Biden and Brokaw

Yesterday we read Yuval Levin fault Sen. Biden for conflating theology with biology when it comes to the morality of abortion and the beginning of human life. GetReligon ‘s Mollie, however, also criticizes Tom Brokaw for missing the opportunity to talk about Biden’s faith in a more meaningful way:

Brokaw is asking Biden what he would tell Obama about when life begins “as a Catholic.” Why would that be a religious question, exactly? And then his follow-up question has to rank as the most anemic murmur in the history of Meet the Press . Literally, “But if you, you believe that life begins at conception, and you’ve also voted for abortion rights . . . ” How about, “If you believe that abortion takes an innocent human life, why do you think that it should be legal?” or “Your views are in conflict with the teaching of your church. Does that bother you?” or “Archbishop Chaput has said you should refrain from taking communion because of your support of abortion rights. Have you?” I mean, anything other than the non-question follow-up that Brokaw offers.

Good point. When you’re talking about science, talk about science, and the same goes for religion. Otherwise, you use one to avoid talking about the other, and nothing really gets said, which, I suspect, was Sen. Biden’s goal.