Why do people put so much stock into a presidential candidate's position on abortion?

Smoke and mirrors.

The abortion issue is a red herring; the candidate's stance on fiscal policy, foreign relations and stabilizing the economy are more relevant issues to whether the candidate is worthy of being president.

However, many people are shallow enough to disqualify a candidate based upon his stance on an issue that is insignificant as abortion, death penalty or euthanasia.

Because a person (and our Nation's) position on the issue of abortion says A LOT about our national 'personality'. If the President, and the nation, do not take a position that respects LIFE - babies, the unborn, the elderly, the sick - then we have lost our moral (not religious, per se) foundation.

Why should other nations and people of the world listen to us if we're just a bunch of baby/elderly killers within our OWN society? Why should we claim to have a 'better answer' than what's going on in, say, Darfur or Iraq or Iran, if we're speaking from a position of such violent in-concern for our OWN fellow people and citizens?

We as a people/society need to 'put our money where our mouth is' and protect our own; and THEN we'll have standing to speak to others.

You could really ask this question for any philosophical issue, including the death penalty, stem cell research and gay marriage. But a President's philosophical ideals DO make a huge difference because they not only strongly inform the language in legislation, they also impact on how he enforces legislation and sets (or guides the setting of) policies, which have the power of law.

So, a President who disagrees with environmentalists and preservationists on oil drilling in Alaska can direct the EPA to make decisions that disagree with their recommendations.

In addition, the President gets to appoint Supreme Court Justices, and this has a much longer lasting impact on the country than you may realize. The Supreme Court, after 20 out of 28 years of appointments being made by Conservatives, is now much more Conservative and likely to rule against abortion rights.

One very unfortunate "fact of life" regarding the abortion debate is that people equate a candidate's opposition to abortion as being that, as President, the person will appoint to the Supreme Court judges who are opposed to Roe v. Wade. It has not turned out that way.

Of course Presidents cannot legislate against abortion. But they can appoint people who would correct the BIG legal mistake of Roe v. Wade. I wish they would. But it is "hit-or-miss."

I have been trying for 5 years to have a baby! And it really pisses me off when I here all of these liberal, self righteous, feminists who scream out PRO CHOICE! It is not your choice! The second the sperm and the egg meet, there is a little soul there! God put it here for a reason. We are not the givers and takers of life. God is. So next time you want to "get rid of this little problem", by going to the clinic or taking a plan B pill, go talk to a women who can't have a baby!!!

Because the president chooses the supreme court justices that will ultimately decide when we outlaw most abortions.

I can only speak for me on this one. To me abortion is murder,and the president may not be able to change laws but if he personally thinks it OK to kill a baby just shows me he would not have a problem with sending others to die . If you don't have respect for human life. then I can not respect that person. So I would not vote for him. . Mine is strictly a personal reason, I fell like if I vote for him then, I too am saying it;s alright too kill another human being..I could not live with the guilt.

Maybe because hundreds of thousands of babies are aborted every year. flea bitten dogs have more rights than an unborn human child.

It is interesting- no one who has every run against it has ever really done anything about it. They have managed to ban federally funded abortions in some places- maybe all, don't know. It's interesting because many of the most outspoken people against choice are the same folks who are very stressed about the changing complexion of our country. Guess who has the most unplanned pregnancies?

End racism!

abortion is a highly emotional and personal issue which really shouldn't be politicized anyway.

I would think that many feel if a candidate agrees with them on the abortion issue they might agree with other issues but its not really a catch all.