WORLD VIEW

More a Matter of Mystery than Magic

It seems that, for Obama, faith is about enduring questions.

By Jon Meacham | NEWSWEEK
Published Jul 12, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Jul 21, 2008

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  • Posted By: adla @ 07/28/2008 7:48:05 AM

    Comment: As I read the article written by Jon Meachcham entitled :"More a matter of mystery than magic" One point threw me into deep thinking.When Meacham mentioned in his article:"Where was god at Aushwitz?" I thaught about all of the miseries and massacres that we could have asked this question.I write this to ask the writer:Where was god in Nagasaki and Hisroshima?,Where was god in Iraq when millions were killed because of still unknown reasons?!where was god in palestine when israel committed massacres that killed children,women and men?!I only like to share this note wit the Newsweek readers because this question of where was god is very important in these days where damages and msieries are spreading.However,this question should be asked for everytime in history where men committed hideous crimes against other men and not only for a certain event like Aushwitz.

  • Posted By: Thewhitesmiter @ 07/23/2008 4:05:14 AM

    Comment: A good poem but you seem to be somewhat naive. Can you explain how democracy would work without libraries, free public schools, clean parks, a police force and other taxable commodities which make a true democracy possible?

  • Posted By: Shaka @ 07/20/2008 8:47:49 PM

    Comment: I disagree with the comment by Chagasman. I thought the article was relevent. There are lots of people who care what a canidate believes about Jesus. In fact this is the most important issue for me when I am considering what canidate to vote for. I also appreciate that while Barack Obama is a born again beliver, he is not a legalist that condems followers of other religions to hell. That decision is God's alone.

  • Posted By: Chagasman @ 07/18/2008 12:38:00 PM

    Comment: By writing this article, Newsweek is imposing its own religious litmus test on Barack Obama. It's past time to start discussing the real issues in this election, not whether or not a candidate believes or doesn't believe in Jesus. This article was a waste of time and paper.

  • Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 07/16/2008 12:15:14 AM

    Comment: The United States can only trust John McCain as Commander-In-Chief. On the matter of the economy , Barack Hussein Obama and John McCain are equally effective or ineffective , depending how you look at it,
    which means only John McCain is the logical choice for the next President of the United States.

    • Posted By: no bigots here @ 07/17/2008 1:05:53 AM

      Comment: The bigots comes marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah, get back to Canada hurrah hurrah, do you know how to spell Canada bigot?

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/15/2008 9:56:53 PM

    Comment:

    pearsoncrz

    You really need to get over yourself and get a real education on McCain. You have to really do some home work and it takes more than just a night fantastic on the web. I have been watching his career for many years and it is far from stellar and far from clean and far from honest. I was watching the Cspan broadcast when his temper tantrums ruined the entire proceedings. Bad about Mccain has been around longer than dirt. And i have read both of Barack Obamas books.. have you read his books both of them. i can tell you one thing Barack Obama has laid it all out for you to see and McCain has not. Do some real research of his congressional record and voting practices and his destructive practices of bills by instilling amendments at midnight before the day of the votes so they would die and never reach the floor for a vote. (Hence where he got his nick name Johnnie Midnight) Look up the McCain Bill where he has single handed sealed all of his serious service records. never to be opened again! Ask around Washington if you know anybody who woks in the Halls and you will hear a different story. His own party knows the story and they will tell you they are afraid of getting another 4 years of Bush policies. They also know that they are going to lose many seats in congress and probably the Presidency come November. It is not a pretty picture for the Republicans this election cycle. The MSM needs a horse race so they are keeping many things from the general public about McCain but it is all out there.

    McCain, I have never seen a presidential candidate that was so manufactured. There isn't anything about this guy that is real. His policies are 7 months young if that. He flip flops so much it is hard to keep track of all of them but I have. (64 and counting) Barack Obama is very intelligent and has made mostly all correct decisions after weighing all of the facts. He does not jump to conclusions. What is really impressive about Barack Obama is he gets it. McCain is so far off from getting it, it is scary. We don't need someone like McCain who doesn't have a clue what is happening in this extremely scary world. He will be just like Bush in that aspect. He will make it even scarier.

