Senator Obama Shines This Day
I was just listening to Fred Barnes speaking on Fox News; he said that "it reinforced the idea that I already had, that Barack Obama is a very decent human being." [emphasis added]
The "it" in Mr. Barnes' remarks refers to Barack Obama's statement about Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter. Mr. Obama said:
"I have said before and I will repeat again. I think people’s families are off limits. And people’s children are especially off limits. ...
"This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories."
It is the best thing to come out of the Obama campaign in weeks. It is EXACTLY right.
(Thank you, dear sir, for being so right, and for agreeing with decency.)
I would also note that Mr. Barnes quoted the Washington Post's Sally Quinn tonight; Ms. Quinn does prove herself utterly tone deaf. She wrote:
"This [the pregnant teen] may be a hard one for the Republican family values crowd to swallow."
Question to Ms. Quinn: Are you really that out of touch? THIS sort of tale is exactly what the family values crowd is all about.
Amazing.
©Bill Gnade 2008/Contratimes. All Rights Reserved.
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13 comments:
Regarding Ms. Quinn, it is obvious that her view of "the family values crowd," which presumably consists of white Evangelical Christians is simply a caricature of she keeps handy to trot out and dance on command. What she doesn't understand, is that Christians believe in sin, judgment, grace, repentance and forgiveness. We've all been there, done that, as it were. If my own church (a very conservative one, I might say) is any example, people who parent children out of wedlock are accepted, not shunned. Their families are not abused or treated differently. The universal reaction is a lot of prayer and assistance, regardless of the circumstances, and a hope that the youngsters do better. We know we all make mistakes, none of which are better or worse than any other. That's why we need grace and forgiveness.
That's the teaching of the story of Christ and the woman caught in adultery. Everyone, including those who refuse to acknowledge their spiritual imperfections, remembers the "He, who is without sin, cast the first stone." Christians know it, too. But we also remember the last bit: "Go and sin no more."
Anyway, it should be amusing to watch the Kossacks fret when evangelicals refuse to jump the Palin ship as their caricature predicts.
Cheers.
Bill,
The bible councils us against the pitfalls of serving two masters.
Only she can say for sure, but Mrs. Palin's family troubles appear to give evidence to missplaced priorities.
With a family in need of her undivided attention, can we expect her undivided attention in affairs of state?
Peace,
Chris
Dear Rand,
Indeed, we all have our vices. Lord knows I have mine. And it is precisely because the Lord knows I have mine that I need His counsel, grace and forgiveness, especially for those things that have become addictive demons in my very soul. And I need my brothers and sisters to help me, too.
I notice often that those outside the Church generally project their own judgmentalism onto the Church: the Church is not really as judgmental as outsiders claim. It is generally the outsiders that are judgmental; the insiders are treading lightly around paradoxes and commands about NOT being judgmental (and yet not throwing pearls to swine). Outsiders do not have the constraints of tradition, scripture and the pulpit to remind them of their obligation to be circumspect.
This can't be said too often: I find that it is the religiously liberal who are quite comfortable being non-judgmental to certain advantageous and flattering groups, and yet remain quite merciless about the alleged mercilessness of conservative religious conviction. Even now we are witnessing incredibly judgmental people judging conservative family values and those who support abstinence-only programs.
Peace,
BG
Dear Chris,
Every family needs each parent's undivided attention, don't you think? At least that's a noble ideal. And if we agree to this ideal then we must apply your question to any candidate who has children still living at home. But how realistic is that?
Those who know me know how much I believe in hands-on and very "present" parenting. Consistent with my own convictions is the concern I voiced in the post above, namely that Gov. Palin's daughter may need her help in a very profound and "present" way. But that is not for me to analyze, discern or decide.
Of course, I note that the older McCain is far less likely to have parenting problems with his children than is the much younger Obama.
Peace,
BG
Bill,
I subscribe to perhaps an antiquated notion that in order for a young family to thrive, it needs motherly influences on a more or less continuous basis. Not to say that fathers can't step into this role and do well, its just that mother's are uniquely suited to it.
My wife and I decided that we would forgo the financial benefits accruing to a 2 income family in order that our daughter have the benefits of motherly presence. Now this was tough for us as we live in a very expensive area and my wife is a career woman, so she had to set aside for a time some professional goals, but we felt this was best for our daughter.
