Are the Bishops Trying To Have It Both Ways?

You may recall that, in the day leading up the election, several prominent partisan-prelates insisted that the only issue of concern for Catholic voters was abortion.

Last Tuesday, of course, Barack Obama scored an overwhelming electoral-college and popular vote victory. So now the Bishops, in a Statement pushed principally by many of these same partisan-prelates, are channeling Bill Clinton to rationalize that "it's the economy, stupid":

The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve.

The Bishops can't have it both ways here. Either the principal issue was abortion, and the clear majority of their flock flatly rejected the Bishops' partisan arguments, or the clear majority of the flock rejected the Bishops' misleading prioritization of abortion as the sole issue for consideration.

Either way, abit more intellectual honesty and self-reflection from the GOPriests would be a welcome change.