Boundless Meanderings

There is not one America as we all know.  The America which ‘elected’ George W. Bush, seemingly was the America who felt they could sit and have a beer with this guy – he was likeable.  Was he capable, intelligent, world wise?  I think we can safely say that we now know the answer to that, after almost 8 years of his reign.

Whether Obama is electable or not is a matter of much of the current sentiment towards his candidacy.  Both he and Hillary have more or less similar platforms and policy programs, with some divergent, yet not significant differences.  With both having recently been on the hotplate, and seem to have somehow moved on, the question of electability and what that really means becomes the central question.

Do you have to be able to not only trust your choice of candidate, but also like and be able to relate to them?  For many voting Americans, I think they feel they may be able to connect with the Obamas more so than with the Clintons.  With a grandiose political history shared by both Clintons, I’m sure a large number of the general public sees them in their own world surrounded by all that is Washington.  While Obama has been in office as a State, and now US Senator, his past seems to resonate more so with a particular subset of society - not only with the higher educated,  professional 20-somethings to 50-somethings, but also ‘working’ families, as they say.  The fact that his wife works, they are raising young children in today’s society and that they both came out with college and graduate school debts larger than their mortgage, seems to me at least, strike a chord amongst a vast group of Americans.  They have lived and are living a similar experience to which many of us can vividly relate.  He may have his flaws (dealing with the Rev. Wright issue), but he comes across as earnest, honest and really wanting to work for the best and good of the people – as his past work in organizing local communities illustrated.  His charisma, oratory talent and openness to the world around him, enables this sense of trust which exudes from his words, beliefs and work.  Again, his judgement calls (Iraq), even in the midst of his recent crisis moment, indicates to me that the man is smart, speaks his mind and doesn’t waffle or change his tune, or abandon what he believes in, just to be on the ‘right side of the fence’.   His peers are starting to realize this, as many heavy hitters continue to endorse Obama vs. Hillary.

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Some needed reflections on the current controversy.

Obama’s Minister Committed “Treason” But When My Father Said the Same Thing He Was a Republican Hero

         Frank Schaeffer: Huffington Post (March 16, 2008).

When Senator Obama’s preacher thundered about racism and injustice Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late father — Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer — denounced America and even called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr.

Every Sunday thousands of right wing white preachers (following in my father’s footsteps) rail against America’s sins from tens of thousands of pulpits. They tell us that America is complicit in the “murder of the unborn,” has become “Sodom” by coddling gays, and that our public schools are sinful places full of evolutionists and sex educators hell-bent on corrupting children. They say, as my dad often did, that we are, “under the judgment of God.” They call America evil and warn of immanent destruction. By comparison Obama’s minister’s shouted “controversial” comments were mild. All he said was that God should damn America for our racism and violence and that no one had ever used the N-word about Hillary Clinton.

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