Obama is making a good faith effort to win Kentucky, pun intended. He’s sending out this flyer to appeal to evangelicals.
Now, there are a couple things to note about this ad and since my family is heavily evangelical, I feel somewhat qualified to comment on it.
First, it looks like Obama is in a bit of a sticky wicket in KY. After all, it was only a month ago that small town folks were called bitter and clung to their religion, xenophobia and guns when they didn’t understand what was going on in the world. I gotta tell you, that didn’t go over too well in PA and I suspect WV wasn’t too amused either. And Obama suffered humiliating defeats in both states. I’ll betcha Bittergate is still turning up in their internal polls. That coupled with Wright makes it necessary for him to roll out this flyer. In other words, it’s pandering out of panic. Do you think Kentuckians will be assuaged? Ahem, moving on.
In this flyer, Obama says:
“my faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won’t be fulfilling God’s will unless I go out and do the Lord’s work.”
Very interesting. Now most of you will say this makes perfect sense if you are a Christian. Ahhh, but *evangelical* Christians believe that we are saved by grace alone. It isn’t necessary to do any more than accept Jesus. It’s the bare minimum requirement but an important one. It’s where the protestant church divides from the Catholic church. Your good deeds do not get you into heaven; grace does. No need for good works, pennance or any of that. But here, Obama is putting his work first as fulfilment of God’s will. Is it a minor point? I dunno. I’ve only lived with evangelicals, I can’t get inside their heads. But it may suggest that he doesn’t know his audience very well.
Finally, there is a rumor floating around in the escatological side of evangelicalism that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ. Hey, if you feed people enough Left Behind books, they start to forget they’re fiction. And here he is, sending out a flyer looking to all the evangelical world like a false prophet (point 1), unbeliever (point 2) standing in front of a cross.
It’s delicious. 😉
[UPDATE] — katiebird’s take (amazingly I had this scheduled to go later this morning):
Is Religion a Winning Issue for Obama? Should Religion even BE an Issue?
I think Obama is in a pretty tight place on the religion issue. I’m not a part of the weird-Internet-rumor world so I don’t know first hand but, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still battling that whole “secretly Muslim” thing. And I’m sorry about that. This election is too serious for the distraction of lies and misdirection.
Also, it seems to me that the blizzard of lies obscured some serious questions. In South Carolina, Obama successfully used his relationship with the Trinity Church to counter those “he’s a secret Muslim” rumor — and to build a bond with voters. Will this pitch be equally successful in Kentucky?
His campaign thinks so. As lambert at Corrente and Jeralyn at TalkLeft report, Obama’s campaign in Kentucky is reaching out the religious community with this flier:
My question is: Do people really want to see pictures of Obama in church? Well, I don’t want to see pictures of ANY politician in church, so I’m not a good one to ask. But that reservation aside, I don’t think this is a winning issue for Obama.
What do you think?
Filed under: General | Tagged: evangelicals, flyer, kentucky, Obama |
The Confluence 
Yikes! riverdaughter — this is good.
(sniff) I have a post on this subject scheduled. Could you take a look at it and see what you think? I should probably delete it.
Kbird: Do you just want to add yours to the bottom of this post? We can call it “two takes on Obama’s pandering religious flyer” or something like that.
Sure! Coming “Wright” up (giggle)
Our beloved president just stirred up another controversy over in Israel by claiming Obama saying he wanted to talk to the terrorists as “appeasement” along the lines of the nazi sympathizers. In front of a Jewish audience! The GOP wheels are turning. Not that Bush carries much clout these days but you can bet the networks are going to make much of it and the hope is that they plant this into the minds of the Jewish voters. Especially when we found out one of Obama’s team has made overtures to Hamas. Not good.
Hey PJ,
Sounds like GWB is helping Hillary out. There’s a lot of foot shuffling in the Jewish community about Obama and this kind of reference doesn’t help. It’s just another clip in the GOP 527 ad referencing Obama’s connections with Hamas.
I saw the flier yesterday and it screams desperation. I mean this is 10x worse, it’s warp speed worse, than Huckabee’s Holiday ad with the cross in the bookcase. This is pandering at it’s best. I hope those “hillbillies” get the message, those ign’rnt rednecks.
