Legal Commentary

Obama Seeks KY Evangelical Vote

By Jeralyn

Check out the flyer Barack Obama is sending out in Kentucky to reach evangelicals. His campaign explains why they are sending it out. In it, he touts his accepting Jesus Christ into his life. You can view it here. Look at the top and the bottom.

The flyer is titled: Faith. Hope. Change. It talks about how Obama accepted Jesus Christ into his life. It contains a quote from Obama that says "my faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work."

The Obama campaign explanation:

"These fliers are part of the Obama campaign's sincere effort to communicate the values of Senator Obama's own Christian faith and the hope that people of all faiths and moral backgrounds will come together to address the needs of the 'least of these' in our nation and in our world. We're using them (the flyers) primarily at American Values forums and other campaign events. We are very careful to not campaign within houses of worship and respect both the philosophical boundaries between the church and the campaign, and the very real Internal Revenue Service restrictions related to campaigns and houses of worship."

The Christian News Network approves:

So how will the Obama campaign talk about Biblical faith and values while at the same time having to defend itself against being liberal on abortion, gay rights, etc? He will need to be careful that it all doesn't look so hypocritical and fake. That would damage the brand he's tried to create.

Of course let's remember here: pro-life Evangelicals and the ultra right will scream hypocricy but Obama is playing to a larger crowd.

He's looking at mainline denominations, conservative, religious Reagan Democrats, Independent Catholics and yes, some Independent/Moderate Born-Again Christian voters. In a close Election, winning at the margins could make all the difference in the world.

What's he going to tell these evangelicals if he is elected and appoints a Supreme Court Justice likely to uphold Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choice? That is what he's going to do, right?

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 15, 2008 (boomark / email).