I know there are more than a few ways to conduct a successful family life and I don't mean to impugn Sarah Palin's character, but I can't imagine how its possible to give those kids the "motherly" attention they absolutely need and attend to the affairs of state which are arguably an all consuming vocation.
Peace,
Chris
Hi Chris,
Forgive my interjecting in your conversation with Bill.
Like you and your wife, I and mine came to a similar conclusion when our second was born. My wife, a Ph.D. in English and Linguistics, gave up a position with a rather prestigious university in St. Louis to be "there" for our children. For us, (Her especially as she came to the decision herself and then discussed it with me) it was the right move.
I think the irony of this whole thing is that, were Governor Palin a Pro-Choice Democrat, she would be feted by progressives as an example to be emulated. Indeed, the progressives immediately shout down the results of any scientific study purporting to demonstrate any qualitative differences between/among children whose mothers work outside the home versus those who do not. Yet, because she has not only "talked the talk," but "walked the walk" vis a vis her stance on abortion, her choices are somehow inauthentic.
The mental and logical gymnastics involved in this process must be complex, indeed.
All that said, I am not prepared to judge another person's parenting decisions, even if I disagree with them. Lord knows, were someone to put a microscope to mine over the years there would be plenty of "muffs" to discuss. What I do know is that evangelicals will not suddenly flee McCain/Palin because of her daughter's mistake. I for one have been privy to a tearful confession by a church leader that he "failed" his family and the church because his daughter was pregnant, and I've seen a congregation bless him and accept him because we knew that humans make mistakes. Our mistakes, verily our sins, are our own. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Thank God, literally, there is grace to hold us up.
Cheers.
Rand,
Thank you for your comments.
It may seem that I'm judging her parenting, but while this may be cutting it a bit fine, I'm really more interested in her decision making abilities; her ability to establish priorities.
I don't want to claim that she regards her duties as the Chief Executive of Alaska and now potentially VP, as more important to her than her duties as mother to five kids. But her decision to pursue with apparent vigor, ever higher civic office in light of the many critical demands her family makes upon her, begs a couple of simple questions:
Can a person reasonably do both? And should we as Christians endorse a behaviour that appears to prioritize the needs of the State over the needs of one's family?
With respect to the RNC's all to apparent "check box" vetting process, I have to disagree with Bill on this one. I think this pick is audacious in only one sense; it's reckless.
Peace,
Chris
Chris,
Good points, well made.
Let me toss this into the mix, however: As Christians, we are called to be witnesses, as distinguished from "evangelists." The latter involves preaching to and reaching the lost. The former involves being an example, at least in my view.
None of us know what another is called to do. Perhaps Governor Palin has been placed where she is at this time in her life to be an example to people who believe the caricature of Christians which I described earlier.
I don't know, and if truth be told, I inherently distrust all politicians regardless of persuasion, because I fear that no matter how well intentioned their political journey begins, ultimately, they wind up being seduced by the incubus of power over others. After all, there is a reason Satan tempted Christ after his Baptism with "power over all you survey. It's tough for mere humans to remain strong in the face of that.
My prayers for her and our country will be riding on the hope that she makes the correct choices.
Cheers.
(Bill, sorry for hijacking your post -- RDS)
Rand,
No need to apologize. I am enjoying myself thoroughly. Both you and Chris have got me thinking a lot about the issues involved in this whole story.
Thanks, truly, for the great comments.
Peace, always.
BG
Chris,
Randall is right. You've made some great points. Thanks for contributing so much. The two of you make this blog a better place.
Peace.
BG
Dear Chris and Rand,
My friends, I think I should have said in my last comment that the two of you clearly make the world a better place.
BG
I truly believe mothers are uniquely able to care for their children, but even stay at home moms like myself, who don't have "jobs", wear many hats and have many responsibilities, as well as, maintain a life outside of motherhood. Also, as my understanding of Vice Presidential duties goes, Palin really won't have much to do with the affairs of state, unless McCain is unable to serve. She'll probably have less to do as a VP than a governor. One of my dearest friends is an OBGYN and mother to 3 young children. She's one of the best moms I know, though she has a very demanding schedule. I think there is an incorrect assumption that because Palin's daughter became pregnant, she was a poor parent. A person can be the best parent in the world and still have a child that makes the wrong choice. There's a saying that goes, "if you want something done, go ask a busy person." I can't imagine a person more likely to get something done, than a busy mom.
Karen,
An excellent comment! Thank you.
BG
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