Monday, August 18, 2008

Obama and Matthew 25



I usually try to stay away from American politics on this blog (at least, as of late), but this pro-Obama ad from the Matthew 25 Network, I thought, was an excellent, thinly veiled attack on John McCain. They're saying that the GOP doesn't have a lock on religious votes. And they brought out the big guns to prove it.

(Kirby Jon Caldwell, a pastor I greatly admire, endorsed Bush in 2000 and 2004. He presided over Jenna Bush's recent wedding. This year he's endorsing Obama.)

But I wonder if this ad is a response to Rick Warren's Q 'n A of the candidates last weekend. Where "non-partisan" Warren soft-balled McCain the hard questions he asked Obama.

Personally, I don't get how so-called "values voters" can endorse McCain over Obama, given McCain's history of adultery.

Either they're simply lock-step Republicans who can't see beyond their own political agenda, or they have blinders on, thinking that one moral issue (adultery)is less offensive than another (a woman's right to choose).

What is needed is a REAL conversation about the issues. The swift boaters need to stay docked. Let Obama and McCain deal with what affects everyday people, the American's role in the world, climate change, etc.

But that won't happen. But I'm glad that Matthew 25 is engaged in the process, giving voice to a version of biblical Christianity that is often lost in a raging storm of vitriol and lies.

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