Pro-abortion Democratic Presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama has come out, guns a blazing, over an ad that challenges him for his votes on Illinois's Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA). As you know, as a state Senator Obama worked overtime to throttle the measure, intended to protect babies born alive after induced abortions. That is a seriously inconvenient truth he is serious about keeping buried.

The ad that sparked Obama's ire features Gianna Jessen, a young woman who survived a saline abortion 31 years ago. She tells the audience, "Four times, Barack Obama voted to oppose a law to protect babies left to die after a failed abortion. Senator Obama, please support born alive infant protections. I'm living proof these babies have a right to live."

The Obama ad goes for the throat. In only 30 seconds it illustrates both just how afraid his campaign is of the impact of his votes on BAIPA and how willing he is to crop the truth to serve his purposes.

The ad is sleazy from before you hear the first syllable out of the woman's voice-over. (See below.) Which is ironic since the ad include such zingers as "John McCain's attacks -- the sleaziest ads ever -- truly vile"; "Now, votes taken out of context accusing Obama of letting infants die. It's a despicable lie"; and "Even the bill's Republican sponsor says it's untrue. Obama's always supported medical care to protect infants."

Of course all these assertions are either demonstratively false or wrenched out of context. Let's investigate.

Personal attacks on McCain aside, the critically important objective of the Obama ad is to claim exoneration. So let's start with the reference to the Republican sponsor of the Illinois BAIPA.

The "documentation" which flashes on the screen is a footnote that cites a Chicago Tribune letter to the editor from Rick Winkel, who was an Illinois state Senator from 2003 to 2007.

By picking out one sentence, Obama completely misleads the viewer. In fact what Winkel wrote bears out exactly what critics of Obama's votes on BAIPA have said. Which is

• that in response to critics who said the measure was an attack on Roe v. Wade, Winkel wrote that he "added neutrality language identical to the 2001 federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act that the United States Senate approved 98 to 0."

• that all ten members of the Illinois state Health and Human Services Committee (which Obama chaired) voted to add the amendment. And that

• "Nevertheless, during the same hearing, the committee rejected the bill as amended on a vote of 4-6-0," Winkel wrote. "Obama voted no." Winkel added he "was stunned because the neutrality amendment addressed the concerns of opponents. It was the same neutrality language approved by U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry in the federal bill."
  
  Winkler concluded, " [T]heir zeal for pro-choice dogma was clearly the overriding force behind their negative votes."

In the too clever by half category, the ad does not say that Barack Obama did not vote against the Illinois BAIPA. Instead, as it (and the candidate himself) habitually does, the Obama campaign says his votes were "taken out of context." And has been pointed out many times, Obama was the only state senator to actually take the floor in both 2001 and 2002 to speak against the Illinois BAIPA.

Two other quick points. The ad begins with "one of the sleaziest ads ever" quotation flashing on the screen. The suggestion is, obviously, that this refers to the Jessen ad. But the quote is actually lifted from a TIME magazine columnist, who is totally in the tank for Obama, about an entirely different topic in a column which ran before the Jessen ad did!

And not that a little thing like accuracy carries any weight, but (a) contrary to the impression left, the Jessen ad was not McCain's; and (b) the Obama ad also misrepresents John McCain's position on abortion.

Add an indignant sounding female voice-over to personal attacks, distortions, and gross misrepresentations and there you have it: the distilled essence of the way Barack Obama responds when cornered by an inconvenient truth.

Please send your comments to daveandrusko@hotmail.com.