Obama Politics

Why Barack Obama Is Winning

Why Barack Obama Is Winning -- E.

He will have to effect a major change in our political life: to get the public and the media to think about long-term solutions rather than short-term balms. Obama has given some strong indications that he will be able to do this, having remained levelheaded through a season of political insanity. His has been a remarkable campaign, as smoothly run as any I've seen in nine presidential cycles. Even more remarkable, Obama has made race — that perennial, gaping American wound — an afterthought. He has done this by introducing a quality to American politics that we haven't seen in quite some time: maturity. He is undoubtedly as ego-driven as everyone else seeking the highest office — perhaps more so, given his race, his name and his lack of experience. But he has not been childishly egomaniacal, in contrast to our recent baby-boomer Presidents — or petulant, in contrast to his opponent. He does not seem needy. He seems a grown-up, in a nation that badly needs some adult supervision.

A Call for Hope

A Call for Hope, Courage and Compassion Petition.

As a faithful response to the critical time we face, we call upon American Christians of all theological perspectives to vote Nov. 4 for Sen. Barack Obama as President of the United States. Let America be the dream we’ve dreamed, not a firestorm of fear and hate, but a beacon of hope, courage and compassion.

Barack Obama and West Virginia Clergy

News from West Virginia « Clergy For Obama.

Here in West Virginia a group of clergy are coming together to place a full page ad in papers around the state on Nov 2 with a statement of support for Obama and call to cease spreading lies about his faith and character. As of yesterday there were about 40 willing clergy signing on. If you know a member of the clergy who resides in WV, please pass this information on to them and ask them to contact me (amyswparker@juno.com) or Rev. Jim Lewis (ejchas@aol.com) by Wed. 10/29. Thank you.

Conservatives for Obama

Conservatives for Change

Obama’s Faith Strategy

From Tales from the Trail » Blog Archive » Has Obama’s faith strategy paid dividends? | Blogs | Reuters.com:

But Obama’s strong emphasis on his personal Christian faith in the earlier stages of the campaign and his team’s outreach programs aimed at evangelicals and other religious groups seem to be paying off.

Prayers for Barack Obama

Worldwide Prayers for Barack Obama.

Barack Obama and Reinhold Niebuhr

From The Irony of Obama:

So conservatives are left with what might be called the Niebuhrian hope. One of Obama's favorite philosophers is Reinhold Niebuhr (though I imagine Niebuhr's favorite philosopher might have been the same as George W. Bush's). Niebuhr's thought is complex, but he is properly known as the theologian of conflicted humility -- for his belief that human nature is flawed and fallible even, or especially, in the pursuit of good causes. Man, Niebuhr said, is an "ironic creature" because "he forgets that he is not simply a creator but also a creature."

Pro Life, Pro Obama

Pro Life, Pro Obama

Why Evangelicals Should Consider Obama

Bret Kincaid writes:

Many of us will be tempted to vote based on one or two policy issues we feel particularly passionate about. Abortion, climate change, poverty, what have you—each impacts our neighbors and relates to important biblical values. But voting based strictly on one or two issues ignores the fact that so many other issues have enormous effect on people’s lives. Furthermore, issues are often interrelated. For instance, a constellation of factors, such as social or economic conditions, affect abortion rates but are unrelated to abortion laws. Making abortion rare or nonexistent, then, requires we vote to influence the relevant factors in addition to abortion law.

Barack Obama and Ron Sider

Ron Sider writes:

But the bottom line? On balance, overall, who is better? I’ll answer that question for myself in the privacy of the voting both on November 4. You must decide for yourself. If you agree that a “biblically balanced agenda” is important, then you will not allow one issue to trump all others. That is not to deny that in some years, certain issues are in play in ways that others are not. But it is surely good news that more and more evangelicals seek to let the full range of God’s concerns shape their politics.

I'm guessing Sider is leaning towards Obama because he seems to be saying to not let the abortion issue alone persuade you to vote for McCain. Obama may not satisfy your complete understanding of an ideal "biblically balanced agenda", but surely there is a louder echo of the Bible and Jesus' message in the public policies of Obama than in McCain.

Hispanic Protestants for Obama

From The Associated Press: Hispanic Protestants swinging back to Democrats:

Like most Hispanic evangelical and Pentecostal voters, Chavez backed George W. Bush four years ago. She believed his values lined up with hers. Now, with two weeks to another election, the 33-year-old is part of a Hispanic Protestant defection to Democrat Barack Obama, a shift that could prove key in battleground states with large Hispanic populations such as Colorado, Nevada, Florida and New Mexico.

Bart Campolo's Video

Matthew 25 Network.

Family Values for Obama

Link

Is Obama the perfect pro-life candidate?

