Thursday, February 14, 2008

Douglas Kmiec   [Ramesh Ponnuru]

I don't think I have ever found him persuasive on any topic—the nomination of Harriet Miers comes to mind—but his Catholics/Reaganites for Obama piece is the weakest effort of his that I have yet read. It is entirely possible, of course, that Catholic voters will back Obama in the fall, for the same reasons that he is likely to win. But the notion that Obama is "Reaganite" because he is an effective public speaker—well, when Kmiec has to preface that comment by saying "don't think me daft," it's a bad sign.

What's most irritating about Kmiec's method is the fact-free speculation that most Catholics—and Reaganites!—must naturally share his sensibilities and reactions. So, for example, Kmiec has a soft spot for Huckabee; therefore there is something Catholic-friendly about him. Never mind that, based on every exit poll and, for that matter, other type of poll, actual Catholic voters have run screaming from Huckabee.

I can't say that this passage was the weirdest bit of Kmiec's essay, but it's certainly odd: "But if either Clinton or Obama would acknowledge the myriad problems associated with a declining population in the developed world and affirm the importance of both having and raising children (and not just punting these duties over to Hillary's 'village'), Catholics could well contemplate a Democratic adoption." He certainly has his finger on the pulse of American Catholics.

Kmiec holds it against McCain that he hangs out with Joe Lieberman and co-sponsored legislation with Russ Feingold. That counts as evidence that he's not a conservative. And therefore we should vote for . . . Obama? There may be a good reason to support Obama, but darned if I can find it in Kmiec's op-ed.

02/14 12:49 PMShare