National Journal looks at the candidates' views on gun control:
In New Hampshire last November, Obama told a gathering of rural voters that his wife worries about urban handgun violence but realized while driving in Iowa that she might want a gun for protection if she lived in a rural area. Insists the NRA's Cox: "They know gun control is a political loser."
Michelle worries about violent urban crime, but doesn't feel the need to own a handgun in the city. Rather, she'd want one if she lived in a rural area. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, violent crimes are 50 percent more likely in urban areas than in suburban or rural communities. You're clearly much safer--all things being equal--out in the country than you are in Chicago. And of course, this is another instance where if the shoe were on the other foot--if Cindy McCain said she might want a gun for protection if she lived in Chicago--well, you know how that would look. Needless to say, everyone should have a gun for protection no matter where they live.