One of the joys (and I do mean that literally) about being a mama of two small boys is that there is little time during the day to do superfluous things. Thus, though I was upset enough while watching last week’s presidential debate to yell at my TV, I haven’t had time to write about it until today. During that debate, I acted as a zealous football fan might act while watching his favorite team in the Super Bowl--the type of fan that shouts advice on how to play and berates the opposition for doing well. As if by his own sheer urgings, his team will win.

And so I was as I watched Kerry and Bush square off over domestic issues and trade barbs about voting records, energy plans, tax increases, and whose math is “fuzzy.” It had been a particularly busy day and so we only caught the last part. Still, it was enough to make me understand why those rabid football fans yell at their TV’s. With enough free time, I could write pages about my disagreements with Kerry and his woeful inadequacies as a senator, a leader, a president, and a person. But the main point that stood out to me was on the issue of abortion.

A young woman stood up and asked what each candidate would say to someone who was morally opposed to abortion and wanted assurance that her money would not go to support this practice which she found morally reprehensible. Kerry’s answer was so slippery, but the gist of it was so wrong. Underneath the niceties and vague attempts to not offend anyone, he basically said, “Tough luck. In a socialistic society, your money will support what you consider to be murder.” (Oh, but first he argued that one shouldn’t impose one’s morality on another! That is the most philosophically ridiculous statement! What about the laws punishing murder, theft, battery, etc.? How dare those laws impose morality on me!! He was just saying that only HIS morality—or lack thereof—is valid. The logical inconsistencies which he espouses so sincerely are truly shocking.)

I held my breath to hear how Bush would respond. Would he stand up against this evil or glaze over the issue in the hope that by not taking a stand he would not alienate people? His mediocre debating skills aside (I wanted him to point out Kerry’s lack of logic) he made his stand. In plain language, he said that we needed a culture of life in America, not abortion. I beamed with pride as my President (isn’t it nice to be able to be proud of our top leader?) was willing to stand alone for morality in a culture that praises relativism. He is not perfect by a long shot, but at that moment, I was proud of him.