    And you still are Giving Jr and the Devil a pass and by doing that you are saying you are okay with what they are doing. Now that is scary!

    "Danger Will Robinson Danger"



  • Posted By: Jack999 @ 07/15/2008 4:15:00 AM

    Comment: Freddie Mac &Fannie Mae hold Debt US 5 trillion,The US government moved to shore up the beleaguered the companies by injecting 2.25 bilion ONLY through investment and loan. What a Joke.!!!!!!!...MC Bush & MCSame tells America Economic is SOUND.and SAFE.keeping all BORROWING from other country including enemy are kept secrets under Carpet,from American Public,so Keep sleeping Americans DONT Worry Our Bank verge of Bankrupt so dont bother TAKE your money OUT....We guarantee..US100,000 but cost you 0.50Ct every dollar...Americans now under going ONLY Mental Recession just like (John MCSame having Vietnam Mental treatments) and the AMERICANS are just whinners Bunch......GREAT REPUBLICAN POLITIC ANALYSIST.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 10:22:55 PM

    Comment:

    Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 19:38:24

    Comment: Not for me to judge them, that is God's decision.
    ___________________________________________________________________________________

    So you give them a pass but you judge Barack Obama and question his faith. Wow that answer was extremely entertaining and hypocritical I might add. Here you have two "THINGS" Jr and The Devil who are responsible for the death of millions of human beings and you are giving them a pass.

    Wow "Danger Will Robinson danger"



    • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/15/2008 5:07:19 PM

      Comment:
      I don't judge Obama in the sense of condemning him to hell, which is what the question asked.

      Yes, I judge whether a person misrepresents himself or herself, that is part of the dynamic of choosing from among the candidates available. I also look to the fruits of their labors, the evidence of "good works" in their lives. And with only bad choices available since the best candidate is not in the running, I must chose which I believe will do less harm, which I believe to be more honorable and ethical.

      Given Obama's history with requesting earmarks for his cronies and funders and even his own wife's employer, his dealings with Blackwell, Rezko, et al., his blatent pandering to the black vote and solicitation of republican cross-overs to defeat Hillary Clinton, I do not find him honorable or ethical. Nor do I find any "good works" in his resume, no credits which would make him the lesser of two evils. In fact, I see significant danger in his taking office with a Democratic majority in Congress. His mistakes would not be vetted the way a Republican's would, just as his past hasn't been vetted by the press because they are in love with his story.

      Perhaps most important, I do not think any person who admits to using cocaine for years should be elected to POTUS. I admire people who overcome addiction, don't get me wrong, but I don't want someone who seemed to glory in his drug use because of the way it aligned him with the classic "black" profile, because it helped him gain an identity. Read his book.

      John McCain may not be perfect, but then we've never had a perfect person running for president, have we? I find him honorable, patriotic, committed to doing the best job he can, and willing to stand up and expose himself to ridicule and attacks from both sides when he believes the truth should be told, as in his unceasing efforts to bring transparency to earmarks, and his commitment to the surge.

  • Posted By: JimWalsh @ 07/14/2008 9:20:33 PM

    Comment: pearsoncrz: How does Obama not adhere to the central tenants of Christianity? Being pro-choice does not mean he believes abortion is right. As many Christians believe, making abortions illegal will not stop abortions, it will mean people without sufficient money to pay a doctor for an illegal abortion will have unsafe abortions in back-alleys, many dying or ending up in emergency rooms for hours of surgery to repair the damage. <br><br> Obama said for him, he believes Jesus is the only way to heaven. I can certainly understand his not wanting to think his mother did not go to heaven. Jesus says in Matthew 25, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." What have each of you done to help the least of these? Obama has dedicated his life to helping people in need. Is judging Obama's Christianity in accordance with the Bible teaching about let the first without sin throw the first rock, do not gossip, and love your neighbor as yourself?

    • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/15/2008 5:17:02 PM

      Comment: He says he does not believe there is a hell, and he does not believe that God would condemn those who deny Christ to hell.

      You tell us he believes Jesus is the only way, but that is not what he says. Would you like the link?



      It is not a question of my "judging" him. It is a matter of whether he believes what those who profess to be Christians believe.

      I have not raised the abortion issue, so I do not know why you are discussing that in response to my post.

      .Obama has not dedicated his life to helping people in need. Please post proof of this.

      As far as I can tell, Obama has dedicated his life to promoting himself and pursuing his ambitions.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:41:10 PM

    Comment:

    King Daddy of the Flip Floppers Johnnie Midnight

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:39:54 PM

    Comment: National Security Policy

    1. McCain thought Bush???s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.

    2. McCain insisted that everyone, even ???terrible killers,??? ???the worst kind of scum of humanity,??? and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, ???deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,??? even if that means ???releasing some of them.??? McCain now believes the opposite.

    3. He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it ???one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.???

    4. In February 2008, McCain reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.

    5. McCain was for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay before he was against it.

    6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in Pakistani mountains with predators, McCain criticized him for it. He???s since come to the opposite conclusion.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:39:30 PM

    Comment: Foreign Policy

    7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8 before he was against it.

    8. McCain supported moving ???towards normalization of relations??? with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.

    9. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.

    10. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.

    11. McCain is both for and against a ???rogue state rollback??? as a focus of his foreign policy vision.

    12. McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty???s behalf before a Senate committee. Now he opposes it.

    13. McCain was against divestment from South Africa before he was for it.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:39:10 PM

    Comment: Military Policy

    14. McCain recently claimed that he was the ???greatest critic??? of Rumsfeld???s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as ???a mission accomplished.??? In March 2004, he said, ???I???m confident we???re on the right course.??? In December 2005, he said, ???Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.???

    15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good and a bad idea.

    16. McCain said before the war in Iraq, ???We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.??? Four years later, McCain said he knew all along that the war in Iraq war was ???probably going to be long and hard and tough.???

    17. McCain has repeatedly said it???s a dangerous mistake to tell the ???enemy??? when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq by 2013.

    18. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill before he was for it.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:38:51 PM

    Comment: Domestic Policy

    19. McCain defended ???privatizing??? Social Security. Now he says he???s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)

    20. McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn???t.

    21. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.

    22. He argued the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party???s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.

    23. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won???t commit to supporting a regulation bill he???s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris??? former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.

    24. McCain is both for and against earmarks for Arizona.

    25. McCain???s first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn???t be ???rewarded??? for acting ???irresponsibly.??? His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite position.

    26. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed, to saying gay marriage shouldn???t be allowed.

    27. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he supported it.

    28. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he???s pro-ethanol.

    29. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.

    30. In 2005, McCain endorsed intelligent design creationism, a year later he said the opposite, and a few months after that, he was both for and against creationism at the same time.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:38:27 PM

    Comment: Economic Policy

    31. McCain was against Bush???s tax cuts for the very wealthy before he was for them.

    32. John McCain initially argued that economics is not an area of expertise for him, saying, ???I???m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues; I still need to be educated,??? and ???The issue of economics is not something I???ve understood as well as I should.??? He now falsely denies ever having made these remarks and insists that he has a ???very strong??? understanding of economics.

    33. McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. Soon after, he decided he would no longer even try to reach that goal. And soon after that, McCain abandoned his second position and went back to his first.

    34. McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they were ???too tilted to the wealthy.??? By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.

    35. McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.

    36. McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a ??????read my lips??? candidate, no new taxes, no matter what???? referring to George H.W. Bush???s 1988 pledge. ???No new taxes,??? McCain responded. Two weeks later, McCain said, ???I???m not making a ???read my lips??? statement, in that I will not raise taxes.???

    37. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview on multiple occasions.

    38. McCain believes Americans are both better and worse off economically than they were before Bush took office.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:38:03 PM

    Comment: Energy Policy

    39. McCain supported the moratorium on coastal drilling ; now he???s against it.

    40. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.