I don’t think this will change the outcome in Kentucky, but I do believe that candidates, if though it’s contrary to the intentions of the Founder, are compelled culturally to establish their religious bona fides.
Wow, that’s interesting Riverdaughter, thanks.. I’m [lapsed] Catholic so I certainly missed all that (though his rhetoric sounds like it’s out of a different religious tradition anyway – perhaps one part of why he’s not winning Catholic voters – he’s speaking a different language).
Correct me if I’m misreading but it does sound a bit.. umm.. dismissive of the importance of sitting in church and praying. It’s the particular way he phrases it.. “pray all I want,” you might as well say “I could pray til the cows come home, that won’t do any good.” Saying “faith without works is dead” as Hillary has seems to make a point about action without being dismissive (and is quoting the Bible). Ah well, pray all you want, so much for the intercession of the saints (to go back to my own tradition).
Several of my Jewish friends are very skeptical of Obama and his ties to Islam, factual or not. His waving his “Christian” credentials on that flier won’t win him any favor with them either since they are sick to death of the Religious Right under Bush.
That photo looks as if he just stepped off the cross to address the faithful. Doubtful anyone will be taken in.
“GUTSY Elizabeth Edwards Not Part of Endorsement–Outshines Husband in “Courage of Convictions” Department (only a week after couple tells “People” they won’t endorse)”
http://insightanalytical.wordpress.com/
More on the endorsement and the People interview…only a short week ago..
Will the O’Bots in the shrillosphere be outraged by this flyer of Obamas? Lord knows they got their knickers all in a twist every time GeeDubya mentioned religion. Why do I suspect that it will be just fine and dandy now that Obama has gone and done it? Because the people that used to spend all their time pointing out that this country is founded on the separation of church and state, along with many other issues, don’t care when Obama breaks their rules. (Guess then the roolz ain’t the roolz).
It seems like every day there is another reason for me, personally, to say, no, I will not vote for this man. This one is a biggy for me. I have no more respect for a Democrat pandering for the religious vote than I do for a Republican.
Putting relgion and politics together taints them both! (IMHO 🙂
Too little, too late.
If he really is a good Christian man, it should’ve been part of the program to begin with. Now, it just looks like a put-up job to get the Christian vote. I can’t speak for all Christians, but I can tell you that I’m smart enough to see through that baloney.
Hmmm, let’s think about this a second. Evangelicals are very strong supporters of Israel. It could be that Bush is trying to cause mischief for Obama or he too could be sending a message to evangelicals on McCain’s behalf.
Where is the execrable Chris Matthews, who spent days bludgeoning Mike Huckabee because “Christian Leader” was mentioned in one of his ad?
daria g: He’s right that praying in church is not going to get him there but what he fails to realize is that the *work* he’s supposed to be doing is getting non-believers to accept Jesus Christ so that they too will be saved by grace alone. In fact, I will go one further: true evangelicals put very little faith in the government of man. They answer only to God. So really, Obama’s busting his butt in politics in order to fulfill God’s will is a bit of a paradox for them.
I can tell you what this is becuase I have seen GOP polling on Obama. There is some close to it on the net.
29% of people that will not vote for him beleive he is a muslim. Forget his race this is post 9/11 gold to the GOP.
That’s obviously not this crowd which has reason to be for the other candidate but he has a real problem successfully created with black ops viral email. wherever he does not spend time hes 1/3 muslim. He gets asked about it everywhere too.
I think his campaign surrogate Keith Olberman is addressing this issue in detail soon.
29%. It’s an amazing number given all that has transpired. e.g. I’m not sure what they know about Rev. Wright. Never underestimate stupidity though.
ignorance is political bliss in political black ops.
By the time the general rolls around he’ll add a cross to that flag pin he had to put back on. lol
yes riverdaughter I am new but your point on faith (grace) and works is not really correct as to practice. I promise this to be the one and only time I do this but you have misinterpretd my evangelical teachings. Not so necessary to define an empty suit
anyway god bless
From James
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
by the way, this was sent out in SC too. About hte same time huckabee had that floating cross behind him it was sent out.
