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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
January 22, 2008
/ 15 Shevat 5768
Putting faith in Obama: Do GOPers tempted by him know what they're supporting?
By
Rod Dreher
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Doug LeBlanc is a conservative evangelical and a Republican who is considering doing something he hasn't thought about since before the Reagan era voting for a Democrat for president.
And not just any Democrat he's taken by Barack Obama.Why Mr. Obama? Because to Mr. LeBlanc, a Virginia writer active in Episcopal Church controversies, the Illinois senator would bring to the White House "a decisive break from President Bush's foreign policy, a shattering of the racial ceiling on the presidency, youthful energy and an exceptionally bright mind."
Mr. LeBlanc is not alone on the right. Despite being even more liberal on policy matters than rival Hillary Clinton, Mr. Obama provokes remarkably little dread among Republicans. For conservatives tempted by Mr. Obama, his charm and empathy soothe conservative anxieties, especially when compared with the frightful Hillary Clinton.
What's more, the promise that Mr. Obama could represent a decisive break with the divisive racial politics practiced by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and lead the nation toward authentic racial reconciliation, might make an Obama presidency worth risking.
It's an enticing prospect for conservatives, but as with so much surrounding the dazzling Mr. Obama, you have to ask whether his record matches the hopes his admirers place in him.
Mr. Obama is not a preacher, but he gives awesome sermons. He is comfortable using religious language in his speeches, and it's easy for conservative Christians to imagine that, despite profound policy differences with the liberal Democrat, he and they share common ground.
If so, it's probably less than they think. Mr. Obama's church is a member of the United Church of Christ, one of the more liberal mainline Protestant denominations. In his writings, he has conceded that he doesn't know what happens after death or "where the soul resides or what existed before the Big Bang."
That's not out of the ordinary for liberal Christian churches, but it may take conservative believers aback. Conservative evangelicals and others who won't vote for Mitt Romney because they believe his Mormonism deviates too widely from traditional Christianity had better not give Mr. Obama a passing glance.
Moreover, Mr. Obama has called his conversion to Christianity "a choice and not an epiphany." He writes of his experience at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ as an opening up to the social power of religion. Mr. Obama saw secular salvation in the church's ability to provide community and to give purpose to its members' lives and mobilize them for social change.
Does Mr. Obama believe in G-d, or does he believe in the church? To put it another way, is his faith fundamentally supernatural or merely social? If you believe the content of a presidential candidate's faith factors into his fitness for office, this could be important.
And then there's Mr. Obama's Muslim question. No, not the smear e-mails making the rounds, preposterously alleging that he is a closeted Muslim. His Muslim problem has a name: Louis Farrakhan.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who serves as Mr. Obama's pastor and whose sermons brought Mr. Obama to the altar for baptism, is a big fan of the black Muslim minister. Trinity UCC's magazine gave Mr. Farrakhan, infamous for his white-bashing, anti-Semitic sermons, an award last year for his "greatness." Mr. Wright bases his own appeal on explicitly racial lines.
Barack Obama certainly does not, and last week he repudiated Mr. Farrakhan and said he disagrees with his pastor's decision to honor him. This isn't the last we will hear about Pastor Wright, though. His anti-white, hard-left statements for example, days after 9/11, he gave a sermon saying the attacks were evidence that "the Great White West" had ignored black concerns will be hard to defend to a mainstream audience. Noting how formative Mr. Wright's influence has been on Mr. Obama's worldview, Rolling Stone observed: "This is as openly radical a background as any significant American political figure has ever emerged from, as much Malcolm X as Martin Luther King Jr."
Few people believe that GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul believes the racist, anti-Semitic things published anonymously in his newsletter. The problem was that Mr. Paul was not sufficiently alarmed by the poison-pen dispatches to distance himself from the creeps writing them. If Mr. Paul takes hits for the company he keeps, shouldn't Mr. Obama?
"We don't agree on everything," Mr. Obama has said of his spiritual mentor. That's not going to cut it once the campaign gets under way. Mr. Obama's unwillingness, so far, to take on his own pastor's racial rhetoric raises doubts about his ability to be the kind of president who can transcend America's identity politics.
That the incendiary Mr. Wright and his role in the candidate's life is still largely unknown shows that the dazzling Mr. Obama has not yet received the kind of close media scrutiny he deserves. That's true, even if Mrs. Clinton says it.
Scripture says faith is evidence of things unseen. Mr. Obama's conservative admirers, in whose number I count myself, should bear in mind that he's merely a secular politician. Before putting faith in Mr. Obama, we need to see more evidence that he's not merely old liberal wine poured into an attractive new wineskin.
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Comment by clicking here.
Rod Dreher is assistant editorial page editor of the Dallas Morning News and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum).
PREVIOUSLY
11/20/07: We can't fix the world with The Care Bear Stare
10/17/07: Every father should read this book to his son
10/03/07: Not even our parks are safe … And I lay at least part of the blame on the cultural revolution and our obsession with the individual
08/22/07: The Decalogue, dangerous? Advice for a society that cringes at commandments
08/15/07: Playing the anti-science card
08/01/07: How the U.S. can avoid its own version of the fall of the Roman empire
07/24/07: Conservative author: Big business can be as dangerous a threat as big government
07/09/07: All quiet but the doleful pleas of a father who knows
06/28/07: When we let conspiracy theory masquerade as news, we fall prey to much more than deception
06/20/07: Stranded on Delta: They may love to fly, but it certainly doesn't show
06/13/07: When did conservatism start to mean never having to say you're sorry?
05/08/07: PBS darling gets abused by PC police
05/02/07: Impervious to beauty and deadened to depravity
04/20/07: What I know about being a loner
10/28/05: How the conservatives crumble
© 2007, The Dallas Morning News,
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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