Barack Obama’s “Call to Renewal” speech
This guy is politically dangerous. He won’t win over religious conservatives like me with this kind of talk, but he doesn’t have to. He just needs to pull enough of the “middle of the road” folks, and any Republican challenger will be in big trouble.
Watch out for Obama, folks. This guy really scares me. I think he is possibly the best pure politician out there right now.
Thanks to Muskrat for the heads up.
June 29th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I saw Obama as a real threat years ago when he spoke at the DNC meeting when Gore ran for Pres. I think ‘08 is slightly too premature for him to be on the ticket - but, you’ll see him for sure in ‘12 (and possibly not as VP).
June 29th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Too early? Not by a long shot. Indeed, I think his ‘newness’ would be a genuine asset in a race that looks to be dominated by a bunch of old warhorses that engender a mix of reactions. Obama can make himself out to be a blank slate onto which (if he’s clever enough) a broad swathe of people can impose their own conceptions. My sister, a pretty libertarian gal living in Chicago, loves Obama, notwithstanding his tax-n-spend views.
He wouldn’t have much of an opportunity for picking off some voters if the GOP weren’t so lilly-livered about social conservative political issues.
June 29th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
I just thought this was a very clear statement of something I strongly believe but which I’ve struggled to articulate clearly:
“Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”
June 29th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
yeah, this guy is good.
one of the (underappreciated) things he can do is speak in “code.” for instance, for those who grew up in a church/christian organizations, you knew that his 2004 DNC speech reference to “awesome God” comes from the song. but you wouldn’t necessarily catch that if you didn’t.
clinton did the same thing in his masterful DNC speech (e.g., “send me”; “talents”; etc.)
June 29th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
I’m expecting to see Obama as the VP candidate in ‘08. It would help the Dems in that election and give him a leg up for ‘12 if they lose it.
Steve
You’re right that he won’t win over the religious conservatives, but he’s not trying to do that. One thing I like about him is that he helps religious liberals become a religious voice, not a liberal voice.
June 29th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
What a great speech. I’m encouraged, and I hope we can count on more thoughtful words on this subject from him (and others) in the future.
June 29th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
I listened to this on the audio feature, and he sure has a wonderful voice. But I think he is simply too exotic to be a part of any successful national Democratic ticket.
July 1st, 2006 at 12:02 am
Let’s see now. A gifted political speaker, who obviously understands and respects both faith and pluralism, aspires to leadership in a political party which has, with some justification, been accused of failing to treat people of fatih with appropriate respect for their values. And Mr. Dillard regards that as a bad thing? I do understand (and sometimes even appreciate) naked partisanship, but I cannot help believing that I am missing part of the picture here.
BTW, Alan Keyes is right that Jesus would not vote for Barack Obama–there is that little matter of citizenship and residency requirements. However, if Jesus were living in the present day United States, whom would He likely be running out of houses of worship?