Don’t be fooled by Chris Matthews. He is still a weekly churchgoer and his love for Obama will override the pandering if it is even mentioned. If Hillary did this they would be stomping all over her and her “she will do anything to win” label. McCain is supposed to speak from somewhere today and address the Bush/Israel/terrorist reference. This will be the lead for today.
I am at a point now that if Obama was caught on camera kicking puppies with a reefer in his hand and dancing with Rupaul in a St. Patrick’s Cathedral he would be excused as a candidate just “reaching out to mainstream voters”.
Pat, Well – Duh How else could you interpret it?
PJ and KB,
You kill me! Yup, the man can do no wrong. Okey doke, sweeties?
If you hadn;t see it long ago here is a reference
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/21/obama/
the Obama campaign is distributing in South Carolina which seem to include religious appeals at least as overt and explicit as anything Huckabee has done. The center page of the brochure proclaims — in the largest letters on the page — that Obama is a “COMMITTED CHRISTIAN,” and includes three pictures of Obama, all of which show him praying or preaching in a Church, and also includes a fourth picture: of the interior of a Church with a large cross lurking in the background. The page also says that Obama is “guided by his Christian faith” and quotes Obama saying: “We do what we do because God is with us.”
That same page prints Obama’s views “on the power of prayer,” and — using the same language George Bush has frequently used as a signifier to evangelical voters — says that Obama is “Called to Christ,” “Called to Bring Change” and “Called to Serve”:
OT. I hear that Michelle Obama is campaigning in PR as is Chelsea Clinton. I fear for Chelsea’s life. Or at least for her eyes.
Speaking of mixing religion and politics… http://husaria.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/obamas-sword-of-damocles-october-surprise-wont-surprise-us/
Boy, this one is strange indeed.
Trinity is associated with United Church of Christ and the UCC website says they teach a theology influenced by the Reformation (Luther) and Calvin but the member churches are VERY independent as long as they stick to the basic tenents. I was interested in what kind of church would have pastors…
With that in mind, the message is interesting. I think he crafted that message (which, if you look closely, is just suggesting good works are God’s will – not that he thinks he will not be saved or go to hell if he doesn’t do good works).
NOW, why would he do that? Well for folks who attend a Catholic, Reformation or Calvinistic church… this language is strange, unless you are in the South. It sounds like he is trying to appeal to Baptists, are there a lot of Baptists in KY?
Speaking of mixing religion and politics… http://husaria.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/obamas-sword-of-damocles-october-surprise-wont-surprise-us/
Bully Pulpit: From my family’s POV, grace comes first. That can transform the individual and cause them to do good things. But they are really adamant about the first part. You may do things differently. I have seen the thing close up and have been actively resisting it for more than 40 years. My brand of Christianity isn’t good enough for them and it wouldn’t matter how many good works I’d done. My point is that if Obama wanted to make an impact with the evangelicals, he should have gone with his transformation when he accepted Jesus as his savior. It’s more believable.
Bully Pulpit: I’ve heard the Muslim rumor but I think the anti-Christ one might be just as potent. I don’t know where it came from but I suspect it’s been circulating by email lately, along with various other “signs”, probably Iran related. If I were Obama, this is not the picture I would have wanted out there.
river, I see.
I guess we use the whole text in my place. But certainly if faith without works is dead, works without faith is pretty HOT. lol
I like the camera angle. He is up there; we are down here.
Says it all.
Oh, anyone know what church the photo was taken in? Somebody should be asking that.
While Clinton is my choice for President and I will support her until she is elected this round or in 2012 but I fear the DNC is going to scam us with this made up math and supposed rulz and put Obama on the thrown which I will not accept. So I’m researching my options and viewed McCain’s speech here in Columbus Ohio where he outlined his platform, he clearly is extending an invitation to disaffected Dems, Independents and disaffected Republicans feed up with the fringe wings of the Party’s certainly women vowing to appoint judges that protect our Constitutional rights, no signing statements, out of Iraq by 2013, attacked fringe Pols, social agendas, permanent campaigns, getting rid of discretionary spending on the backs of taxpayers, reigning in spending dump earmarks, work on real issue not partisan wedges, he came out as anti Bush anti current Party’s behavior and perform. A polite group that became clearly more energized as he continued.
For me, McCains VP pick could make or break my support if I were to support him.
