Breaking Down Obama's Answers to The Brody File
July 30, 2007
Earlier I posted Senator Barack Obama's answers to my questions. If you missed it, click here. Now let me take a few moments to analyze what he said.
Let's discuss this line: "I've just always been clear that my Christian faith has motivated me for 20 years, and I'm not ashamed to talk about it, or the role that faith should play in our American life."
There's no doubt that faith is important to the majority of Americans. They want a candidate who believes in God. The winning ticket for Obama is to talk about your faith and how it plays into your public policy decisions. What has been refreshing about Obama is that he doesn't shy away from bringing up the name "Jesus."
I know there are those of you who believe his views on abortion and civil unions don't line up with the Bible. He realizes that too and let's face it- he's probably not going to win over the single issue voter. But as we've discussed before in this space, there are some Evangelicals and social conservatives who have a broader view. He may win over some of those folks when he talks about a host of social justice issues like poverty, environmentalism, Darfur, etc.
Here's another interesting quote from Obama in response to when he said last month that "Faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, all too eager to exploit what divides us."
Here's what he told me: "My intention was to contrast the heated partisan rhetoric of a distinct minority of Christian leaders with the vast majority of Evangelical Christians - conservatives included - who believe that hate has no place in our politics. When you have pastors and television pundits who appear to explicitly coordinate with one political party; when you're implying that your fellow Americans are traitors, terrorist sympathizers or akin to the devil himself; then I think you're attempting to hijack the faith of those who follow you for your own personal or political ends."
I'm sure Obama believes this to be true. But if he wants to appeal to religious conservatives, especially Evangelicals, rhetoric is important. His whole deal is that he wants to bring both sides together, so he needs to make sure that he doesn't alienate one side. When he talks critically about those "so-called leaders of the Christian Right," it's important to understand that those leaders share the same values with millions of Evangelicals. When I say "those values", I'm referring specifically to abortion and marriage.
So while he tries to make the distinction by pointing out problems with these leaders, in the process, by proxy, millions of Evangelicals may take that criticism personally as well.
Then there's this comment when I asked him about how he can facilitate bringing both the religious left and religious right together: "Well, these are difficult problems and there are no easy solutions. But I think that there are some lessons that both progressives and conservatives might learn. For progressives, I think we should recognize the role that values and culture play in addressing some of our most urgent social problems.For my friends on the right, I think it would be helpful to remember the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy but also our religious practice.I think that the right might worry a bit more about the dangers of sectarianism. Whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of non-believers. We should acknowledge this and realize that when we're formulating policies from the state house to the Senate floor to the White House, we've got to work to translate our reasoning into values that are accessible to every one of our citizens, not just members of our own faith community."
Where do I begin? For Obama to recognize that values and culture play a key role here is significant. Democrats typically talk more about how government can solve your problems. Don't get me wrong. Obama is a fan of government intervention. The question remains how, as President, he would go about combining government programs while at the same time using his soap box to help push cultural issues that change the heart.
As for no longer being "just a Christian nation", that's not going to sit well with fundamentalists. They believe that this nation was indeed founded on Judeo-Christian biblical principles and shouldn't be watered down. But then again, Obama isn't going after the fundamentalist crowd. It's broader than that.
Since Obama wants to bring everybody together, I have a suggestion for a campaign song.
Comments?
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