Pandering to the Choir
As if Obama’s Father’s Day speech wasn’t annoying enough. Since, after all, only Christian fathers celebrated that Sunday.
As if, somehow, it doesn’t seem that Obama is completely campaigning from the churches these days and not from lecture halls.
As if it’s not annoying enough that each and every one of his speech’s could rival Rod Parsley’s ranting and raving on the stage in front of thousands.
Maybe it’s simply locking up the nomination for the Democrats that has allowed Obama to become extremely blatant about his faith. To tell the world that his faith will be first and foremost in his presidency.
Is he trying to show us that he is more devout that Bush? Is he trying to make us think, “hmm, Obama’s alright; if only he were less religious like Bush”?
Ever since capturing the nomination has spent countless hours trying to make a mockery of the separation of church and state.
By announcing that he plans to overhaul Bush’s faith-based initiative, Obama is taking yet another step in the wrong direction. He once portrayed himself as a man of principle, and now he is simply doing whatever he can to become president.
The world does not need more faith-based initiatives.
“Make no mistake, as someone who used to teach constitutional law, I believe deeply in the separation of church and state, but I don’t believe this partnership will endanger that idea,” Obama said.
He emphasized that those receiving funds could not proselytize the people they help nor could they discriminate in hiring practices on the basis of religion. Faith-based groups could only use federal dollars for secular programs. And he committed to ensure that taxpayer dollars would only go to “programs that actually work.”
Oh. So the funds can’t be used to proselytize? Nor can they be received if people are being discriminated against. Fantastic. And who’s going to head up this operation? Who’s going to police the use of funds for all the “right” reasons?
Obama’s “rock-star” status has turned into something a lot less cool.
There is not a shortage of religious leaders and we certainly don’t need one in the White House.
What do I want? Somebody to stop jerking our collective chain. Obama seemed, for a second, to be the one to actually implement change, or at least enough to make us feel we’re going kinda-sorta in the right direction.
Instead, we’re getting more of the same. Packaged slightly different. Tone is quite a bit better. May actually be somebody who earned his degree.
They say he’s courting the Christian Left. How about simply courting the left? How about showing that religion doesn’t actually have to play a part in the election process?
Thank you Jesus.
Popularity: 1% [?]