I am an East Indian American and I came to know the LORD while I was attending school in Tennessee. The christians I knew in Tennessee and Kentucky were not the ones who goes around and criticize or judge other people. I am a Republican and I had voted Republican. I must complement Senator Obama for visualizing his faith. Many people will not even talk about the Lord ,.because they are ashamed to profess the Lord in the open .You couldn’t believe the amount of young people out there who loves senator Obama and who will see that cross and come to walk after the Lord. Please , Please don’t criticize the cross or senator Obama, because judgement belongs not to you but to the Lord who made the heavens and the earth
Salty, I won’t vote for McCain — I promised myself after Kerry that I would never hold my nose to vote again.
I’ll be voting for Hillary in November.
Oh Lambert! THAT was the thing that I thought was super strange – a lay person at the pulpit. I am most familiar with an ordained minister preaching. It looks like he is implying that he is ordained or something. If I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the day to day politics, that picture might make me assume he was clergy.
It also might make me assume it was an ad for a church and just toss it without looking.
I think I agree with DCDemocrat. This will not really make a difference in KY. It is part of a larger effort to counter the “secret Muslim” meme because it has so much potential to harm him later on. This is probably the start of what will be a constant and low key Christianization of his image. As always I am ignorant of what the cable news pundits have been saying but it does not bother me too much that BO has this flier. Maybe this is not very consistent on my part but I am more annoyed that in America it is essentially a requirement for any candidate to be a Christian. There are a ton of Americans who simply will not vote for anybody if they are not Christian. Therefore, every candidate must appear Christian. Most candidates are fortunate enough to be automatically perceived as Christian.
To a lesser extent this is probably just an example of “who is saying it” mattering more than what is being said. This door of course swings both ways, for example, there are going to be some people who think this flier is a bunch of BS because you cannot trust anything a secret Muslim says! Another example could be this post, because I support Obama it is almost guaranteed here that there will be much fault found with my reasoning.
Andrew: If only Obama’s faith was a sincere as yours. However, given his past statements about people clinging to religion, I do not think he shares your committment. My point is that voters in KY will probably see this flyer for what it is, pandering to religious voters that he has alienated.
Andrew Yankama I will try to say this as politely as I know how. My religion or lack thereof is my business and your beliefs are yours.
I believe that they do not belong in politics. I will support or vote for no one that uses the cross or religion to get votes. Others of course have the right to do as they see fit.
But, speaking only for me, I do not appreciate being preached to when I am trying to discuss politics. If I want a sermon I will go to church. My church. The church that supports my beliefs. And I don’t want politics to step it’s dirty nasty feet one inch inside those church doors.
I am sure there are some, perhaps many here that disagree with me completely and perhaps I am being presumptuous in responding to another poster when I am so new here myself. If so I apologize and will shut up.
(Cross-posted at TalkLeft).
Oh, no.
At the risk of making the kind of dramatic, self-important post people understandably mock, I must say something. I’ve been making myself listen to right-wing radio the last few days to remind myself how wrong Republicans, and McCain, are, so that I can support Obama and try to help other Clinton supporters rally behind him. It helped a lot. I even called the Bill Press show yesterday on Air America to add my two cents to making this case (but didn’t get on).
And then, just now, I see Obama’s “COMMITTED CHRISTIAN,” “POWER OF PRAYER,” “CALLED BY CHRIST,” flier with a crucifix lit up like Las Vegas behind him. I was not aware he’d used this flier in South Carolina, as he’s doing now in Kentucky.
I have dedicated decades of my private and professional life to three causes: the environment, science education, and church-state separation.
I deeply believe that religious strife and violence, with the corollary and neverending war on science, the environment, and critical thinking, are responsible for most human suffering in the world.
This flier crystallizes everything I oppose. I can no more in good conscience support this man than a Quaker could fire a cannon. This man stands against my deepest convictions. I am in tears. For the first time in my life, I will not be able to vote for the Democratic candidate for President. He is remaking us in the image of Republicans and it will ruin us.
Meanwhile, McCain is again making the appearance of swinging left with his endorsement of climate change science. He steadfastly refused to join Huckabee and Romney’s religious pandering and has stayed nearly mum on religion. It ‘s certainly not enough to make me support the man. But having studied ethics, it seems to me that to allow a McCain victory through not voting is a less unethical act than to actively support the destruction of future Democratic pushback by voting for Obama. I fear we’ll lose far greater long-term leverage to limit war, poverty, attacks on the environment and personal freedom, by destroying liberalism in America.
