I'm sort of shocked at the obviousness of Ann Althouse's realization that when Obama said that the question of when a fetus becomes a person was "above his pay grade," he was referring to G_d. Now, via Andrew Sullivan we find out that the Pope doesn't have an answer either. Nevertheless, Mark Hemingway at NRO insists that "There's not a job on the planet above the pay grade of the President of the United States," including unilaterally deciding the answers to questions that stump religious leaders across the world. This is in line with the emerging Right Wing view that in the President is not merely vested with the authority of the state but the heavens as well. That is, as long as he's a Republican. At least they're consistent. Since we're finding that there are no laws made by man that a Republican chief executive is bound to respect, it was only a matter of time before the President's authority absconded its earthly limits. -- A. Serwer
