The worst question a Democratic candidate can be asked in front of a religious crowd.

Asked at what point a baby gets “human rights,” Obama, who strongly supports abortion rights, said: “… whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.”

He went on to reiterate his view that it was important to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who followed Obama onto the stage of the nationally televised event, was more blunt and more emphatic.

He said a baby’s human rights began “at the moment of conception … I have a 25-year pro-life record.”

When I heard this question posed to Obama I quite literally wanted to yell "Get out of there Barack, it's a trap!" I watched Obama struggle to answer one of the most complicated and emotion packed questions in all of politics, and I felt just as uncomfortable as I know he did under the gaze of that impassioned pro-life crowd.

There was just no way he could give an answer that would receive even one clap from that crowd. I guess it is to Rick Warren's credit that there were no "boos" being picked up by the microphones.

And then John McCain takes the stage and gives the Republican party line without any qualification or clarification. "Life begins at conception", next question. It is quick, it is clean, and it is arguably incorrect. But McCain is not trying to get the support of the PHD crowd, he is looking for support from the under educated, emotional, and faith based crowd. These people do not care about facts or science, they only care about what they believe to be true. What they are told by their religious leaders to be true.

Well it may confuse people to hear that as a flaming liberal I am not pro-abortion. To be honest I am pro-life, and that extends to doing away with the death penalty and providing support for other countries where life is fragile indeed. It may confuse people even more to learn that MOST liberals are pro-life and not pro-abortion. I have never talked to ANYBODY who wanted there to be more abortions in this country.

What I am is pro-choice and pro-education. I want our population to be educated on how to avoid unwanted pregnancies. But if they are unsuccessful in that endeavor I do not feel I have the right to tell them what to do with their body or the life growing inside of them. My emotions say they should keep it. But the practical side of me, who has worked with many children with physical and emotional damage, believes that not ALL babies should be brought to term. I know that sounds harsh, but if you had seen the children that I have worked with you may also secretly wish that they did not have to suffer through a life that causes them some level of pain almost every single day.

So though I am indeed pro-life I am also pro-choice, and with proper education about nutrition, preventing FAS, avoiding preventable birth defects, and proper parenting techniques, we can work together to raise happy, healthy children who will someday be productive American citizens.

Of course the above is just my opinion. It is based on my life experiences, but I would never suggest that my opinion is infallible. Some of these opinions may shift slightly based on new information or new life experiences. That is the beauty of an open mind and a flexible intellect.

And I want a candidate who struggles with an issue as complicated as abortion, or the death penalty, or when it is the right time to declare war. I am not comfortable with a candidate who declares certainty on issues that confound some of the greatest minds of our generation.

That is how impulsive, dangerous decisions are reached. The evidence of that can be found in the entire eight years of the Bush administration.

Update: Here is an example of just how far the so called "Pro-Choice" movement will go to vilify anybody who disagrees with them.