It’s the one that no one has asked the presidential candidates about in the debates.

But soon after Gov. Sarah Palin came on the Republican ticket, former New York Mayor Ed Koch wrote this piece saying that abortion is driving this election.

I have read in the press that there is one large group
of women and men who are enthralled by Palin’s support of the
right-to-life movement demonstrated by her qualified support of the
Republican platform on the issue of abortion which reads, “…..we assert
the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life and affirm that the
unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be
infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution, and
we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s
protections apply to unborn children. We oppose using public revenues
to promote or perform abortion and will not fund organizations which
advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect
traditional family values and the sanctity and dignity of innocent
human life.”

‘Qualified’ because the ticket supports an exception for the life of the mother.

Now look at this statement (especially the divided pro-life movement):

The Constitutional right of abortion is dependent on the
U.S. Supreme Court which continues to support that right by a 5 to 4
vote in decision after decision. The Supreme Court membership is aging,
and at least two vacancies are expected to be filled in the next
presidential term. That one-vote majority can become a majority
supporting the end of the right to an abortion in the first and second
trimesters. Abortion in the third trimester has already been limited by
Supreme Court decision.

I predict that the outcome of the presidential election will depend
not on the economy, not on the Iraq war, not on the price of gasoline
or the issue of national health insurance, but on the issue of the
right to abortion. The next president will make the appointments to the
U.S. Supreme Court. John McCain has pledged to appoint Justices who
support the right-to-life concept. Barack Obama has made clear he will
only appoint Justices who will protect the right of choice for those
choosing an abortion.

Those are the facts. And they will determine who the next president will be.