Obama the Pragmatist: Winning on Abortion, Losing on Torture

McGurn’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed on Obama’s Notre Dame speech makes an interesting point, namely that Obama “wins” on abortion by simply going on stage and saying “Let’s talk about it.” Any debate about abortion necessarily undermines the pro-life’s best hand — the firmly ideological belief that the sanctity of life is all-important and non-negotiable; we cannot even begin to discuss any compromises.
Now to torture. In this case, the Left holds the more firmly ideological position: torture is unequivocally wrong because as Americans we value freedom and justice. In rhetoric, Obama supports the Left, but in practice, Obama’s military tribunals and other measures look more and more like Bush’s policies (only with better legal grounding. Great article from the Financial Times here). Obama’s pragmatism undermines his ideological position — that freedom and justice are sacrosanct and non-negotiable — and puts him on defense. Why else would the President’s speech outlining his torture positions have to “compete” with an incredibly unpopular ex-Vice President’s speech?