Barack Obama's comments about how he wouldn't want his daughters, "punished with a baby" got a mixed reaction from Brody File readers. Below is a sampling of the hundreds of emails I received about this:
From Ellen:
Obama misspoke when he inelegantly made that statement. For an elegant man, this is unfortunate. You have been very fair to him, but I think that his opponents will use it to gin up votes.
I have been a supporter of Sen. Obama since he first announced for the Presidency over a year ago. I don't know him personally, but I have been impressed with him and hope to vote for him in November.
Because I follow his campaign closely, I can tell your readers that, although Obama is a liberal politically, he and his wife are personally conservative. They are deeply involved in raising their children to be good and decent citizens and they take their Christian faith and its teaching seriously (definitely better than I do!)
From George:
I think "punished" is the perfect word. No Prom, No college, No marriage to the right guy, every boy thinks you are easy, No respect. If you pull it together, with a supportive set of parents, in 10 - 15 years, (when the baby grows up) you can begin to get on with life. Maybe go to college, get a reasonably good job. But in my experience, PUNISHED is the perfect word.
From Martine:
I commend you for giving some truthful and in depth reporting on Obama´s words. "Punished with a baby"?! I had a baby out of wedlock and I hardly find it to be a punishment. It is obvious when Barack is not fed his words--he has difficulty finding the right ones. It is REFRESHING to find reporters making him accountable for his Unprepared words. Please hold him to the extremely tough standards you have been holding Clinton to for months! Let´s hope it is not too late to give some real reporting of Barack instead of continuing to place him on a pedestal. The reporting on this election is very persuasive to a lot of people--this is for the PRESIDENCY--I wish the media realized that.
From Chima:
Mr Brody, Are you serious? I mean, I thought you were one of the FEW people in the media who did not play this game of mischaracterizing Obama's words or taking them out of context. We and you know what Senator Obama meant when he said he did not want his daughters to be punished with a baby. He was referring to making sure that birth-control options remained available to them, IF they got pregnant. So why on earth are you twisting his words to make it seem like he hates babies or something? This is beyond absurd.
From Bob:
I think this is absolutely disgusting. His considers his daughters to be miracles, but his daughter's children, if conceived out of wedlock to be a punishment. This is typical of liberals and their beliefs on subjects such as abortion, gay rights, etc. As to the report stating that this may not have been a "prepared" statement, it shouldn't have to be a prepared statement! I firmly believe that ALL candidates should NOT be allowed to use Teleprompters and prepared speeches. They need to use a few notes if needed but that is it. Telling the truth like they feel it would be a refreshing change. I believe you heard Mr. Obama tell it like it was for a change.
From Kellie:
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. How can you be punished with a baby? The Bible says that children are an inheritance from the Lord. Makes you wonder about him?
From Sean:
Like you said in your article, it's a long campaign and sometimes you choose words that are unfortunate. He wasn't talking about abortion, rather sexual education, and the notion that a child shouldn't be punished because their parents are too confident in their own abilities. Now, statistically, children who have babies are far more likely to live a life of poverty than those that wait to have kids, so, in a sense, it is a "punishment" to have children at a young age.
From Allen:
I'm prolife, Republican, Christian, father of two daughters, in favor of teaching morality, and abstinence. Sen. Obama's remark can be interpreted various ways. Given his stated support for abortion, even partial birth abortion, he no doubt views "unwanted" pregnancies as warranting intervention of this kind, something those of us with a prolife point of view find anathema. Research indicates abortion is more punishing that adoption. If he was speaking personally about how he would feel if one of his daughters made a mistake, it is easy to see how he would perceive that unwanted pregnancy as a punishing situation for his daughter, not that babies are per se a punishment. Indeed, all children are a blessing. Certainly the Senator was not saying all babies are punishing, even though parenting can be punishing! We can agree to disagree with the Senator about abortion but agree with him the best course if teaching biblical morality and encouraging abstinence until marriage. I think we can reasonably give him the benefit of the doubt concerning this statement.
From Anonymous:
I agree with Obama's remarks. I currently live in a community that refuses to teach sex education, and therefore, this mid-sized city has the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the state of Texas. I think what Sen. Obama was trying to communicate is that we hurt the stakeholders, children, who have sex without protection. We automatically assume that at home children will be taught about the consequences of teen sex. However, what is happening is that the lack of sex education creates a situation in which young people are placed in the vicious cycle of poverty. I think well meaning people have forgotten how policies we create effect the stakeholders in a negative way, which is unethical in my opinion.