    41. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he wants the caps to voluntary.

    42. McCain explained his belief that a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax would provide an immediate economic stimulus. Shortly thereafter, he argued the exact opposite.

    43. McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn???t.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:37:46 PM

    Comment: 44. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants??? kids who graduate from high school. Now he???s against it.

    45. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would vote against his own bill.

    46. In April, McCain promised voters that he would secure the borders ???before proceeding to other reform measures.??? Two months later, he abandoned his public pledge, pretended that he???d never made the promise in the first place, and vowed that a comprehensive immigration reform policy has always been, and would always be, his ???top priority.???

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:37:28 PM

    Comment: 47. McCain said he would ???not impose a litmus test on any nominee.??? He used to promise the opposite.

    48. McCain believes the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in the administration???s warrantless surveillance program as a condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.

    49. McCain went from saying he would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the exact opposite.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:37:05 PM

    Comment: Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform

    50. McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn???t.

    51. In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after receiving ???feedback??? on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist groups that he opposes his own measure.

    52. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name, on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he abandoned his own legislation.

  • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:36:41 PM

    Comment: Politics and Associations

    53. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist John Hagee. Now he doesn???t. (He also believes his endorsement from Hagee was both a good and bad idea.)

    54. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist Rod Parsley. Now he doesn???t.

    55. McCain says he considered and did not consider joining John Kerry???s Democratic ticket in 2004.

    56. McCain is both for and against attacking Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.

    57. McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as ???an agent of intolerance??? in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man who said Americans ???deserved??? the 9/11 attacks.

    58. In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending ???dirty money??? to help finance Bush???s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.

    59. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.

    60. McCain decided in 2000 that he didn???t want anything to do with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, believing he ???would taint the image of the ???Straight Talk Express.?????? Kissinger is now the Honorary Co-Chair for his presidential campaign in New York.

    61. McCain believed powerful right-wing activist/lobbyist Grover Norquist was ???corrupt, a shill for dictators, and (with just a dose of sarcasm) Jack Abramoff???s gay lover." McCain now considers Norquist a key political ally.

  • Posted By: bwlear @ 07/14/2008 12:26:00 PM

    Comment: For all of you who have a problem with Sen. Obama's faith, what are you going to do when Sen McCain chooses Mit Rommny for his running mate? I guess that will be one hell of a WWJD moment for you all.

  • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 11:29:57 AM

    Comment: I wouldn't care if Obama wasn't trying to woo the religious right and presenting himself as something he isn't. He does not adhere to the central tenents of Christianity. He does not believe in hell, and he does not believe that those who reject Christ as savior will be denied entry to heaven.

    • Posted By: JimWalsh @ 07/14/2008 9:20:19 PM

      Comment: pearsoncrz: How does Obama not adhere to the central tenants of Christianity? Being pro-choice does not mean he believes abortion is right. As many Christians believe, making abortions illegal will not stop abortions, it will mean people without sufficient money to pay a doctor for an illegal abortion will have unsafe abortions in back-alleys, many dying or ending up in emergency rooms for hours of surgery to repair the damage. <br><br> Obama said for him, he believes Jesus is the only way to heaven. I can certainly understand his not wanting to think his mother did not go to heaven. Jesus says in Matthew 25, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." What have each of you done to help the least of these? Obama has dedicated his life to helping people in need. Is judging Obama's Christianity in accordance with the Bible teaching about let the first without sin throw the first rock, do not gossip, and love your neighbor as yourself?

    • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:47:04 PM

      Comment:

      So do you believe that there is a place in heaven for Jr and the Devil (Bush & Cheney) since they are guilty of killing millions of people in the Middle East. Do you think that God will make an exception in their case because they believe Christ is their savior?

      • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 7:38:24 PM

        Comment: Not for me to judge them, that is God's decision.

  • Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 07/13/2008 11:35:18 PM

    Comment: As Barack Hussein Obama wins.....Americans lose !! I predict the blacks in America will be sneared and jeered at forever after a Barack Hussein Obama finalizes the fall of the US as it is known...mark these words.

    • Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 07/14/2008 1:48:29 PM

      Comment:

      Can you tell me what the winning Power Ball numbers are for swaturday? LMFAOAY

  • Posted By: nopartyaffiliation123 @ 07/13/2008 9:26:30 PM

    Comment: I have a question for everyone. When you have the support of 35% of Whites, 65% of Hispanics, 93% of Blacks and 80% of foreign born citizens, what happens in an election?
    ANSWER: You win by a landslide. Get used to it war mongers McCaint supporters, all the smearing in the world won't do this time. America has learned, your candidate will lose his home state even.

  • Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 07/13/2008 6:06:56 PM

    Comment: Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim.....and if not...he's atheist.....he's not even close to be a Christian. Obama is all bs and hype. Nobody wants to be his running mate either...is anyone surprised ? ...the Presidential campaign is a total farce , the DNC regrets the day they appointed Barack Hussein Obama as the democratic nominee for President...in short the US is screwed.

    • Posted By: JimWalsh @ 07/14/2008 10:29:46 PM

      Comment: Concerned Canadian: Do you have a religious faith?

    • Posted By: C. MacLean @ 07/13/2008 11:38:06 PM

      Comment: I don't care what Obama's religion is, or McCain's, either.

      All I want to know is what either of these men propose to do about health care, jobs, pensions, the war, and the price of a gallon of gas.

      And frankly, I don't care if either of them makes a deal with the devil, as long as they come up with some workable solutions.

      • Posted By: summer4077 @ 07/14/2008 9:22:38 AM

        Comment: I completely agree with your frank, honest post. Does anyone REALLY care what religion our president is, as long as he gets the job done? Bush is a Christian, as most presidents have been, and has made a royal mess of things. Religion does not make you a better, more capable person. We have had wonderful Christian presidents and terrible Christian presidents.
        Besides, Obama is not Muslim. That has been proven time and time again. Whoever clings to that dumbfounding lie as evidence is truly pathetic and realizes that McCain is losing.

        • Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 07/15/2008 8:19:47 PM

          Comment: He's a Muslim....its spelled M ..U...S..L..I..M...you stooge.

          • Posted By: no bigots here @ 07/17/2008 1:03:34 AM

            Comment: do you know how to spell racist bigot stooge

          • Posted By: no bigots here @ 07/17/2008 1:02:24 AM

            Comment: get out of dodge and dont come back racist bigot moron can you spell that

        • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/14/2008 4:23:16 PM

          Comment: Good comment, summer.

  • Posted By: Galasso @ 07/13/2008 10:30:02 AM

    Comment: Jon Meacham's article would lead one to believe he can actually divine what is inside Obama's head. Newsweek should just yank off the mask and show their Obama t-shirts. It is amazing that this much effort is put into an article that attempts to show Obama's religious journey as some kind of arduous intellectual and spiritual trial. I think 5 plus years in a North Vietnamese prison would re-aquaint anyone with his or her religion in a more realistic and thorough way that Meacham could not comprehend. It is interesting to see that John McCain doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve and prefers to make it a private matter - and we are gratified that he does.

    • Posted By: bwlear @ 07/13/2008 11:34:51 AM

      Comment: Sen. Obama religion is only a " public " issue because the Right continues to make it one. I wonder why you find it questionable that a person would take the time to analize and THINK about a subject before commiting to it. To evolve as your understanding changes and to find out for yourself what religion is. Not to rely on the words or deeds of others. Religion has been used to commit a host of horrendious acts on this planet and people of far greater intellect have questioned and even lost their faith. Only to discover that doctrine does not equal belief. Unlike Sen McCain, Sen Obama has to publically express his views because of bigots, ignorance, and outright lies when it comes to this subject. Just read some of the posters on this site. While I am sure that Sen McCain's time as a POW strengthened his belief in a higher power, I am just as sure that he experienced times when he to questioned what he believed in. To say that he keeps his faith a private matter is to ignore the fact that he can.

