President Obama may have a high approval rating but he’s getting low marks for his decision to reverse one of President Bush’s pro-life Executive Orders. Read below from the latest Gallup Poll:
Obama's decision to reverse the prohibition on funding for overseas family-planning providers may be the least popular thing he has done so far. This was an executive order that forbade federal government money from going to overseas family-planning groups that provide abortions or offer abortion counseling. Fifty-eight percent of Americans disapprove of Obama's decision to lift this ban, while only 35% approve of it. The ban on federal funds to these groups was put in place by Ronald Reagan, but lifted by Bill Clinton. George W. Bush re-instituted the ban after taking office in 2001, but Obama has once again lifted it.
Read more here.
If President Obama really wants to leave a lasting mark during his time in office, tackling the sensitive issue of abortion could be the ticket. It will require the highest form of leadership.
Everybody is talking about the economy and well they should. But let’s face it. It’s easier to agree on a stimulus bill or heck, even a social security reform bill than a bill that truly reduces abortions in this country. The pitfalls are huge. Contraception funding is a must on the left and opposed vehemently on the right. President Obama could come to the rescue and step in to offer a “common sense” bill that is NOT tinged with pro-choice policy tidbits.
If the President truly wants to break down old habits and restore civility and usher in a new way of doing things in Washington, there’s no better place to start and risk some of his political capital than on the abortion issue. Seriously, what tougher sledding is there? Talk about challenges. Done right, President Obama has a chance to do something Presidents before him really have never seriously tried and craft an uncharted legacy in American Politics. A truly bi-partisan abortion bill. His critics say he’s going to be the most pro-abortion President in history. This is his chance to prove them wrong and more importantly fulfill the major campaign promise of bringing civility and a new way of doing business to DC.