Nicholas P. Cafardi, M. Cathleen Kaveny and Douglas W. Kmiec write:

Is Obama the perfect pro-life candidate? No. Is he preferable to the self-proclaimed "pro-lifer" McCain? Yes, because promoting life in actuality beats McCain's label and all of Weigel's elegant theorizing and hand-wringing. The Republican alternative familiar to Weigel is simultaneously self-righteous, easy and ineffective. The Democratic path is practical, anything but easy—as no act of bona fide love of neighbor ever is—but inviting of a life-affirming outcome.

Thanks to Melissa Rogers for the link.

On Being Neutral (updated)

Melissa Rogers writes:

Without taking any position on the political endorsement Powell made yesterday, let me commend him for taking it upon himself to speak out on this important issue and for doing so in such a moving way.

I understand the theory behind neutrality and as the election is in less than two weeks, I know that I am becoming even more feverishly partisan, but would it not be possible for expert political, legal and religious observers like Professor Rogers to be both fair minded to both sides and to let us know, in an act of unorthodox transparency, which side they favor?

On a related matter, can someone name me one, one conservative or moderate Baptist leader who is on the record endorsing or at least giving a clear indication that they plan on voting for Obama?

Catholics for Obama

Catholics for Obama

Pastor Edmonston from Tarboro, North Carolina for Obama

From DownEastPastor: A Short Tribute; Ask a Pastor; The Shack; Clergy for….:

Apparently this is a big deal. That a clergyman could support the Senators from Illinois and Delaware as they seek the leadership of the executive branch seems impossible for media from the far right to believe. They think that clergy like me are traitors. That a clergyman would support the Dems seems ridiculous for media from the far left to accept. Most popular, left leaning and often Democratic-supporting media, seem to think that most pastors are idiots (just see how Bill Maher; Stewart; Olberman; Colbert; et al portray pastors - this is that to which I am referring - it is awfully easy to pick on the church. Full disclosure: I watch Keith Olbermann nearly every night and I watch Stewart and Colbert frequently). Well, I am neither an idiot nor a traitor.

Obama and Evangelicals

From Some evangelicals drifting away from GOP, despite abortion question:

In past presidential elections, Geno Hildebrandt usually voted Republican, driven in part by his opposition to abortion. But this year, the pastor of Hope Chapel in North Austin is reconsidering what it means to be pro-life and breaking ranks with his conservative Christian peers. He said he's voting for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, a candidate known for his liberal support of abortion rights.

Obama and Hispanic Protestants

From Over the Fence | n:

Like true swing voters, Hispanic Protestants do not fit into traditional political categories on hot-button issues. But a new survey shows that when the dust settles, most of them will likely be standing on Barack Obama's side of the fence. Hispanic Protestants lean conservative on the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage, but lean more liberal on immigration and the economy. Although 63 percent of them voted for President Bush in 2004, only a third say they support John McCain, according to a survey conducted by SDR Consulting in Atlanta.

Thank God for the good sense of these hispanic protestants. Like others have pointed out, this is where the most dramatic movement towards Obama is. With the help of hispanic evangelicals, Obama may win Colorado and New Mexico, and with this, the election altogether.

Obama, Kmiec and Sheen

Matthew 25 Network

Barack Obama and Brian McLaren, Reason Number 4

Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama - n.

McCain, Obama, and America’s Two Exodus Stories

Election Series, No. 8 | The Center for Public Justice

Obama and Evangelicals, part 2

If You Love Jesus, Vote For Obama

Obama and Evangelicals

How Do I Convert My Evangelical Aunt To Obama?

Barack Obama and Values Voters

Values Voter Guide

Barack Obama and Pro-Life Christians

Do Christians have a moral obligation to always vote for a pro-life candidate?

Obama and the Religiously Inclined

McKinna Daugherty writes:

I do, however, have friends who are voting for Obama, and when considering the differences between these two friend groups, it occured to me that those “socially liberal” McCain supporters were not so religiously inclined. It also occured to me that those “socially liberal” Obama supporters WERE religiously inclined. Faith informs social beliefs, and that the combination inspires a corresponding vote. For this, I thank the clergy in my life (and I suspect in the lives of others). Were it not for the value placed on social justice and education in my church, I too may be whining about the possibility of paying higher taxes. But I’m not, because I know that the taxes I do pay in the future will be going towards more things I care about, and helping people who need it.

Barack Obama and Rev. Rebecca Ragland

From Clergy for Obama:

I’m supporting Barack Obama for many reasons, the most important is his commitment to moving away from the ‘gilded age’ back to strengthening and expanding the middle class. I respect his concern for the welfare of those who have been left behind, locked out, or overlooked in accessing good educations, jobs, healthcare, reasonable and non-exploitive mortgages. Barack Obama’s agenda reflects concern for all Americans. His Christian faith informs this commitment, his middle class background and mixed race ethnicity deeply shape his understanding and sympathies, and his quality of education, depth of wisdom, and breadth of experience qualify him to lead us.

