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Blondesjon's avatar

Who would win an abortion debate between Barack Obama and Pope Francis if they had to debate on behalf of the side they are opposed to?

Asked by Blondesjon (33994points) March 11th, 2014

And why?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

56 Answers

KNOWITALL's avatar

Maybe Barack, because it may be hard for P.Francis to see the other side objectively.

dxs's avatar

What does the Pope say on abortion regarding laws in society?

ragingloli's avatar

Obama, because he is a politician. He can change his position like a prostitute changes sex partners.

ucme's avatar

Whoever is most adept at lying, yeah…work that one out.

BeenThereSaidThat's avatar

The Pope. He has God on his side.

JLeslie's avatar

I have no idea how Obama feels about abortion. I guess he is pro-choice politically.

The Pope would do pretty good probably. The Catholic church is very up on the science. In terms of rule of law for the US, the Pope would have to concede that the US has people with many different beliefs in it. The idea of life at conception has to do with the soul and when it is created, and that goes to faith and religious belief, not science.

creative1's avatar

Barrack would stop his feet and shut down the government if he didn’t get his way but since the Pope could careless I think he would win because he would use his words instead of having a tantrum. However the Pope may swear on accident at Barrack during the debate who knows.

dabbler's avatar

@JLeslie That’s a great point, the pope has much more time to school himself on a core topic like abortion and it wouldn’t surprise me if he knows quite a lot about it from all angles.

The president has a lot of topics he needs to know a lot about, he probably knows plenty about abortion, too, but is less likely to have made a study of the faith-based arguments against abortion rights.

So, as a lark, as an intellectual exercise, I have to bet on the pope to outclass the president when debating for the other side on the abortion issue.

And another good point, @JLeslie, that it’s not clear what Mr.Obama believes on the topic of abortion rights.

So, assuming that Obama is pro-abortion-rights, and that the pope is anti-abortion-rights, Papa Obama Vincit.

SadieMartinPaul's avatar

Mr. Obama is a lawyer, a statesman, brilliant, and a skilled orator. Mr. Francis is a priest in fancy clothes. There’s no contest. Obama would debate and dialect the Pope into a fetal position. It wouldn’t even be a fair match.

Although, smart money’s betting that Obama would behave respectfully and deferentially throughout.

Judi's avatar

I don’t believe Obama is an advocate for abortion as much as he is an advocate for choice. Neither see abortion as some sort of victory or “win.” I have heard Obama say that it should be RARE and safe.
The difference is, pope Francis would curb unwanted pregnancies with abstinence while Obama would curb them with availability of birth control. Which is more effective?

bolwerk's avatar

Abortion would win. Abortion always wins.

ibstubro's avatar

Obama, would give it his all. I’m sure he could eloquently and sincerely advocate either side and relish his victory.

The Pope would probably stand up and say something to the effect of “Why stop with the unborn? We now propose that anyone under the age of 18 may be killed by their mother with impunity, as provided for by standing abortion laws. Thank you, and God bless.”

Which of those arguments would win? I’d probably put my money on the Pope. Obama was largely given the Presidency by the Republicans. The Pope rose to the top on his own merits and machinations.

Cruiser's avatar

Does Barack get a teleprompter?? If not he is toast and the Pope wins!

TheRealOldHippie's avatar

It’s a shame Obama’s mother never believed in abortion.

My money would be on the Pope even though I personally disagree with his stance on the subject. Why? Because he’s much more credible than Obama who is sadly lacking in the credibility department and let’s face it, the Pope’s approval ratings – even among non-Catholics – are no doubt considerably higher than Obama’s 43%.

johnpowell's avatar

@TheRealOldHippie It’s a shame Obama’s mother never believed in abortion.

Really? I’m not known for having the most civilized discourse but surely we can do better than that.

ragingloli's avatar

The pope is the king and protector of child molester priests.
Credibility, ha!

kritiper's avatar

The pope because of the vast numbers of Catholics in the world.

Darth_Algar's avatar

@Cruiser “Does Barack get a teleprompter?? If not he is toast and the Pope wins!”

Ha! I love when people act like Obama is the first president to utilize teleprompters (or, to have the speech written out in front of them in some manner).

ibstubro's avatar

“A mind is a terrible thing to lose.” – Dubya with a teleprompter.

Cruiser's avatar

@Darth_Algar I have yet to see Obama talk intelligently and stoically without TOTUS in front of him. He was also my state senator and I have seen him without his teleprompter plenty and he does not have one original thought. Just calling it like I see it

johnpowell's avatar

And your promoter is Fox News. You are a puppet.

