Today's Political Thought

Satan is having a snowball fight with his minions. The proof that Hell has frozen over: a politician running for President of the United States uttered the following words to a reporter: "I'm not informed enough on that."

I find it refreshing (and almost unheard of) when politicians on the campaign trail admit that they do not have all the facts on an issue, and will have to educate themselves before taking a formal position. Political discourse in this country could only improve if people took some time to learn about the pros and cons of something and gave a thoughtful, considered answer rather than feeling pressured to respond to every question immediately, regardless of their level of ignorance.

I find it less refreshing when the issue that they are uneducated in and will have to research is their own prior stance on a controversial issue.

Here's the scene, as reported on the New York Times website: John McCain (R-Arizona and R-Candidate for President) was fielding questions from reporters on "The Straight Talk Express." The topic turned to AIDS prevention in Africa. Here's the transcript of what followed:

Reporter: “Should U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS?”

Mr. McCain: “Well I think it’s a combination. The guy I really respect on this is Dr. Coburn [Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who is also a physician]. He believes – and I was just reading the thing he wrote– that you should do what you can to encourage abstinence where there is going to be sexual activity. Where that doesn’t succeed, than he thinks that we should employ contraceptives as well. But I agree with him that the first priority is on abstinence. I look to people like Dr. Coburn. I’m not very wise on it.”

(Mr. McCain turns to take a question on Iraq, but a moment later looks back to the reporter who asked him about AIDS.)

Mr. McCain: “I haven’t thought about it. Before I give you an answer, let me think about. Let me think about it a little bit because I never got a question about it before. I don’t know if I would use taxpayers’ money for it.”

Q: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Q: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it.”

Q: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?”

Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”

Now, this is not a question like trade agreements with Latvia, that one could reasonably expect a politician to forget how he might have voted in the past. This is a position on a matter of medical fact--do condoms prevent AIDS or not--and one that underpins the party's platform on several other issues, like the sorts of sex education programs the government funds domestically and abroad for combating a world epidemic. More to the point, they're talking about sex, and the ability for people to have it without dying. Sex is important to us as a species. Without it, we sort of stop existing after a while. People don't (or rather, shouldn't) just forget what their position is on making sex less fatal.

The other thing that gets me about this exchange is his reliance on "supporting the president's policy," and the reporter's insistence on pegging him to whether or not he supports the current administration's policy. McCain is running for president himself; if he's elected, he'll be the one getting to make "the president's policy." I, for one, am far more interested in the policy he would institute himself, rather than his loyalty to the one currently in place.