I had already believed that to support Obama was to support a societal turn toward misogyny and an undemocratic press, because it was these two things that made the weaker candidate victorious. Yet I was going to do it anyway as the lesser of evils.
But at this point supporting Obama would be, for me, an immoral act. I can’t. I’m so sorry. Say what you will, Jeralyn, but it’s no good. I really, really, tried.
Obama has been using this tactic to counteract the “secret Muslim” lies for quite some time. Obviously, it hasn’t worked and it was the wrong way to go.
What he should have said was, “No, I’m not a Muslim, I’m a Christian. But what if I were a Muslim? Do you realize that there are about a billion Muslims in this world that are NOT part of Al Qaeda? Did you know that Islam is a fundamentally peaceful religion? Did you know that we’ve already elected a Muslim to the House of Representatives in 2006, and that he was sworn in on Thomas Jefferson’s Koran? The sky hasn’t fallen, now, has it?
Being Muslim is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a mainstream religion, just like Christianity or Judaism. It’s just the extremists, like Al Qaeda, that give Islam a bad name.”
Oh, but that’s what a UNIFYING and PRESIDENTIAL candidate would have said.
Never mind.
Here is one that might interest you as close as FL and OH were in the last 2 elections.
In Miami AAs votes 95 to 5 for Kerry. In north Florida 67 33. Same pattern in Ohio among AA evangelicals versus general urban AAs votes.
The reason DEMS do not hold the white house right now is becasue the evangelical outreach to AAs took it two straight cycles.
Denting that 90+ was key then as it has been key to Hillary. This is actually HIllary’s biggest political problem with a SD surge in my opinion The DNC is scared of AAs voting their views on abortion and gay marriage versus their magnetism of the “civil rights party”.
Obama is using the flipside of the same denting formula. If he can lure evangelical whites to any degree its certainly at least better than having them think he is a muslim; which they currently do in large numbers. IF all he does is erase the Obama = muslim myth he will perform much better in KY than in WV.
The whole religion and politics mix is foul to me but I can’t really fault Obama for not wanting to lose on a false muslim fear claim either. Well I can but I won’t.
Aside from that minor sympathy for the man, I wish politics and religion were as far away from each other as possible. But what I will say is Axelrod understands elements of the Rove playbook. It works well enough in limited areas.
I never watch Sean Hannity, but I just heard that he had some preacher on his show last night who claims to have proof that Obama and Wright are both on the down low. I can’t believe Fox News would put that on the air. Did anyone see it? It looks like we are in for an even uglier campaign than I ever suspected if Obama is the nominee.
Disclaimer. I don’t have any knowledge of this rumor and even if it were true, I wouldn’t care. But a lot of people will care.
BB: what does it mean ‘on the down low’? (my ignorance in full view for all to see)
BB, What does “Down Low” mean?
madamab
i think that was a seinfeild episode.
“I;m not gay, not that there’s anything wrong with that”. There is a resaon it was a running joke. In presidential politics its the same joke post 911.
Mitt Romney had to adress being a mormon not that there is anything wrong with that either.
Obama just says he is a christian and leaves it at that. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
But in selective places in the south he’s been sending this flyer. It first appeared in SC.
They’re alluding to allegations that Obama is a homosexual.
(sigh)
Can’t we just skip ahead to Thanksgiving?
Yuk and double-yuk! I’m all for committing Christians, but perhaps not in the sense that the flyer suggests.
I agree that his position behind the pulpit seems to suggest that he is a clergymember, himself. Any chance we missed the line about that in his resume??
Contrast this overt representation of being a Christian with Hillary’s private religiosity. I read in Bernstein’s bio of her that during many of the White House years, she was a member of a women’s prayer group that included the wives of many Repubs who were attacking Pres. Clinton. I have much more respect for someone who does not feel the need to advertise his or her own faith for political purposes.
They’re alluding to allegations that Obama is a homosexual.>>
This black ops stuff is so funny but only a few in selected states have to fall for it anyway.
