Newt: Media never asked Obama about 'infanticide' - except it did (UPDATE: Or did it?)
Comments (60) By ALEXANDER BURNS | 2/22/12 8:55 PM EST
Surprise! Newt Gingrich is attacking the press.
Coming out of the debate’s first break, CNN moderator John King read off a question: What are the candidates’ views on contraception?
As the audience booed, Gingrich assumed a familiar role — talking over Mitt Romney and winding up for a denunciation of the mainstream press.
“There is a legitimate question about the power of the government to impose on religion,” Gingrich said, delivering this accusation: “You did not once in the 2008 campaign, not once did anybody in the elite media ask why Barack Obama voted in favor of legalizing infanticide.”
The reference was to Obama’s vote in the Illinois state Senate against a measure banning late-term abortions. The audience cheered and neither King nor Gingrich’s opponents challenged the assertion.
But of course, Obama was asked about the vote during the 2008 campaign. It was a major source of criticism. Only one example is this interview Obama gave to “Fox News Sunday” in April of that year, during which he explained his views like so:
On an issue like partial-birth abortion, I strongly believe that the state can properly restrict late-term abortions. I have said so repeatedly. All I've said is we should have a provision to protect the health of the mother, and many of the bills that came before me didn't have that.
Not that that will take away from Gingrich scoring points by attacking the hated media …
UPDATE: A couple of conservative readers suggest that I may be wrong in razzing Gingrich on this, as his point likely referred to this legislation specifically, rather than late-term abortion in general. Obama may or may not have been asked about that during the 2008 race.
Read more about: Arizona, Debates, 2012 Elections
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