Posted on 08/20/2009 8:50:44 AM PDT by dervish
President Barack Obama needs some outside help pushing health care reform, and he's turning to rabbis to get it.
In a morning conference call with about 1000 rabbis from across the nation, Obama asked for aid: "I am going to need your help in accomplishing necessary reform," the President told the group, according to Rabbi Jack Moline, who tweeted his way through the phoner.
"We are God's partners in matters of life and death," Obama went on to say, according to Moline's real-time stream.
The 15-minute morning briefing was sponsored by the Religion Action Center of Reform Judaism, and included rabbis of all persuasions. Although the RAC hosts the call each year, participants had never before heard from a sitting president.
What stood out about the call is that Obama "is a master communicator," Moline, the rabbi of the Conservative Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, said in an interview after the call ended.
"This was clearly a message that was tailored to us," and not merely a generic stump speech, he added.
Moline noted that in the lead up to the president's address, as the rabbis waited on hold, "there was a lot of chatter" among some participants who felt that the call should be seen as an opportunity "to instruct the President about [Presidential Medal of Freedom selection] Mary Robinson" and about the peace process in the Middle East.
"It was the subject of a good deal of conversation whether anyone was going to challenge him on that," in particular Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the Union of Reform Judaism, whose has publicly chided Obama for his administration's stance on settlements.
When the issues failed to come up during the health care call, Moline pithily tweeted: "Yoffie praises President and does not raise any other issue. Good for him."
"Rabbi Yoffie stuck to the subject" of health care reform, Moline said in the interview, "I think it was a good thing."
Eyebrows were also raised by the choice of hold music that played to rabbis before the call began.
"First mistake," Moline tweeted, as he waited for the call to begin. "Music on hold is 'Deutschland uber Alles,' " a classical German anthem, the lyrics to which in part say, "Preserve and protect our Kaiser, our land."
(The music was chosen by the company carrying the conference call, not the White House or the RAC.)
A questioned submitted by Moline also was asked to the President, the rabbi proudly noted on Twitter, writing, "WOW! My question was asked of the President!!!!!"
The question, he later explained, was about how rabbis can address issue of health care reform "in a non partisan" way when they're behind the pulpit.
Obama responded by noting that the massive "human toll" of a broken health care system is a non partisan issue, and simply is unacceptable, Moline recalled.
The call, which was closed to the media, precedes another Obama phoner that is to take place at 5 p.m. this evening (Wednesday).
When have you ever heard that song on Hold Music here in the US?
I guess one might make an excuse if it is the version with no words...but still..I don’t believe it was an accident.
Since when did God partner with Government?
He picks an anti-semite for the medal of freedom. He stiffs Israel in the ME with respect to palestinians and Iran. He doesn’t go to church. He skips the National Day of Prayer.
He then has the shopping cart sized guts to then ASK RABBIS for his help passing universal suffering?
He’s going by the playbook. There’s a great link explaining Alinsky’s strategy and tactics at:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/default.asp
Just search for ‘Saul Alinsky’. It’s chilling stuff, and its the only thing I’ve seen that allows you to predict what the guy’s going to do.
Oh, and its not hard to understand why the Jews had their asses kicked by God every time they turned around. Seriously brilliant people, but incapable of learning from history.
Never. But I don’t find that waiting on hold music includes classical, as a rule (it’s mostly muzak versions of stale pop songs). So you bring up a good point: are these Rabbis making that up?
As an interesting sidelight, I hear that Violin Concerto all the time on my local classical station, WCPE FM in Raleigh, NC (in case some Rabbi wants to go postal on them for playing the music Hitler commandeered, just like he commandeered everything else, just before perverting them).
While that may be, sometimes it seems that the growing season is too dadgum long.
I know what you are saying, that the Son of God, God the Son, the Word of God, the human incarnation of God, was born on his watch.
God, of course wasn't "born". He always was and always will be.
I’m so sick of this”Master Communicator” crap. So he has a nice voice. So he should have saved us all a lot of grief and become a DJ on an all-night smooth jazz radio station.
God tends to humble such individuals.
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
W had it, 0 does not.
Remember his statement “it’s time to lay a new foundation”?
1 Cor 3:11
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
As soon as I read that, I thought, "Hmmmm...no 'accident', at all!"
I guess, as long as he can read what he is saying...however; I cringe everytime I hear a word coming outta his mouth. {{{{shudder}}}}
You’re so right! I like that “don’t preach to me Zero”... He hasn’t found a church cause the Rev. Wright hasn’t moved up to DC yet....give him time!
I personally know President W Bush and he is a genuine, caring and intelligent man He has an MBA and has run businesses and knew how hard it is for people to make a payroll, etc. He has dyslexia, which makes all the more amazing how he has overcome that obstacle to become a 2 term President. The Secret Service guys and gals loved him and Laura and to me that speaks volumes!
investigate, yea; in the meantime, an opportunity -—I hope some clever people mock this. One suggestion is use the photo & caption on Drudge & photoshop the zero in appropriate garb & face. Somehow have to work the music theme in. But somebody far more clever than I could do so much better.
I so hope all the political satire artists are working on this.
PS: it may/may not be coincidence, but it would be in keeping with how BOH operates -— pander to some Jewish rabbis, while sending “code” music to the Islam folk.
“I know what you are saying, that the Son of God, God the Son, the Word of God, the human incarnation of God, was born on his watch.
God, of course wasn’t “born”. He always was and always will be. “
Well, said! You would be surprised how many don’t actually get that... and if I am add a little to this (although you obviously don’t need the lesson).... God could not be born, because God is a spirit, not flesh. You can not see God. But one can see Jesus. Jesus was “God manifest in the flesh”.... it’s kind of like taking a glass and dipping it in the ocean. All of the water in the glass is ocean, but all of the ocean is not in the glass. Same as with Jesus. Jesus was/is God. All of Jesus was God, but all of God was not in Jesus because God is too big to fit in a human body.
Playing ‘Deutschland uber Alles,’ “ a classical German anthem, should be called what it is ... INTIMIDATION in the most chilling, eerie, scary way.
This makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Only Satan thought he was a partner to God.
Ego yes. I used to think he was half ignorant and half evil. Now I believe he is half evil and half insane.
Yes, Rabbis, Godobama did tailor his speech to each faith. How'd ya like how he said some people were "bearing false witness" about his hellthcare plan? Cute, eh? I wonder what he said to the Muslim "religious leaders", don't you?
It's pathetic that Rabbis would be twittering with excitement because one of their questions was asked of the Present. (little play on words there---he voted present in the Senate and he also believes he's G-d's gift to mankind).
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." -- George Santayana
What a wonderful analogy! Thank you!
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