Barack Obama will make us a better global partner as well. He understands the new culture of globalization and the deeply interconnected nature of our economies, ecology, and peoples. For these and many other reasons, I am wholeheartedly supporting Obama everywhere but at church!

Barack Obama and Mainline Protestants

Obama Surges Among Mainline Protestants

But Would Jesus Vote for Obama?

From Everclear:

I think Jesus would have been a card carrying liberal
If he was a young man born in the USA

He would not be "fiscally conservative"
And he wouldn't vote for John McCain
All those so called Christians that you see on TV
Maybe they scare Jesus like they scare me
Kick you the hell out of my temple too
Too many elephants in the room

If Jesus was a Democrat like the bible says he was
I don't think he's going to want to take the blame
For all the awful things you people do and say in his name

Obama and Evangelicals

John McCain's support from evangelicals fell 12 percent from last week, a new
The CBS News/New York Times poll shows. McCain still leads Obama 63 to 27 percent among evangelicals, but Obama gained seven percentage points from last week. A September 25 CBS poll showed McCain leading 69 to 20 percent.

Link

Obama is More Friendly to Religion

Forty-nine percent of Americans say Obama is friendly to religion, while 45% say McCain is friendly to religion. More than seven-in-ten (71%) say it is important for public officials to be comfortable talking about religious values.

Link

Barack Obama and Chuck Baldwin

Chuck Baldwin, nicely helping elect Obama, writes:

Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama is headed for an electoral landslide victory over John McCain. John McCain can no more beat Barack Obama than Bob Dole could beat Bill Clinton.

I ask, therefore, Are not conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain guilty of the same thing that they accuse people who vote for third party candidates of doing? Are they not voting for someone who cannot win? Indeed, they are. In fact, conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain are not only voting for a man who cannot win, they are voting for a man who does not share their own beliefs and principles. If this is not insanity, nothing is!

So, why not (for once in your life, perhaps) cast a vote purely for principle!

Barack Obama and Dr. David Gushee

Dr. Gushee writes:

I will be voting this November primarily based on the main issues facing our staggering nation. I will leave the cultural issues to our families, churches, and civil society.

Sounds to me like he is going to vote for Barack Obama. He is reluctant to say so explicitly, but by diminishing the electoral importance of the usual Christian Right cultural issues, it seems to me he is signaling pretty strongly that he would prefer Obama as the leader more capable with dealing with our current economic crisis.

Barack Obama and Lou Stovall

From Barack Obama Store:

"Hearing Senator Barack Obama emphatically state, "I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place," I was moved to hope that the next President of the United States would share my belief in the possibility of world peace. I immediately began to make a work of art to support Senator Obama's ideals and, more practically, his campaign. It is my hope to help him through this action to become the leader who would strive not only to change the policies of our nation, but the outlook of its citizens. "

Barack Obama and Frank Schaeffer

Obama Will Be One of The Greatest (and Most Loved) American Presidents

Barack Obama and Values Voters

“I am a Values Voter” by Rev. Allison Lanza « a

Can This Be Pro-Life?

From Op-Ed Columnist - Can This Be Pro-Life? - NYTimes.com:

The Bush administration this month is quietly cutting off birth control supplies to some of the world’s poorest women in Africa. Thus the paradox of a “pro-life” administration adopting a policy whose result will be tens of thousands of additional abortions each year — along with more women dying in childbirth. The saga also spotlights a clear difference between Barack Obama and John McCain. Senator Obama supports U.N.-led efforts to promote family planning; Senator McCain stands with President Bush in opposing certain crucial efforts to help women reduce unwanted pregnancies in Africa and Asia.

Barack Obama and Bart Campolo

From bartcampolo » Blog:

It might sound righteous to eschew voting and political activism as complicity in an inherently un-Christian empire, but opting out in that way seems cowardly to me. Democracy is simply a bunch of people pooling their resources for the common good and then setting aside some of those people to concentrate on managing those resources in the best ways possible. If I, as a follower of Jesus, am supposed to take care to maximize my resources for the Kingdom of God, then I am bound to participate in the process that determines their use, and to seek to influence that process according to the values of my faith.

Likewise, it may sound righteous for Christian leaders to encourage political involvement, and even to strongly suggest the key political issues (for me, reducing poverty, promoting social justice, ending our misguided efforts in Iraq, protecting the planet, and the key to accomplishing all the others, radical campaign finance reform) that followers of Jesus should keep in mind as they vote and that politicians should keep in mind as they court those votes, without ever going so far as to endorse a particular candidate on the basis of those issues. Indeed, perhaps under normal circumstances, that kind of electoral neutrality may be entirely appropriate. In this particular election, however, in the aftermath of so much bad American government that another Great Depression or worse looms before the entire world, we who have influence must seek to maximize that resource for the Kingdom of God, as well.

