the ad that loosed 1,000 lips

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Feb 08, 2010

That's it? That?!

Two weeks of internet obsession, and the Tim Tebow ad was over in 30 seconds. It was nice.

If you were measuring public opinion with a sufficiently sensitive instrument, you might have seen the needle quiver for a second or two. Focus on the Family no doubt saw a big spike in internet traffic, and they generally do good work, so that's nice too. 

Today-- the morning after-- I see pro-lifers commenting that the abortion lobby looks foolish, for having fought so hard against the airing of such an inoffensive ad. It's true that abortion advocates came off as the extremists they truly are. But folks, let's be honest: they weren't the only ones shouting about this ad. And I read that a counter-commercial, quickly produced by the Planned Parenthood types, didn't even show the nerve to mention the "a" word. Um, folks, did you see that word in the Tebow script?

It was nice. That's all you can say for it, really. Did it deserve all the excitement, pro and con? Not a chance. 

Not quite 3 weeks ago, pro-lifers were giddy with delight at the election of a Senator nobody knows: a man who favors legal abortion. Last week we were caught up in a frenzy over a television commercial: a nice little story. Friends, we need to calm down. This is going to be a long struggle; we'll need hundreds-- thousands-- of such small incremental steps forward. Not every battle is Armageddon.