From Sarah:
I think his comments have finally crystallized what it means to be pro choice: If you have an unplanned child, you will suffer more from that punishment than you would if you had an abortion.
The one thing Obama is really good at is vocalizing the inner thoughts of his party. And in this case, the inner thought of the Party is "Thank God for abortion, or else we'd all suffer punishment at the hands of our procreation."
From Jack:
I'm not a girl, but i did most of my growing up between the ages of twenty one and twenty five, so i think 'punished' is a fair assessment of what it's like to have a child as a teen. she would not be able to fully explore the possibilities of her potential if she is primary care giver to a child, and by the way, the infant's punished also.
It's a shame that a politician can't just 'tell it like it is' without reporters and pundits ripping every word apart.
From Anonymous:
I highly doubt that Obama misspoke. Life is a miracle. Babies are miracles. I am an OB nurse and have seen hundreds of babies been born, and the magic never gets old. He has a complete lack of understanding about the refusal of people to take personal responsibility for their mistakes and misfortunes.
From Jean:
It's pretty clear that Obama considers babies to be a "punishment" sometimes. Strong, strong words. That says a lot about Obama. Who could ever let such words come off his or her lips without that being in their hearts? I hope the people in this country open their eyes to see the truth about the "golden boy," Obama, who sounds good when his words are scripted, but lets the true Obama show when they aren't, before the election. They are hoping for a savior - but, a savior he is not. He is preaching the same old, same old Democrat ideology in sheep's clothing. A pretty face, with pretty words does not necessarily make a good president. He'd make a great movie star!
From Ann:
The statement by Obama is not offensive. He is merely trying to emphasize that having a baby at a very young age is NOT a blessing.
From Charles:
Obama does well when he sticks to lofty, prepared speeches dealing in generalities. Whenever he gets specific, however, or is forced to respond to a non-softball question, he frequently fumbles the response, and then follows up with an even muddier answer. The Reverend Wright affair is a classic example. His fumbles are more critical than McCain's because he is all show and no substance. As a Republican, I feel that the Democrats are providing us with a gift by nominating their least electable candidate.
From Chris:
Dear Mr. Brody, I was "punished" with identical twin boys. These "punishments" grew up to be university graduates, weekly church attendees and fine upstanding citizens. Would that all "wanted" children achieve the same.
From Russell:
My daughter erred and had a baby out of wedlock almost five years ago. I was "punished" with the most important person in my life, my grandson. I am closer to this beautiful child than any human on earth. We are constant companions when he is not at day care or I am not working. I cannot imagine the world without him. I am unsure about a great many things, but there is one thing I feel strongly about: the answer to a critical error in judgment by a young person is not to murder an innocent baby. There should be avenues for adoption and other recourses. If there is a legitimate threat to the health of the mother, perhaps rape or incest, maybe abortion is appropriate. My daughter changed from being irresponsible to a doting mother. It may well have saved my relationship with her to have this child. He was born shortly after the death of my wife. He filled an enormous void, and it may well be that this little guy kept our family from fragmenting.
From Kris:
If you're a 15 year old girl, and you do something stupid and end up pregnant. It's not a blessing, it is a punishment. It can ruin the rest of your life. Is the baby itself a miracle and precious? Yes. Is the situation dire and punishing for someone that young that didn't plan for it? Most definitely.
I'd think that the majority of teens that have had babies accidentally would agree, it's not winning the miracle baby lottery. It's hard, and sometimes impossible. Even if they give the baby up for adoption, the stigma they feel sticks with them for the rest of their lives. I'm pro-life, but even I realize that these girls having abortions at age 12, 13, 14, 15 are not doing it because they don't value life, they're doing it because they think terminating a pregnancy at such a young age is almost merciful compared to the hardships it would face as the child of a single teen mother, or as a kid in foster care. Now, I disagree with that stance that abortion is better, but. I don't think we need to jump on Obama for being a realist when it comes to the fact that having a child when you're still a child is anything but a hardship at that age. That's what he was talking about. If you just take the words "punished with a baby" out of context, you're doing a disservice for the meaning behind the sentiment.
Comments?