Reinhold Niebuhr

This week NPR’s Morning Edition has run back-to-back interviews with Newsweek editor Jon Meacham discussing the memoirs of Barack Obama and John McCain. The idea is to get beyond sound bites and offer an analysis of the major people and events that have shaped the two men, at least according to their own published work.

The fascinating conclusion is that this country’s two major-party presidential candidates have both been strongly influenced by the same theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr.

My initial question is about the way it seems that Niebuhr was seized upon as a hidden, explanatory link between the characters of Obama and McCain. Is this just another example of an almost obsessive fascination with the interplay of politics and religion during this election cycle? Or is something else going on here?

In one sense, there’s nothing surprising about finding references to Reinhold Niebuhr in the writings of both candidates. Niebuhr is generally regarded as one…

Shirt picture courtesy of ObamaArtReport.com

I was intrigued by Anthony Bradley’s recent post “The Obama/McCain Messiah Complex.” A couple of things jumped out at me.  First, as with any broad-brush characterization, there’s clearly a mix of truth and generalities; the generalities wouldn’t stick without the hint of truth beneath them.  I’m thinking of how the late-night comedy hosts have had a good bit of fun with the “Messiah complex” that other people seem to have about Barack Obama, and it has indeed been funny.  Some of his followers (oops, I mean “supporters”) really do sound like they think he’s the Second Coming, and a little perspective is definitely in order.

But is there that much evidence that the candidates themselves have swallowed their own PR?  In my estimation, neither one appears to me to be a man who thinks that being the President of the United States is going to be an easy…

Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain, October 3, 2008 upon arrival in Flagstaff, Arizona. AFP/Getty Images

Last Sunday the New York Times ran a monster front-page story about Sen. John McCain’s gambling ties.

The story largely ignores the religious implications of McCain’s interest in gambling, but I figured paragraphs like these would get the attention of some Christians, most notably, Southern Baptists, who oppose gambling and have lobbied against its seeming ubiquity in today’s America:

As a two-time chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, Mr. McCain has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America’s casinos, helping to transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth with 423 casinos across the country. He has won praise as a champion of economic development and self-governance on reservations.

“One of the founding fathers of Indian gaming” is what Steven Light, a University of North Dakota professor and a…

So much ink has been spilled over Sarah Palin in the last couple of days — 64 links alone in today’s Morning Edition we sent to Catholic leaders — one could be forgiven for imagining Democrats Obama, Biden and Pelosi heaving a sigh of relief that the reporters are shining the abortion pro-life spotlight on someone else for once.

We now know Sarah Palin is a member of Feminists for Life  and thanks to Mollie over at GetReligion we learn that the Barracuda is a Believer.

Mollie also has complaints — surprise — about reporters being quick to attack Ms. Palin and getting their stories wrong.

And also getting it wrong, lefty bloggers are going after Palin’s daughter….

Ever the gentleman, Joe Biden reacts to his V.P. counterpart by making a sexist remark…. Biden reminds me once again that perhaps the reason leftist women think men are sexists is that the only ones they know are Democrats…..

And,…