Obama Jumps Church

So, Senator and Presidential wannabe Barack Obama has decided to leave the Trinity United Church of Christ. He's clarified remarks about it, and decided it wasn't "a political manuever". Sure, and the 465 foot shot Russel Branyan hit in Milwaukee last night wasn't a home run.

Over at the Chicago Tribune, The Seeker blog asked the question "What do you think? Can a political figure join a congregation without putting it and its spiritual leader under the microscope?"

The answer of course, is yes. It happens all the time. In fact, Dick Cheney, one of the most despised politicians in the country goes to church regularly, can anyone name his pastor? How about George Bush's? Hillary Clinton?

The problem with "The Seeker" question was that it should have been "Can Obama pick a pastor that won't put himself under the microscope." Keep in mind, Oprah Winfrey left that church years ago because of Rev. Wright. So it's not like he just recently went off the deep end.

The Swamp has more insight from Obama on his decision, but the more he talks, the more it appears that he made a calculated political decision. While he says that he doesn't want the church coming under more scrutiny because of his candidacy, I think that the opposite is true, he's tiring of the scrutiny he's receiving for his choice in associates.

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Poor Obama Supporters

The poor Barak Obama supporters have been trying to find a way to spin their candidate out of the Rev. Wright mess all week, and not have Obama look like either a fool or a bigot. Unfortunately for them, he put himself in a position that leaves only those two views available.

Charles Krauthammer has an excellent piece in today's Washington Post called The 'Race Speech' Revisited that has those supporters in a tizzy in the comment section. Krauthammer calls the race speech in Philadelphia "that shameful, brilliantly executed, 5,000-word intellectual fraud", and he's correct. Wright himself proved that on the main stage of the National Press Club, by repeating all of his "out of context" quotes (as Obama called them) in full context, to a national audience.

The current spin du jour for the left is that McCain has the same problem, with John Hagee, who is a white minister and has spewed some pretty lousy stuff himself. Warner Todd Huston at NewsBusters actually wrote a very good breakdown (6 weeks ago!) of why these are two completely different situations.

A quick recap, Obama sat in Wrights pews for two decades, McCain doesn't attend Hagee church, Obama had Wright baptize his children, McCain's kids never knew Hagee, Obama in his book (unlike his recent news conferences) called Wright his spiritual mentor, McCain hasn't claimed anyone as a mentor in that capacity.

E.J. Dionne, spinning for Barack, wants "Fair Play for False Prophets", and tries to put Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and others into the same mold as Wright when it comes to politics. Again, the comparisons fail since no candidate has other than Obama has spent a majority of their adult life in the pews of any of these guys.

I also challenge his assertion that the media isn't as tough on them as they are on Wright. The media has been beating up on "religious right" ministers since the Reagan years. If anything, they've given black ministers like Al Sharpton a pass on their rhetoric and actually made them out to be somehow above the fray; when in fact they stir the pot.

With the primaries in Indiana and North Carolina coming up Tuesday it will be interesting to see how much this week has hurt Obama. He's never done well with the white working class, and if those numbers take a big drop in these to primaries expect to hear Hillary talking about electability louder and louder in the next couple of weeks.

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The More I Read about Huckabee

The more I've been reading about Mike Huckabee, the more I'm thinking that having him as the GOP nominee would be an unmitigated disaster for the GOP come next November.

Yesterday I heard (part) of Tim Michaels, his Wisconsin committee chair try and explain away the "Tax Hike Mike" nickname he got in 10 plus years as Arkansas Governor. His basic logic for a total tax burden increase of 47% in those 10 years was inflation. 'If inflation went up about 4% a year you'd have to increase taxes by that much to keep up' (paraphrased).

Actually, you wouldn't, unless you have zero growth in your states economy over that time, since growth will naturally increase revenue. If that's the case, I'm not sure you would be the person I'd want as President.

Then I read the "Club For Growth" analysis of his record as Governor, and it's not very impressive. It shows a guy who either asked for tax hikes, or acquiesced to them with no fight in many cases.

Finally, the flap over his latest ad in Iowa, which is a Christmas message. I could care less about the religious aspect of that commercial; in it there is was appears to be a cross behind him (it is a bookshelf). Some folks have called him on the fact that it sure looks like a cross floating behind him and he's very defensive about it. I find that rather odd, the ad was basically a plug for Jesus, and then Mike runs from the cross, like he's a vampire. It kind of stinks of using the message in Iowa (and South Carolina) to appeal to evangelicals, but running from it's content on the broader stage.

Ron Pauls reaction to the ad, quoting Sinclair Lewis' "when facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross" line cost him any chance of getting me to listen to him on any issue.

Huckabee's lame reaction to Ron Paul, which was to joke that he was blinking morse code messages to evangelicals during the commerical shows how much of a comedian he isn't.

Back to Tim Michaels' interview. The second part of it that got me to laugh was Michaels assertion that evangelical's will bolt if Huckabee isn't on the GOP ticket come November. I can see a number of them staying home if it's Romney/Guliani or Guliani/McCain ticket. However, the idea that they are all going to bolt and vote for the other side is laughable.

Are they all going to suddenly think Hillary Clinton's faith (and social views) are the better choice? Barack Obama's support of abortion on demand will be forgotten? Please, Tim, don't play people for idiots;especially the evangelical base you are trying to swoon; some of them actually smart enough to figure out that even without Huckabee on the ticket the GOP ticket will more likely reflect their overall values than anything on the left.

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