Barack Obama is to Jeremiah Wright as John McCain is to ?
DNC Chairman Howard Dean's approved response is “you’re a racist!” This is, of course, how Democrats would like to keep our long-awaited conversation on race. Democrats call Republicans “racist” while Republicans inaudibly mutter something about which side of Slavery and Segregation the Democrats were on (not to mention Jim Crow Laws, Poll Taxes and the Civil Rights Act of 1964). Republicans might even mention Bull Connor and Bob Byrd (former Kleagle in the KKK, current senator) but to no avail, the label sticks.
Moreover, the “racist” claim is in step with the updated version of how Democrats define attacks against their candidates:
Swiftboating: Presenting an indisputable fact about a white Democrat politician that may be devastating to their campaign
Racism: Presenting an indisputable fact about a black Democrat politician that may be devastating to their campaign
If you’re one of the 0.02% of the population that watches the DNC’s network (MSDNC), you know the real answer to our initial question is that McCain’s Reverend Wright is John Hagee.
Hagee has been accused of calling the Catholic Church the “great whore” (from Revelation) which he later attempted to clarify. Unfortunately, not everyone is afforded the luxury of “context.” Hagee also said Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment on New Orleans for its collective sin including the sin of homosexuality.
As abhorrent as the Left finds Hagee’s use of Old Testament Wrath-ology, they certainly weren’t appalled when former Democratic Presidential Nominee, Albert Arnold “Al” Gore, Jr., implied that Katrina was a result of our sin of SUV-driving. If only Hagee had implied that we had been punished by Mother Earth and not by God he’d be eligible for a Nobel Peace Prize!
The truth is, there is a world of difference between Wright and Hagee, and there’s an even bigger difference between their respective relationships with Obama and McCain. McCain has never been to Hagee’s mega-church, let alone called the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio his spiritual home for two decades. Hagee didn’t lead John McCain to Christ, never baptized his kids, didn’t marry him and Cindy. Hagee didn’t inspire any of McCain’s books or his initial run for elected office. Hagee was not McCain’s personal spiritual mentor on the campaign trail.
However, the fact that one could continue on this train of thought into infinitude is the point of this article.
Lost in all the pastoral sniping is how someone else is getting a total pass on the matter. Hillary Clinton doesn’t regularly attend church and has no spiritual mentor to speak of. And her campaign is better for it.
What’s more, in a July 2007 New York Times interview Clinton claims to have “felt the presence of the Holy Spirit” and says that she’s officially “open” on the idea that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.
That’s it! As is the case with every other issue on the table this year, she says just enough info to pacify the electorate. Her comments were made sufficiently under the radar so as to not attract attention. (FYI, if you want people to know what sound a tree makes when it falls in the woods, don’t broadcast the event on MSNBC or write about it in the New York Times.)
What does this all mean? Would Obama or McCain be better off if they, like Ronald Reagan, didn’t go to church (at least not publicly)? Is this the collective lesson learned from JFK and Mitt Romney? Would Mike Huckabee’s political aspirations been better served by going to Law School rather than Seminary? Could Carter and Bush [43] be the last presidents to positively motivate bloc voters based on their profession of faith?
If all those things are true, it would truly be unfortunate. In 2004, just 13% of Americans considered themselves non-religious. Over three quarters of Americans are self-proclaimed followers of Christ. It’s no secret that our country was founded on religious (particularly Christian) principles.
It would be a shame if future candidates for our highest elected office were disqualified in some way based on their affiliation with an institution so integral to our past and present.
No comments:
Post a Comment