Cruiser's avatar

Fox news @johnpowell has nothing to do with the fact that Obama is nearly illiterate without TOTUS working in front of him. You are not the only one in denial of this reality and I won’t hold that against you.

johnpowell's avatar

I saw Obama speak at the U of O. No visible teleprompter and he was just fine. And really.. Why is a teleprompter a issue?

At least Obama hasn’t started any bullshit wars. Obama is cleaning up the mess your ideally a cumstain president made.

Cruiser's avatar

@johnpowell Here I thought you were slightly intelligent and you resort to juvenile attacks. If you have been in a coma for 5 years I might allow you your comment….but Obama has had over 5 years now to “clean up this mess” and FYI he has actually made it worse. He has failed on all accounts to bring about Hope and Change and I feel bad you cannot come to terms with this reality especially after all this time.

ibstubro's avatar

Not having TV, I don’t know that I’ve seen Obama speak, but whenever I hear him on the radio he appears faltering and uncertain. I always think, “And this is “The Great Communicator??” Politics aside, he Obama couldn’t even hold Regan’s cue cards, from what I’ve heard.

We had better speakers in my Speech Dramatics course in college.

johnpowell's avatar

@Cruiser :: I’m not going to fight with a brick.

Darth_Algar's avatar

@Cruiser “I have yet to see Obama talk intelligently and stoically without TOTUS in front of him. He was also my state senator and I have seen him without his teleprompter plenty and he does not have one original thought. Just calling it like I see it’

And “having an original thought” has exactly what to do with using a teleprompter or not? Name me one modern politician who has an original thought.

Cruiser's avatar

@johnpowell Fight? Again your perception of discourse is bewildering.

@Darth_Algar Just watch any debate or hometown speech by President Bill Clinton and you will have a prime example of not only original thought but also by thought that is backed by facts. Bill drove his speech writers insane by abandoning their talking points and rocking the house with his passion for what he believed in. No one did this better than Bill. I voted for Bill for his ideals and his ability to articulate clearly exactly how he would accomplish what he was promising and for the most part he did despite a partisan Congress he presided over.

Darth_Algar's avatar

@Cruiser

I saw Bill Clinton give a speech in person in 1996. He’s a great speaker sure, but to say he ever had an original thought is stretching it.

JLeslie's avatar

@Cruiser When Obama was first on the national seen and started doing interviews and things more off the cuff I thought it was ridiculous that people went on and on about how articulate and well spoken he was. The guy stutters. He has trouble getting his first words enough of the time when starting a sentence that I don’t see how people don’t see it. Sometimes in the middle of sentences too. I don’t think he is stupid though, he has a law degree, you can’t be a total idiot and get a law degree. I also don’t think he is necessarily unsure of himself or his answers, I think he has a slight speech impediment. I can’t understand why people say anythng about teleprompters when many of our Presidents use them. I know some Presidents were much better than others without them. I vaguely remember a reporter saying Clinton carried on a speech he was giving when the Teleprompter went dead in the middle without missing a beat. I’m sure there have been other politicans who had the same abilities. I also thought people were too harsh about Bush’s pronounciation faux paus.

Darth_Algar's avatar

Honestly I think a lot of Bush’s stammering and faux paus were part of a deliberate act on his part to dumb himself down to make him seem more “down to earth/good ole’ boy” to appeal to the lowest common denominator of his voter base. I’ve seen old interviews with him (like from his father’s term in the White House) and the man is intelligent and articulate when he wants to be.

ibstubro's avatar

^ Contrarian, defined.

Cruiser's avatar

@Darth_Algar I would have to argue with you about Bush deliberately stammering. That said…here are just a few peeks at Bush’s raw genius…

“Border relations between Canada and Mexico have never been better. ”
“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once — shame on — shame on you. You fool me, you can’t get fooled again.”
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
“It’s in our country’s interests to find those who would do harm to us and get them out of harm’s way.”
“We got an issue in America. Too many good docs are gettin’ out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren’t able to practice their — their love with women all across this country.”
“I want to thank the President and the CEO of Constellation Energy, Mayo Shattuck. That’s a pretty cool first name, isn’t it, Mayo. Pass the Mayo.”
“This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table.”
“I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.”

Darth_Algar's avatar

@Cruiser

Yes? I’m well aware of those.

Darth_Algar's avatar

@ibstubro *”^ Contrarian, defined.”

How so?

KNOWITALL's avatar

@Darth_Algar I agree that he dumbed down on purpose to appeal to ‘every man’.

@Cruiser Those made me laugh, thanks for sharing.