      • Posted By: Galasso @ 07/13/2008 2:22:48 PM

        Comment: I agree- mostly - except for the part about making it a "public issue". You can give the press and cable TV most of the credit for that. Plus Obama opened the door to public comment when he published his book.

        • Posted By: bwlear @ 07/13/2008 3:24:33 PM

          Comment: While it is true that he "opened the door" with his book, it is also true that he answered the question when asked. And yet he still has to explain his beliefs over and over, why is it still a story? Who's agenda does it benefit to keep this in the public eye? Why does it matter what religious beliefs he holds in a country founded on freedom of religion? Answer this and you will give credit where credit is due

  • Posted By: Patsy5 @ 07/13/2008 2:18:33 AM

    Comment: Funny Obama knew nothing about religion and did terrible when He and Hilary debated she beet him at the religous debate and seemed way more spiritual in knowing what her faith was.he seemed to have no knowledge of faith and see,med lost.if he is quoting bible stories now its because he has been coached and just learned them.That is the fraud he is.Propaganda all the way and now attack woman like the thug he is.

    • Posted By: JimWalsh @ 07/14/2008 10:31:35 PM

      Comment: Patsy5: Is lying a sin? Not once, but multiple times, Hillary lied about the sniper fire in Bosnia. Do you have a religious faith?

    • Posted By: bwlear @ 07/13/2008 9:51:13 AM

      Comment: So when was this religion debate supposed to have happened? I watched them all but can't recall that one. And are we electing a President or a Pope? G. Bush can quote the Bible verse for verse but he's still a bad President. Help me to understand why this makes one person better.?

      • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 7:39:17 PM

        Comment: It was called the faith forum. you can see pretty much all of it on youtube

  • Posted By: Patsy5 @ 07/13/2008 2:18:19 AM

    Comment: Funny Obama knew nothing about religion and did terrible when He and Hilary debated she beet him at the religous debate and seemed way more spiritual in knowing what her faith was.he seemed to have no knowledge of faith and see,med lost.if he is quoting bible stories now its because he has been coached and just learned them.That is the fraud he is.Propaganda all the way and now attack woman like the thug he is.

  • Posted By: HolyRoller @ 07/12/2008 9:29:48 PM

    Comment: Brand new website............. http://formerobamasupporters.com .........................................

    Very first video, is Hussein advocating sex ed, FOR KINDERGARTEN. The fool is a, uh, well ....FOOL.

    NOBAMA!!!

    • Posted By: bwlear @ 07/13/2008 3:14:10 PM

      Comment: Roller,
      We can only hope that you are never given any type of sexual education in order to prevent your brand of stupidty from multiplying and infecting more people. Hopefully, you are a sterile and your way of thinking will die as soon as you do.

    • Posted By: muslimsforpresidents @ 07/13/2008 11:09:30 AM

      Comment: holyrollingpin we have asked you to get on your hands and knees and pray for forgiveness from the Muslim community. We will ask again that you do that because you don't seem to get the picture except through your distorted view of the world
      Obama is not Muslim, nor would I want him to be one because he is Christian. Do you know how to say that rolling pin? I guess not, because you are in the health care industry, perhaps you pop stuff to keep you going 24/7. So our advice to you is to check into rehab, deal with your Islamaphobia, see your psychiatrist, have him or her prescribe you some Xanax, and you will feel better. Perhaps you need your bottle or a hug and kiss from us. Well six of us are passing our hugs and kisses to you because your brain has a big boo boo. We feel sorry for such a damaged person, you, crackhead canadian and voteno should all join in a love fest in Woodstock. Perhaps you will go back to the 60's and feel so much better. There you go, now your back there, breathe a few more puff the magic dragons, and live happily ever after. I would personally suggest stronger meds, but this will do for the moment.

  • Posted By: Alamerica @ 07/12/2008 9:26:04 PM

    Comment: Owing to the Muslim tradition in Obama's family history, it is predictable that Obama would be more friendly to Muslims than McCain. American voters have to decide whether we wish to keep fighting Muslims, or live with them in harmony on the expense of Israel.

