or a guy supposedly committed to empowering people as opposed to government, George W. Bush has a problem when it comes to women - and he put it on dramatic display last night.
The Clinton administration's announcement last week that the abortion drug RU-486 has been cleared for sale in this country after years of research put Bush on the hook, and try as he might, he couldn't wiggle off.
Gore not only supported the drug wholeheartedly, but he also gave a thorough argument that the right to choose is a fundamental constitutional principle based on another, equally fundamental one: the right to privacy. He said that those who speak of ''strict construction'' of the Constitution's words - as Bush does - are really using code to signify implacable opposition to Roe v. Wade.
Gore also made it clear that without falling for the silly notion of litmus tests for federal judges, a grownup can tell who is likely to be pro-choice and who isn't. He also said that the former would be his appointees.
By contrast, Bush tried to hide his opposition to choice - unsuccessfully. Even though he had to be reminded he had called the FDA ruling ''wrong'' and that his aides had noted a new president could produce a different result with his appointees, Bush still used code of a different kind to express concern about the ''safety'' of the pill that has been used in Europe for over a decade.
The fact is that right-to-life organizations have long used safety as a smokescreen to mask opposition to RU-486. At the bottom line, the governor is opposed to abortion rights while the vice president supports them - and it showed.
Thomas Oliphant's e-mail address is [email protected].