JLeslie's avatar

Yeah, it amazes me that Bush somehow shed his Harvard education and silver spoon upbringing by a big oil family in the eyes of so many. I mean seriously, WTF? Not to mention they wound up perceiving Kerry as a horrible anti-vet person, when he actually served, and Bush was a draft dodger and he is seen as the great supporter of the troops. I guess they are dumb. Not Bush, he isn’t stupid, I just disagree with him a lot, but some of his supporters are remarkably blind to me.

Edit: Oh, and Yale, wasn’t his undergrad at Yale? LMAO. And, he is seen as a good ol’ boy? I just can’t get over it. Half the south thinks Yale and Harvard are horrible, liberal, institutions, producing bunches of elitists. I would love to poll 1,000 right wingers and ask them where Bush went to school.

herculies's avatar

Obama was able to convince the Illinoise state legislature that live birth abortion babies have no civil rights (such as the right to keep breathing). TWICE.

His argument was that doctors would be inconvenianced by having to care for the baby.

So… live abortions are left in a closet until they stop crying/breathing.

herculies's avatar

@Cruiser Obama giving speech with sound off, he looks like a zombie watching a tennis match

Blondesjon's avatar

@herculies . . . So… live abortions are left in a closet until they stop crying/breathing.

As a native Illinoisan for the past 43 years I am going to have to cry bullshit on that.

Cruiser's avatar

@herculies lol…you are dead on correct! That is a hilarious observation!

Darth_Algar's avatar

@herculies

As a lifelong Illinoisan I’m calling bullshit on that one too.

dxs's avatar

Comment removed because it was drastically irrelevant.

Blondesjon's avatar

@dxs . . . now i want to know what it was twice as bad

ibstubro's avatar

@herculies

As an Illinois transplant, I’m going to have to call bullshit on that one too.

So… live abortions are left in a closet until they stop crying/breathing.

Cruiser's avatar

@Blondesjon @Darth_Algar Sorry as a fellow Illinoisan….whether you like it or not it’s the truth..
On the Illinois Senate floor, Obama was the only senator to speak against the baby-protecting bills. [2]

Obama fought it for three years as a Illinois state senator, even after it passed 98–0 in the US Senate as the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. [3]

Barack Obama fought it even after NARAL “…released a statement that said, “Consistent with our position last year, NARAL does not oppose passage of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act.” [4]

Barack Obama goes way beyond “choice on abortion”. This is outright murder that he wanted paid for with our tax dollars. Voters must take into account just how radical Obama is when every democrat and even NARAL went against him. Voters must soberly consider where Obama wants to lead this Nation.

ragingloli's avatar

>>”it’s the truth..
>>links to “freerepublic.com”
>>mfw

Cruiser's avatar

@ragingloli “President Barack Obama on Friday said critics of his “mom jeans” should zip it. “I’ve been unfairly maligned about my jeans,” Obama told radio host Ryan Seacrest in an interview. “The truth is, generally I look very sharp in jeans.”

Blondesjon's avatar

@Cruiser . . . Please tell me your tongue is in your cheek right now.

Cruiser's avatar

No chance @Blondesjon Obama is a foolish to a fault, and proven this beyond a doubt…and I am just conveying the truth as I know it. You live in Illinois and should know this as fact. He is beyond incompetent and unqualified to lead this country and time to take off your blinders.

ragingloli's avatar

The only thing Obama has proven is that he is actually a republican in disguise.

bolwerk's avatar

Obama is the Republikans’ best friend. He implemented more of their fascist wishlist of policies than Bush ever did. The next Republikan president, whether elected in 2016 or 2020 or 2024, is going to have a police state with much more levers to pull than Bush left Obama.

@ragingloli: do you actually still use usenet? :-O

ucme's avatar

Obama has proved beyond all doubt that he jogs like a bitch.

JLeslie's avatar

Abortions are only legal before viability and when done late there has to be a damn good reason. Killing the fetus in utero or it dying while coming out of the birth canal is irrelevant. Either the law says it is ok to terminate that fetus or not. As much as I am prochoice, even I have a line I draw, most people do. I’m not ok with a normal 7–9 month fetus being terminated, and in fact that is illegal in America. A 4–5 month fetus does not have lung capacity to sustain its own life, the lungs are some of the last organs to develop. It is a waste of money and time to try to save extremely young fetuses, and if they live they have a life that most of use would not want. I have a girlfriend who works in neonatal and she is firmly prolife and even she says it is awful how some very premature babies are tortured and saved and then live extremely disabled lives if they live.

Darth_Algar's avatar

@Cruiser

FreeRepublic? Really? Could you possibly link to a more full of shit site?

plethora's avatar

@Cruiser @Darth_Algar I would like to give each of you “Great Answer”, but your great answer button is not working just on some responses, not all. Have never encountered this before….strange. Any idea why?

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