A listener sent an e-mail last week to Diane Rehm, the host of a popular program on WAMU, a public radio station in Washington, D.C., speculating on what the fallout would be if a prominent liberal were to suggest that if George W. Bush had been aborted, the United States would not be engaged in a war in Iraq.

Of course, Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk show hosts would morph into apoplexy. They would have to strap down 95 percent of the staff at the Fox News and Pat Robertson might even propose assassinating the person who would utter such a thought.

Yet, when former Secretary of Education William Bennett asserted that the crime rate would drop if all Black babies were aborted, he was cheered by the right wing. Rush Limbaugh said on his radio program that Bennett “should have been applauded” for his comment. National Review Online columnist Andrew C. McCarthy deplored what he called “a shameful effort to paint him [Bennett] as a racist. He’s about as bigoted as Santa Claus.”

Conservative officeholders, for the most part, issued only perfunctory rebukes of Bennett.

Using almost identical language, both a spokesman for President Bush and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said it was “not appropriate” or that it was “inappropriate” when referring to Bennett’s comments.

Even if one accepts Bennett’s “hypothetical” assertion that if all Black babies were aborted, there would be a decline in the crime rate, that would still would not provide a complete picture of what life would be like without Blacks.

If all African-American babies had been aborted, Whites might be crashing into one another at intersections. Garrett Morgan, a Black man, invented the first traffic signal. If the men survived the traffic, they might not have survived World War I. Morgan also invented the gas mask, which saved many lives in the war and today protects firemen and other emergency workers.

In Bill Bennett’s world, even more people might be dying from heart attacks. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, an African-American, performed the first open heart surgery in 1893.

Bennett would certainly be tired of walking up and down steps. Without Alexander Miles, the Black inventor of the elevator, that’s what Americans would be left with. And if they didn’t tire from climbing the steps, they might get tired of shifting gears in their automotive vehicles. Another Black man, Richard Spikes, invented the automatic gearshift.

Of course, an automatic gearshift wouldn’t do them any good if they didn’t have the spark plugs – invented by Edmond Berger, an African-American – under the hood.

A self-described family values person, Bennett couldn’t imagine life without the baby buggy. Without the life of W.H. Richardson, an African-American, Bennett wouldn’t have to imagine that kind of life – he would be experiencing it.

Life at home wouldn’t be as pleasurable without the air conditioning unit invented by Frederick M. Jones, a Black man. Life without air conditioning would be bad enough, but to live without a refrigerator would be even worse. And that’s what Bennett would be doing if J. Standard, an African-American, had been aborted.

If Bennett wanted to flee a burning apartment building, he would have to jump and take his chances. If Blacks hadn’t been born, J.W. Winters would not have developed the fire escape ladder.

Cutting the grass would be more of a chore, too. Bennett might have to utilize sling blades instead of using the lawn mower invented by L.A. Burr, an African-American.

An educated person such as William Bennett can appreciate the need for an almanac and he can thank another African-American, Benjamin Banneker, for that. At some point, Bennett uses pencils. The pencil sharpener was invented by J. L. Love, an African-American. Even if the erudite Bennett prefers a fountain pen to a pencil, he would be out of luck if it had not been for Walter B. Purvis, the Black inventor.

From a pure entertainment perspective, can anyone really say they would have enjoyed watching professional sports without Jackie Robinson, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Tiger Woods, Althea Gibson or Arthur Ashe?

Even the 2000 Republican national convention in Philadelphia would have been souless without the appearances of Brian McKnight, Chaka Khan, the Temptations, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Delfonics and Aaron Neville, all of whom would be have aborted under Bennett’s scenario.

Finally, Bill Bennett’s Republican buddies – Retired Army General Colin Powell, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and HUD Secretary Al Jackson – would not have been in George W. Bush’s administration – or any other one – if they had been aborted.

William Bennett is smart enough to know that all Blacks aren’t criminals. And if all Black babies had been aborted, the nation would have lost far more than lawbreakers.