So then, as for me and my blog, we endorse the Presidential candidacy of Barack Obama.

Barack Obama and Young Evangelicals

From Young evangelicals plan to go against the flow |y:

Most young adults overwhelmingly support Obama (59 percent) while 35 percent plan to vote for McCain. On the other hand, 29 percent of young evangelicals plan to vote for Obama and 65 percent support McCain. Nearly 70 percent of older evangelicals plan to vote for McCain while 25 percent plan to vote for Obama.

Barack Obama and Rev. Wilfredo de Jesus, part 2

From Christianity Today n:

Wilfredo De Jesús, 44-year-old senior pastor of New Life Covenant, an Assemblies of God church in Chicago with an attendance of 4,000, says Obama is the first Democratic candidate he has ever supported. Until now, De Jesús says, opposing abortion and homosexuality have been the paramount moral issues for him. But De Jesús says Obama's comments about the mistreatment of illegal immigrants have led him to put more emphasis on immigration in terms of advocacy and ministry.

Barack Obama and Christianity Today

Christianity Today headlines a somewhat positive, somewhat skeptical article about Obama. The article includes quotes from old-timers Campolo and Sider, but not from the younger and more pro-Obama evangelical leaders, McLaren, Miller and Jones.

Barack Obama and Conservatives

I am a conservative, and that’s why I am voting Democratic

Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen

From Bruce Springsteen: From the Stage at the Vote For Change Rally in Philadelphia:

Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens.

Barack Obama and Frank Schaeffer

From Frank Schaeffer: Evangelical/Republican Racist Hypocrites for McCain, or Redemption?.

Obama believes that abortion ought to remain legal, but he also believes in real and practical programs that would reduce abortion by doing everything possible to help women, babies and families. McCain says he believes that abortion should be illegal, but knows very well that no matter what, even if the Supreme Court reversed Roe, abortion will remain legal in almost all states since all the Court would do is return the issue to the states.

So McCain's posturing is just that: more meaningless contemptible grandstanding while not actually caring about reducing abortion. Anyone who wants more babies born than aborted would vote for Obama. Everything else is an excuse, just another smoke screen.

Another Republican is Free to Vote for Obama

From a comment on Don Miller's Blog » k:

I have been a Republican for 30 years but this year even as late as the announcement of Palin as McCain’s running mate, I feel that the “scales finally fell from my eyes”! To see that doing things the same way and expecting a different result is insanity. That a group that purport itself as more intellectual continues to be represented by unscholarly, mean spirited and prideful people without fresh ideas. Finally, a news flash- Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat! I am free to vote for who I feel is going to be best to invigorate this country again. As you say I will not vote (what is supposed to be) my identity, but vote the issues (as I reflect them).

Barack Obama and the United Methodist Church

From Obama seeks 'sleeper vote' of Midwest Methodists:

The Obama campaign is keenly aware that winning Ohio and other crucial Midwest swing states will require the support of a lot more people like Edgar. In fact, for all the talk about Catholic and evangelical voters this campaign, Joshua DuBois, Obama's director of religious affairs, calls the United Methodist Church the "sleeper" vote.

"It's a large, diverse denomination with a rich history and significant presence in many key battleground states," said DuBois. "Methodists have been leaders in connecting the values of faith with the values of public policy, and obviously that's something Sen. Obama does with great frequency."

Barack Obama and Rev. Gordon Atkinson

From Real Live Preacher:

But I would like to suggest another process that you and I can use to help decide how we will vote. First, choose the issues that are most important to you. For me, the war is the most important issue. A war is a terrible thing. A destroyed nation and hundreds of thousands of dead people is more important than our local economy. I’m not trying to convince you of that. I’m saying that is MY biggest concern.

After that the state of health care in our nation is a priority for me. This is in part because my family has experienced how easy it is lose health insurance. And without insurance, you are simply gambling that you do not become extremely ill or get injured. My daughter’s very lives are on the line, so yes, that’s rather important to me.

Based upon these issues I am guessing that our good live Baptist preacher, Gordon Atkinson, will vote for Barack Obama.

Barack Obama and Donald Miller, part 4

From Don Miller Blog » On the Campaign Trail in MI, IN, NC, VA and OH This Week:

The Democrats have proposed comprehensive legislation called the 95/10 initiative that aims to reduce the number of abortions that take place in this country by 95% within 10 years. While Barack Obama is a pro-choice candidate, he supports this and similar legislation. This is the only proposed and realistic strategy that can move us around the cultural impasse that is breathing hate and anger into the Christian community.

While Barack Obama opposes late-term abortions, he has made promises to the National Organization or Women to make progress in a woman’s right to chose. I wish Obama were more strong on this issue. Still, I do feel he will accomplish more than John McCain, as John McCain has only recently taken this position and offers no legislation and no plan.