The GOP playbook has HIllary as a bisexual too. Actually Gennifer Flowers attributes it to a Bill Clinton statement if I recall from the black ops crap I’ve seen on it.
My understanding is that Hillary’s aide has already been financed to “come out” without implicating her. Maybe just the boys talking to “impress me” at dinner though.
It’s all a game but it work well enough on idiots. I pretty much assumed this crowd didn’t consume the horsesh*t of Fox news.
Oh.
Funny, I wouldn’t care too much about that – I would think it was up to him and his wife to worry about…
Oh, and I think some of us have been forced to turn to fox because it is the only cable news that hates both obama and Hillary about the same.
That ad makes no sense to me. It looks and reads as if it was created by a person with no knowledge of Christianity. I’m Catholic (School of Vatican Convention II) and I have studied comparitive religion.
This is so … wrong. It reminds me of Herry Potter where wizards trying to dress as muggles: kilt trench coat, fluffy bunny slippers, ski hat, Mickey Mouse t-shirt . All worn at once.
I’m a little sickened by this flyer. I guess the big 50 State Democratic Strategy bs was really just a way of moving the party further to the right. The thing about “democrat for a day” and this is that I don’t really want these people in my party. I’m a democrat, I believe in progressive ideas, I don’t want to see the party I worked for inch ever closer to becoming something I don’t recognize. I used to think I was a moderate Democrat, yet in this political climate I feel like a radical left-winger. Leading the party to a position where “unity” becomes code for conforming to ideals I don’t believe in is wrong. Has HRC put out any flyers like this in KY? I read in the Nation a few months ago that she’s part of some super secret Christian sect, but I haven’t seen her advertise it this overtly. I guess it’s true, the DNC will never allow a female president.
I guess I’m a little behind the times. I didn’t think the issue was whether he went to church, but the church he goes to. Or rather the preacher at that church and his close association over 20 years with a loco preacher. I never doubted he went to church. I doubt his judgement in choosing which church to attend and which minister to embrace as his mentor.
This flyer will not diminish the concerns about the choices he has made. I thinkm it brings them right out front, because he is brining up his christian beliefs, seems only fair to examine what those beliefs of that church he is attending.
Of course Obama stands up for Ethanol in Iowa, Coal in West Virginia, and Jesus in Kentucky.
It’s that New Kinda Politics, don’t you see?
I can’t speak much about the significance of this. I just have an anecdote to add. I’m on several lists about fighting NAIS. This fight gets liberal, libertarian, and republican support from farmers all over the country. And so the lists have a mixture of political suasions.
Anyway, these Muslim things about Obama come out every couple weeks on these lists. Some of the more scandalous rumors are starting to show up too. Every once in a while someone will refute them, but the emails always return a week or two later. And many on these lists, despite the refutations, believe those emails. And there are getting to be more and more of them (the emails). I think this is definitely a concern for his campaign and will be a fairly big concern in the general.
Not a lot of people are going to care to research his Muslim identity or not. And they aren’t going to take him at face value, they’ll just say he’s hiding it to get the country into the control of the enemy. And they’ll tell their neighbors, and so on. Viral indeed.
But Sima, the answer to bigots can never be more bigotry. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Obama is providing credibility to the smearers who say you must be Christian to be a politician in this country. This is morally wrong.
Lex [KY] Herald-Leader just posted frontpager on the flier. It has quotes from our young LtGov & his new ads for Obama [he’s a declared O SD]. He’s afraid Ky might have some bigotry to prevent us from voting O. Jeez, Louise.
I do think there is uneasiness about all the negative WV news. You get tired of hearing what a dumb racist hillbilly you are, and you want to prove you’re not. Don’t think it will matter here in E KY, but maybe Lex/Lou.
Good story in our local paper re Veterans for Hillary 20-City Kentucky tour, picked up local vets for visit here. Nice coverage, intelligent interviews; the vets cited VA benefits & health concerns & how much Hill has done for them.. That will carry more weight than the fliers.
BTW, few TV ads from Hill, no mailings at all. Lots & lots of ads & fliers from O, the money is astonishing. Never seen anything like it.
Bo, I agree. I’m not saying what these emails say, or even what these people believe, is right. I’m saying that it IS a problem for BO and he has to address it. I don’t at all agree with the way he is addressing it currently, nor do I think it’s going to be effective with these people.
