a category for candidates who may be personally opposed to abortion, but who wouldn't use the power of the state to impose their opinion on the nation. They're called 'pro-choice' candidates." Or, at the least, candidates who are in touch with reality.

Mr. Cain's libertarian view that government has no business telling women what to do with their bodies is not part of the right-wing dogma: government is a horrible burden, it's perniciously intrusive, and it has no business telling us how to live our lives...unless it's doing it to people they don't like.

"End of story"? If Mr. Cain means his ride atop the GOP polls, he's probably right.