Barack Obama declared Saturday to a roaring crowd of 40,000 delegates attending the African Methodist Episcopal Church National Conference in St. Louis, that they should have no doubt of his commitment to his Christian faith, his nation or his political principles.
In an address filled with religious and patriotic imagery, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president told delegates attending the national conference of one of the nation’s largest and most politically and civically active black denominations, that he wouldn’t be fulfilling the Lord’s will unless he were doing the Lord’s work.
He stated that his commitment to the Christian Faith would continue to influence his performance and his politics if he wins the White House, igniting repeated cheers and standing ovations as he reaffirmed his proposals to expand on faith-based government initiatives - begun by President George W. Bush.
Obama preached individual responsibility, employing preacher’s cadences that were interrupted frequently by “Amens� and “yes.� He said he risked criticism for “blaming the victim� by talking of the need for parents to help children with homework and turn off the TV, to pass on a healthy self-image to daughters, and teach boys both to respect women and “realize that responsibility does not end at conception.� Sadly, that seems completely our of touch on the real issues that people criticise him for.
But Obama’s main message was the government’s duty to address what he said are “moral problems� — such as war, poverty, joblessness, homelessness, violent streets and crumbling schools —and to employ religious institutions to do it.
“They are moral problems, rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness, in the imperfections of man. And so the values we believe in — empathy and justice and responsibility to ourselves and our neighbors — these cannot only be expressed in our churches and our synagogues, but in our policies and in our laws.”
Hopechangery!
Of the two presumptive nominees for president, Obama has been far more outspoken about his religious beliefs than Sen. John McCain. Evangelical Christian leaders have remained skeptical, however, that Obama’s faith comports with their own, especially given his support for gay and abortion rights.
Just last week, Obama expressly came out against using “mental distress” as a justification for late-term abortions, a position widely seen as the latest in a string of moves *cough flip flops cough* toward the political center but one aimed specifically at Christian conservatives.
Such “moves” may run the risk of alienating Obama’s liberal activist supporters but could also broaden his appeal in battleground states and in Republican regions trending Democratic.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
As a Christian, I emotionally do not believe in abortion, but intellectually, I remember the things that happen before abortion was legal. Rove v. Wade was decided 35 years ago. A large number of people do not remember when abortion was illegal. Women without the money to pay doctors that would perform safe abortions received back-alley abortions. Women also used coat hangers and other sharp items to induce abortions.
Republicans Never Delivered Promised Abortion Law Change
Why does anyone think John McCain will make any changes in the abortion law?
As California’s governor, Ronald Reagan signed permissive abortion legislation that leads to many abortions. As a presidential candidate, he pledged to seek an anti-abortion constitutional amendment, but never fought hard for one.
George W. Bush flip-flopped from his earlier stance on abortion when he ran for President. Bush has had 7.5 yrs and a Republican controlled Congress until 2006 - Bush did not achieve a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion.
There is a good article written by a doctor that treated the results of bad abortions: Repairing the Damage, Before Roe By Waldo L. Fielding, M.D.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/views/03essa.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=%22roe%20v.%20wade%22&st=cse&oref=slogin
However, not simply coat hangers were used.
Almost any implement you can imagine had been and was used to start an abortion — darning needles, crochet hooks, cut-glass salt shakers, soda bottles, sometimes intact, sometimes with the top broken off.
Another method that I did not encounter, but heard about from colleagues in other hospitals, was a soap solution forced through the cervical canal with a syringe. This could cause almost immediate death if a bubble in the solution entered a blood vessel and was transported to the heart.
The worst case I saw, and one I hope no one else will ever have to face, was that of a nurse who was admitted with what looked like a partly delivered umbilical cord. Yet as soon as we examined her, we realized that what we thought was the cord was in fact part of her intestine, which had been hooked and torn by whatever implement had been used in the abortion. It took six hours of surgery to remove the infected uterus and ovaries and repair the part of the bowel that was still functional.
It is important to remember that Roe v. Wade did not mean that abortions could be performed. They have always been done, dating from ancient Greek days.
What Roe said was that ending a pregnancy could be carried out by medical personnel, in a medically accepted setting, thus conferring on women, finally, the full rights of first-class citizens — and freeing their doctors to treat them as such.
It is way past time to stop making abortion a one-issue decision for choosing a President. It is time to focus on the economy, Iraq war, gas prices, health care—the things that matter to everyone, except the wealthy that want a President that will make them richer.
July 6th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I’ve noticed that Obama has been doing a lot of ‘refining’ his positions on various things. He has actually stated that he’s courting more votes. I think its not his words but his actions we should watch because he speaks out of both sides of his mouth - depending on who he is speaking to.
Julie - no President has the power to make those sorts of decisions on his own. To have an impact on abortion law and other similar types of legislation you would need to look at what type of judges the President would nominate to the Supreme Court.
The issue of judges is enough reason to do everything within reason to keep Obama out of the White House. More liberal judges on the Supreme Court would be a problem for many years to come.
July 6th, 2008 at 11:51 am
though it seems the very liberal obama is “racing” now toward the center, he could never be trusted to choose supreme court justices from even a moderate view point. he has flipped his abortion position just a wee bit to sound moderate but he is not. pro life issues are not really in the hands of a president anyway to the degree you suggest. our best hope in that area would be the men and women he nominates to the SCOTUS but with a liberal senate, who knows the outcome? mccain is our best shot.