  • Posted By: josemarti @ 07/12/2008 7:09:27 PM

    Comment: Blah. Blah. Blah. (but what about Reverend Wright?) Blah. Blah. Blah. (but what does it say about Obama that he would choose to worship at Trinity Church for 20 years?) Blah. Blah. Blah. Judge not you say? We must judge. We are choosing our next President. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah.

    • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/12/2008 10:54:51 PM

      Comment: Yes, we are choosing our next president and hopefully smart people will choose the one who is moral and faithful to his spouse. McCain chose to cheat, leave and divorce his disfigured and crippled helpless wife for a rich younger woman. A man like this can never be my president even if he were to win. Big IF.

      • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 12:07:33 PM

        Comment: Hopefully we will choose the one who has actually done something to change our government. McCain is the only one who has changed anything, making the earmarks transparent for the first time, and never taking an earmark, unlike Obama who has requested earmarks to benefit his political and financial supporters and even his own wife!

      • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 12:04:09 PM

        Comment: Better a reformed adulterer than a reformed cocaine addict.

        • Posted By: bwlear @ 07/14/2008 1:15:48 PM

          Comment: You mean like Mr. Bush?

          • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/14/2008 4:15:48 PM

            Comment: bwlear, glad to see that you know how to get pearson's goat. She won't vote for any candidate that does coke. Wonder if she voted for Pres. Bush.

            • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 7:40:49 PM

              Comment: Nope, didn't vote for him either.

              Pia did. Now she feels guilty.

              Drank the koolaid once, drinking it again.

              • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/17/2008 8:36:56 PM

                Comment: Pearson, I feel no guilt. I had my reasons for voting for him and I posted what they were. If you are interested, I can post them again. I had the right to vote for Bush the way you Pearson, have the right not to vote for Obama for whatever reasons. I only hope one of your reasons is not because he is African-American. Is it?

      • Posted By: sharenews @ 07/13/2008 4:49:31 AM

        Comment: Pia, what is it with you harping on McCains wife being in car accident over 20 yrs ago and McCain divorcing his wife which she admitted in articles online that she doesnt hold against her husband. She, by the way is no longer wheel chair and waling yrs. ago with a slight limp which had nothing to do with McCain when she got in a car accident and over the years while he was in a POW camp their lives became distanced. Naturally. Either way, I doubt a divorce on McCains record no matter what for whatever reason in this day and age will make those supporters turn against him if they are a true supporter for more important reasons to make them feel he is more equipped to be in charge in the White House.

        • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/14/2008 4:19:12 PM

          Comment: share, McCain cheated on her. Just because it was 20 years ago and he has admitted and taken responsibility does not excuse him in my world. Do you excuse Obama and Trinity Church? Never.

          • Posted By: mindylwilliams @ 07/14/2008 6:06:40 PM

            Comment: Wow. God has forgiven him. God forgave him the moment he confessed his sin.

            It's a good thing you aren't God. Otherwise - Paul would never have been such an instrumental writer of the New Testament. Seeing that he was a tax collector. Not to mention God's forgiveness of Peter denying Christ 3 times.

            I abhore when "Christians" twist and use the word of God. I wonder how God feels about His own followers using His sword to attack instead of to protect and defend?

            • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/17/2008 8:46:28 PM

              Comment: mindywilliams, are your comments directed at me? Is so, what are you talking about? Where did I mention God in my comments? I commented to sharenews that she does not excuse Obama's ties with Trinity Church. I'm an Obama supporter, not against him. And, regarding my comments about McCain and his first wife, God may have forgiven him, but that does not mean I have to.

        • Posted By: summer4077 @ 07/14/2008 9:25:06 AM

          Comment: Uh, because you guys are harping on Obama attending a mosque a handful of times over 30 years ago. And McCain also abandoned his current wife, multiple times, by her own admission.

          • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 7:43:22 PM

            Comment: wasn't a handful of times. His stepfather went to prayers each Friday, and Obama went with him. From age four to age ten, six years, fifty weeks a year, that would be 300 visits to the mosque.

            And then there was his tour of Pakistan. How many times did he go then? That was before he decided to become a Christian for political reasons.

          • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/14/2008 4:16:55 PM

            Comment: Thank you summer! Good looking after. Go girl!

            • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 7:41:55 PM

              Comment: such a weak post -- do you really need a cheerleader to make you feel like you have made a point?

              • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/17/2008 8:47:22 PM

                Comment: Pearson, give it up. You bore me......

          • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 12:06:03 PM

            Comment: Obama attended Friday prayers with his stepfather for years. That would be hundreds of visits to the mosque, not a few.

            • Posted By: Pia1981 @ 07/14/2008 4:20:28 PM

              Comment: So what? Pearson , you once posted that you have family members who are of the Muslim faith. What gives?

              • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 07/14/2008 7:46:20 PM

                Comment: I'm not opposed to Muslims. They believe what they believe. It is not for me to judge them. I do confess Christ, we do discuss religious questions sometimes too, and in that way I am spreading the word. It is up to the individual to decide for him/herself.

                What I am opposed to is Obama using religion for political political gain, claiming to be a Christian when he knows he does not agree with basic tenets of the Christian faith.

                That is lying.

  • Posted By: Nins @ 07/12/2008 6:33:16 PM

    Comment: Know why McCain wants to distance himself from former Senator Phil Gramm? It's not because of Gramm's obnoxious remarks calling Americans "a nation of whiners" who are in "a mental recession." Those remarks were so ascerbic that they may've been made just to give McCain an excuse to distance himself from Gramm. This issue is a lot deeper than it looks on the surface.

    When Gramm was a Senator he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. He pushed through the legislation known as the "Enron Loophole." This loophole allowed US investment banks to bypass Federal regulations governing futures trading, and is the reason why investment banks were able to falsely inflate the prices of oil, wheat, corn and other commodities through massive futures trading, causing your costs of gas, heating oil and food to go through the roof.

    Gramm also created the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act, which got rid of the laws that seperate banking, insurance and brokerage activities in America. The Gramm Act was touted as a new way to protect consumer privacy, but the real meat on the Act's bones was banking deregulation. Essentially, this Act did away with laws written after the Great Depression to protect us from another Wall Street/Banking Industry collapse. That's right, Gramm stripped the system of it's safe guards nine years ago, and guess what? The value of the dollar has nose-dived, four major economic institutions have failed, Wall Street is unstable, and we are in a worsening recession.

    Notably, the US investment banks that gained the most from the Enron Loophole and from the Gramm Act contributed more than a million dollars to Gramm's campaign.

    Currently Gramm is Vice Chairman of UBS, the Swiss Bank that came up with the idea of "death bonds." Worse, though, UBS is involved in a scam where they sold auction rate securities to American customers. Auction rate securities are supposed to be as safe as cash, but the way UBS did it, the fees garnished by their in-house investment bankers were intentionally higher than the return on the securities, ripping off their American customers. The Massachusetts Attorney General has already filed charges against UBS, and private brokers world-wide have dropped UBS stock. UBS is forecasted to lose 82.91% of it's value in 2008. We are talking about the corporate bank where Gramm is Vice Chairman. Looking at his track record there and at the havoc he has wrought on the US economy through the Senate Banking Committee, it's clear that either Gramm is a criminal or grossly incompetent.

    Now McCain wants nothing to do with Gramm, wants us to forget Gramm has been a key player on McCain's team. Gramm was McCain's campaign CO-CHAIR and LEADING ECONOMIC ADVISOR. Previously, McCain had said that he planned to appoint Gramm as SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

    With Gramm as McCain's leading economic advisor, now you know why economists and analysts say that McCain's economic policy plans are untenable.

    • Posted By: Galasso @ 07/13/2008 3:20:12 PM

      Comment: What does this have to do with Obama's religion?

 
 
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