Aborting Logical Consistency

People are sick of politics for a lot of reasons, but the one that bugs me today is that the candidates clearly take logically inconsistent positions in order to try to please both sides of a given argument. In the VP debate, both candidates expressed potentially attractive yet illogical positions.

Paul Ryan
1. Life begins at conception
2. Our ticket will oppose abortion
3. Except for cases of rape, incest & health of the mother

This is a logically inconsistent position. If 1 is true, abortion is the taking of an innocent human life. 2 is the natural consequence of believing 1. But 3 is logically inconsistent with 1. If conception creates a life, then that life doesn't deserve to die even if the circumstances that brought about its life were rape and/or incest. Of course, if the mother's life were in jeopardy, that WOULD be a possible exception b/c if you have to make a choice b/w one life and another, that is not the same thing as murder (in the rare occurrence of having to choose b/w the lives, I'm pro-choice).

Joe Biden
1. Life begins at conception
2. Our ticket will support abortion rights
3. We don't impose personal beliefs on everyone

This is a logically inconsistent position too. If 1 is true, abortion is the taking of an innocent human life. Given 1, 2 is an outrageous position to take. 3 is immaterial because relativism doesn't apply to situations as grave as the killing of an innocent human being. The pro-choice argument MUST, if it wishes to be logically consistent, insist that life doesn't begin at conception. By saying it does, and then saying his faith leads him to bring aid to the most helpless in society, he is being inconsistent. By saying that life begins at conception, and then saying a woman should control her own body, he's being inconsistent (b/c if life begins at conception, there are actually 2 bodies involved.

So both positions are logically inconsistent and suck because they are either 2 very stupid men OR they are just playing politics. Ryan is being inconsistent so as to offend less liberals. Biden is being inconsistent so as to offend less conservatives. They're both being inconsistent to appeal to moderates. I understand why they do it, but that doesn't make it right or any less annoying.

I long for the day when men and women who run for office are bold enough to run on clearly contrasting and consistent positions.