Posted on 06/29/2006 5:41:32 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
During the 2004 Illinois Senate race, GOP nominee Alan Keyes, facing certain crushing defeat from rival Barack Obama, suggested that Jesus Christ would not back the Democratic contender.
"And I think you remember my response, which was, I wanted to know who his pollster was," Obama joked to Fox News host Alan Colmes on Oct. 26, 2004.
"Because if I have a chance to talk to Jesus, I'm going to be talking to him about eternal life and the meaning and purpose of my work here. I'm not going to be worrying about who he's voting for in the Senate race."
Obama's lighthearted responses at that time included a quip about not being on the ballot for "Minister of Illinois."
On Wednesday, Obama revealed that Keyes' assertions ate at him more than he let on and in a sense prompted some personal soul-searching as the freshman senator pondered the role faith in general -- and his in particular -- had to do with shaping policy and politics in the United States.
"But Mr. Keyes' implicit accusation that I was not a true Christian nagged at me, and I was also aware that my answer didn't adequately address the role my faith has in guiding my own values and beliefs.
Taken from chapter in new book
"My dilemma was by no means unique. In a way, it reflected the broader debate we've been having in this country for the last 30 years over the role of religion in politics.''
These reflections came in a keynote address Obama delivered Wednesday to a conference sponsored by Sojourners/Call to Renewal, a liberal evangelical group whose major focus is on fighting poverty in this rich nation.
Obama, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who also spoke the last few days at the organization's convention in Washington, all received standing ovations. The group is led by influential Christian thinker and writer the Rev. Jim Wallis. The evangelicals also heard from Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).
Obama's speech was adopted from a chapter on faith included in his upcoming book, The Audacity of Hope, to be published in October. While Clinton's camp treated her speech routinely -- her office did not have a copy for release -- the Obama team used it as a setting for a major policy address.
The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign paid a lot of attention to evangelicals in 2004 -- especially those who stayed home in 2000 -- and President Bush won a second term with 76 percent of the evangelicals, according to exit polls.
Obama has an important message about the need for Democrats to reach out to people of faith in America and not make concessions to the right-wingers who claim moral superiority. It's similar to a campaign for faith-based voters being waged by Dean. Obama's team also made sure there were messengers to get his message heard.
Obama's office handed out the speech in advance to wire service reporters so a story would be on the desks of assigning editors when they looked at the morning news roundup from the wires, hopefully influencing their coverage decisions. Interviews on CNN and Fox were booked before he even gave the speech. Wednesday night, Obama was scheduled for another interview on Fox's "Hannity and Colmes." Today, Obama will be on ABC's "Good Morning America" and CNN's "American Morning."
'A choice and not an epiphany'
Religion is no small matter to Barack Hussein Obama. But it has not always been that way.
"I was not raised in a particularly religious household. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just 2, was Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, I did, too.
"It wasn't until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma,'' he said. His embrace of Christianity was "a choice and not an epiphany," and his spiritual home is Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
All too often, the "values vote" is seen as Republican. Democrats have been trying for years to make the conversation broader -- not just about gay marriage or posting the Ten Commandments in a public place, but about the morality of budget choices Congress makes every day. Obama goes a little further in making the suggestion that "voluntary student prayer groups" in school "should not be a threat."
Or as Obama put it, "In other words, if we don't reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons will continue to hold sway.''
Read the entire Obama speech on faith at my blog: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/
mailto:lsweet3022@aol.com
Chicago Public Schools set up Muslim Prayer Room, November 29, 2001
According to the koran if you are born a muslim you are always a muslim. Wonder when the "religion of peace" is going to kill him for being an apostate.
Barack Obama-African American
The difference in the two men is staggering - one is a Statesman and one is a political hack who hyphenates his name.
Patriotism is not the last resort of a scoundrel. It is religion.
Obama and Keyes differed on many issues including school vouchers, which Keyes supported and Obama fought against, and higher taxes, which Obama supported and Keyes was against. Obama's huge early lead, the general Democratic dominance of Illinois, and Keyes' controversial statements helped Obama win handily in the general election, receiving 70% of the popular vote to Keyes's 27%.
Granted Keyes has the rapier wit of an Ann Coulter, (truth & fact) a little hard for liberal Ill. to take and Obama is an avowed liberal/socialist as well an activist in Civil Rights. All made him the favorite in Ill.
We can all aspire to make over 250k, now can't we.
The Dems use religion, spirit,faith as a tool not as a foundation for life. Obama may be sincere but being a liberal, Christianity must be a continuous struggle within. The Party cannot use spirit to fool voters. You either have spirit deep within or you do not. As Doug Giles wrote, 'you can be a liberal, but you cannot be a liberal and a Christian.'
Because if I have a chance to talk to Jesus, I'm going to be talking to him about eternal life and the meaning and purpose of my work here. I'm not going to be worrying about who he's voting for in the Senate race."
And, dude if Jesus talked to you He would remind you that abortion is the murder of an innocent child and "Better that you were never born than to lead one of my sheep astray."
Abra Cababrah is a cynical swine if he thinks he can get the rat to act rfeligious to win elections.
Would someone who is a Christian say the below - which he did at the 2nd Sen debate against Keyes?
I don't think so.
HERNANDEZ-GOMEZ: Senator Obama, you say you're a Christian, but Ambassador Keyes said that your record runs counter to Jesus' teachings. What's your reaction to your opponent's assertion that your own Lord and Savior wouldn't even vote for you?
OBAMA: (laughs) Well, you know, my first reaction was, I actually wanted to find out who Mr. Keyes' pollster was, because if I had the opportunity to talk to Jesus Christ, I'd be asking something much more important than this senate race. I'd want to know whether I was going up, or down--
http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/media/debates/04_10_21debate2.htm
You can live your life according to Christ's and still not be a practicing member of an organized religion.
Truth be told, the elite republicans would prefer the religious right to shut up in the back seat while they drive.
I am a self-proclaimed Conservative, but I don't subscribe to an organized religion.
Just happen to learn that you should treat people the way you'd like to be treated. And hope you can make a few friends on the way.
Don't "you" or anybody dare say that I don't belong in this party.
Whoever had the idea to run Keyes in Illinois should be thrashed to within an inch of his worthless RNC life.
BTW, has anyone ever publicly thanked the feisty Keyes for flying this kamikaze mission? I am surprised that the Stupid Party didn't trot him out for a run against Hillary, in NYS. He certainly would have made it more interesting than that nutty 'black helicopter' loser they came up with to take a dive against the Beast of November. Sheesh, she's making Lazio look good.
In fact, maybe the RNC can just use Keyes as their DH wherever they feel as if they are bound to lose anyway. Maybe run him against Ted in MA, or Feinstein in CA.
O yeah, this Barack Hussein Obama character is slicker than goose manure on a wet ax handle. Get used to him. He's a 30-year man in the Senate, at least.
By definition Liberals have no standards. It is impossible to reconcile this with the moral code the Bible (and all major religions except islam) requires.
The nice thing about this is Osama now has put himself out there where we can see the rank hypocrisy.
Hey DC: if the shoe fits, but obviously it did not fit you. You would have to go to Townhall.com, get back issues of Doug Giles' article and see if he could better explain my comments. I would never think of driving anyone out of the Party since Party members probably have more in common than differences. Liberalism , however, does not seem to accept this. At least as played by the Dem Party. And that includes one's faith in the Bible, Jesus as personal saviour and classic Christianity. Why do you think Dean and Obama and Hil are begging Dems to 'get religion' ????
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