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Friday, September 07, 2007
William F. Buckley :: Townhall.com Columnist
Is epiphany running for office?
by William F. Buckley
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Poll
Was the Copenhagen Global Warming Summit Walk-Out a Win for the U.S.?


"... Use background information from the perspective of a master who owns slaves.

"... State the advantages of slavery to the economy of the South. List the conditions that slaves live under on your plantation. Describe your religion and (explain) that, according to it, slaves are in their appropriate place in society.

"... Discuss the benefits that the slaves and the white Southern economy will experience because of slavery."

We have to imagine that there were public men in the age we speak of who, giving thought to slavery, walked into an epiphany of the kind Gov. Romney claims to have walked into in the matter of abortion. Early utterances by Abraham Lincoln were ambiguous in the matter of slavery, and, of course, the principal draftsman of the Bill of Rights was a slave owner.

Isn't it an obligation of some kind, in a society that yields to public discourse for judgments on the law, to permit a contender for high office to change his mind on basic issues without incurring the charge of hypocrite or opportunist?
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About The Author

William F. Buckley, Jr. is editor-at-large of National Review, the prolific author of Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography.

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Reply # 1
Date: Sep 8, 2007 - 12:44 PM EST
Even Solomon needed the gift of wisdom.
My understanding of Mitt's journey is that he and Ann were proud parents of young sons when most young couples were limiting or eliminating the prospect of having children while being full-time students. That decision to have a family while in school shows their priorities and shows respect of human life. (I'm sidestepping the subject of marital birth control as that is truly an individual matter.)

Elected officials take an oath to sustain the laws, even those they personally disagree with. Romney had that on-going challenge to uphold what were on the books without allowing any more encroachment of life to pass his desk without vetoing same. Isn't that correct? Isn't that what he has always explained?

I defend Romney because my adult kids were at Harvard (MBA program) and in the same LDS Stake (geographical unit) as the Romneys. They helped with his campaign for the Senate vs Kennedy. They knew the Romney's on a personal basis over the course of several years - plus their later employment in Boston in the venture capital world. So there were several layers of contact maintained (social, political, religious service, and the venture capital financial world) over a decade. If there were major character flaws, my family would have had hints, at least. None surfaced. And that is my point. What you see is what you get.

Another prolonged "watching experience" was during the Olympics as I lived south of SLC and had an adult daughter volunteer for the Olympics. Her employer gave her the time off. Again, nothing to gossip about. Just the opposite - he gave a gift of patriotism and elegance without excess to the grieving US and to the troubled world.

Mitt is Pro Life.

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Reply # 2
Date: Sep 8, 2007 - 5:57 AM EST
Very Intelligent and Informative
William F. Buckley

You have feed my spirit, banished my doubts and uncertainty with an example that is crystalline clear. No play on words, or thoughts to haunt the mind. Certanty and truth in a fitting example from the past.
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