You would think the mainstream media might get interested if a presidential nominee got caught lying–as Barack Obama did–on an issue of intense controversy, which the Born Alive Infant Protection Act certainly is. Still (I know you’re stunned) the mainstream media isn’t much interested, although the reversal combines all the key elements of a good political story: lying, a hot-button issue, and a major candidate gaffe. But it is about Barack Obama. So . . . I guess we get virtually noting from the mainstream media.

Rich Lowry has a helpful summary and cogent take here. He concludes: “Here’s one of the central dilemmas of Obama’s candidacy. Nothing in his career supports his contention that he’s a post-partisan healer. So, as someone as splenetic as Bob Dole might put it, he’s forced to lie about his record.”

There are really a number of problems for Obama on this one. First, one of his selling points was his thoughtful moderation, typified by his comments that he appreciated and understood pro-choice voters’ moral qualms. Calling them liars and hence being exposed as the most extreme brand of Roe v. Wade absolutist pretty much wipes out that meme.

Second, the man lied. It wasn’t a Bosnian gunfire moment, but had it been Hillary Clinton, the press would be going bonkers. And his “they are lying” stunt ranks up there with another Clinton who wagged his finger at the American public and assured us he didn’t have an improper relationship with that woman. It is one thing to lie; it’s another class of lying to do so with fury at those who would doubt your veracity.

Third, it emphasizes that we have zero records from Obama’s state senate career and virtually any other segment of his life. Once again, the media is indifferent to their usual role in vetting (or at least allowing the public to vet) a potential president. They shrug, move on, and defer to Obama’s version of events because they lack the factual data to rebut his story. If the pro-life forces hadn’t done more work than the MSM, we still wouldn’t know about this issue. They can join the National Enquirer as yet another source of news superior to the MSM (when it comes to a Democrat, of course.)

So I don’t expect to see much about this story in the major newspapers or on network news. But it may have been the most revealing episode involving Obama yet. As scripted, protected, and shielded from scrutiny as Obama has been, we still managed to get a peek at the real Obama. You can’t say you weren’t warned.

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