Is that a black Jesus in the stained glass window??? Now that definitely will not go over well in KY
Sending out an “I am a good Christian” flyer is risky — doesn’t it bring Wright back into the picture?
(And for the record, I hate Dems injecting religion into politics. hates it when Carter did it. Hate it now. An insult to the principle of separation of Church & State.)
OK. Here I go again. But Obama WAS practicing Islam once. See this LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/bal-te.obama16mar16,1,7181735,full.story
Why is this considered a “smear”?
Why is he lying about this?
Why isn’t it out in the open?
I don’t object to a candidate with a Muslim background. The Muslims produced Rumi and Hafiz and a number of great thinkers. So what?
So why is Obama denying it, and why does everyone else say it’s a “smear”?
We’ve created an election where it isn’t possible to talk about anything directly.
We can’t talk about his Islamic background, because it’s a “smear.”
We’re not supposed to talk about Jeremiah Wright, but he sends out fliers about his “conversion” — which was instigated by Wright.
He wants to hold a “national conversation about race” — but if you try to bring the subject up in the most oblique way, his team screams that you are a “Racist!”
For any serious evangelical, Obama’s “God damn America” preacher long ago cut off their vote. This flyer just reminds people exactly what church Obama has been sitting in for 20 years. Something else to think about is that most evangelicals that I know of are republicans, not democrats. Do they allow crossover in Kentucky?
Boston Boomer-Limbaugh is talking about that stuff, too and it also involves the murder of a gay church member. He said a bomb was going to be dropped.
I wish O had worn a dashiki(sic) in that photo! He would have looked just like his mentor.
I’d think the fact that Obama seems to be tone deaf is a draw back. But I guess a lot of Democrat are (Including 3 of my beloved siblings)
They just keep saying, “That doesn’t bother me” about the latest thing.
Well, some of this stuff doesn’t bother me either — but that’s not the point. The point is electibility — how many voters will be bothered.
And how much of a distraction is this stuff. Is he Muslim or has he ever been? I don’t give a damn at all. I couldn’t care less.
But, If I was Obama, I’d care a lot. Those email things are devastating. And I’d be working day and night to find a shiny-new way to counter them.
Putting out pictures of Obama actually in a church though doesn’t seem appropriate.
(shaking my head)
This election is shaping up to be a train wreck.
I’m also guessing he did this flyer to negate some of the muslim rumors. Here’s another discussion about the flyer on No Quarter which includes a bonus audio recording of how New Black Panther Party views Obama’s role.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/05/13/head-of-new-black-panthers-on-why-hes-for-obama/
I found the audio to be alarming to say the least. This campaign certainly has been educational.
Andrew yankama, on May 15th, 2008 at 11:09 am Said:
You couldn’t believe the amount of young people out there who loves senator Obama and who will see that cross and come to walk after the Lord. Please , Please don’t criticize the cross or senator Obama, because judgement belongs not to you but to the Lord who made the heavens and the earth
Andrew, my husband and I moved to Dallas/Fort Worth so he could attend Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. We are lifelong “committed Christians.” You seem deeply sincere in your convictions. So think about what I’m going to say, please, and don’t take offense.
We are not criticizing the cross of Christ. We are criticizing a politician who has released a flier in which the imagery and text suggests he is a man anointed of God to be president. That tactic is as dangerous to the cause of Christ as it was when George W. Bush used it. Your suggestion that young people who “love” Senator Obama may see the cross behind him and “come to walk after the Lord” are far more likely to walk after Obama than the Lord. It’s just plain heresy to imply, even subtly, that Obama is a path to salvation.
If Obama wants to lead young people to the Lord, he should put down his political ambitions and take up evangelism.
“If Obama wants to lead young people to the Lord, he should put down his political ambitions and take up evangelism.”
-amen.
the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the flyer was,
Well, looks like Obama is announcing HE is the power behind Wright!
Does this mean he is agreeing with the Rev. Wright? Is he saying God damn America?
[…] a shot at Obama’s James-like emphasis on works alongside faith. In the campaign’s much-dissected flyer aimed at voters in Kentucky, for example, Obama is quoted as saying: “My faith teaches […]