Gloria Feldt Unexpectedly Resigns as PPFA President.

When Gloria Feldt, a 30-year veteran of Planned Parenthood and its public face for eight years, unexpectedly stepped down as president January 27, the leadership hewed to the standard line in such situations.

"We honor Gloria Feldt's contributions to Planned Parenthood and to the global movement for reproductive justice," said Planned Parenthood chairwoman La Don Love. "Her leadership has resulted in significant achievements for the organization and for women and families worldwide."

Likewise, a "national search" was said to be underway immediately. In the meanwhile, the interim president will be Karen Pearl, chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, New York.

But it quickly got more interesting. Five days later, Feldt "commended her anti-abortion adversaries Tuesday for their political skills and criticized ally John Kerry for an ineffective defense of abortion rights during his losing presidential campaign," according to the Associated Press (AP).

"I have great respect for John Kerry, but there's no question he did not articulate these issues well," Feldt told the AP's David Crary. "He seemed equivocal. He ceded the moral high ground to the other side."

A Kerry spokesman "expressed surprise at Feldt's comments, noting that Kerry explicitly vowed to oppose Supreme Court nominees who might overturn the right to abortion," the AP reported. "'John Kerry's record in the Senate for 20 years and throughout the presidential campaign was crystal clear that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare,' David Wade said."

Referring to the buzz going around in Democratic circles about the need to (in some fashion) revisit the abortion issue, Feldt insisted, "The finger of blame shouldn't be pointed at us who've been doing the work on the ground." Then where? At "the anti-choice extremists."