The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama stunned the world, including himself. At 5:00 a.m. on the day of the announcement, before going to the Missouri Zen Center as usual, I read the first email of congratulations to The Peace Alliance, an initiative to establish a U.S. Department of Peace. I wondered if this were another dream, like those we created recently in a brainstorming session at the Fourth Global Alliance Summit in Costa Rica.

It turned out to be real. The satellite TV news from Japan reported citizens’ voices from Hiroshima and other cities throughout the country: hope for humanity to make a world without nuclear weapons, etc. On the way back home from the Center, I listened to NPR conveying pros and cons and doubts from all over the world. The Global Alliance listserv posted joy and anger and calls for a realistic approach. Eventually, exuberance…

Obama on the campaign trail last year, courtesy of the NY Times

As we in St. Louis wake up this morning, the news is just breaking that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  I’m not sure this is going to be a very popular decision here in the US. Already the naysayers are at work, ready to ridicule and deride.  What has he actually done to deserve this, anyway?  But it’s not going to be only the usual anti-Obama crowd who are concerned.  Even Lech Walesa, a fellow laureate, says this is “too soon” and hopes it will be “an encouragement” for Obama to do more. “Let’s see if he perseveres. Let’s give him time to act.”

The Nobel Committee cites “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Their statement continues, “The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world…

Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News and World Report religion writer, reports on new Gallup poll data showing that “Jews are the religious group most supportive of Barack Obama.”

Gallup reports that Jews are the religious group most supportive of Barack Obama in the United States. Sixty-four percent of American Jews express approval of Obama’s job performance, compared with 52 percent of Americans at large. And though Jewish approval for Obama has dropped from 83 percent since January, that’s in line with the falloff in support from the general public, suggesting—Gallup says—that Obama’s Middle East and Iran policies have not disproportionately affected his image among Jews.

Any thoughts on this?

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

Very high on the list of things REALLY important to people part of the Christian Right is proselytizing. And very high on their potential targets for people who need to hear their message is people in the Muslim world. So one wonders had their leaders really thought out their position on Obama. Was it really a smart thing to try to paint him as a closet Muslim. To me that was a bit of cutting off one’s nose to spite the face. Had the Christian right even considered the enormous proselytizing opportunity that the reality of Obama offered them? Here is a man with the name of Barak Hussien Obama. His father was Muslim and his step father was also Muslim, giving him a strong Muslim influence early in his life. And yet today he is smart, successful, extremely well liked and a practicing Christian of over 20 years and…

In this Aug. 16, 2008 file photo, then Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, joins Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, for a discussion on moral issues. (Richard Vogel / Associated Press)

Why are people all bent out of shape because Barrack Obama, thinking for himself, chose Rick Warren to give a short invocation? The hoopla over this seems silly. It’s Obama’s inauguration  and he can do whatever he wants. Conservatives aren’t objecting to Joseph Lowery. Silly.

There is so much intolerance for people with different views in this country.

From the Washington Post:

By Jacqueline L. Salmon, Debbi Wilgoren and Peter Slevin
President-elect Barack Obama this morning defended his choice of evangelical megapastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at next month’s swearing-in, saying that although he differs with the conservative pastor on social issues, he wants to have diverse voices at the ceremony.

“I am a fierce advocate of equality for gay…

Okay.  So, mixing the faith and politics, I was a BIG TIME Obama supporter!  Bumper sticker, buttons, voter registration drives and even an Obama action figure for my son (yes, I said action figure).  But, something continues to dog me about the movement for change that elected him to serve as our 44th P.O.T.U.S.  It seems that many were in search of a messiah, not a president. 

Clearly, folks don’t think he’s Jesus or any second coming.  But, consistent with the more traditional Judeo-Christian (Hebrew Scriptures/Old testament) concept of a promised, prophet-king as son of God who would care for the widow and the orphan, instituting God’s reform agenda, many believe the President-Elect fits the bill.  My caution for this (small ‘m’) messiah is that this role is never completely filled in this realm.

The good King Hezekiah comes closest in the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament tradition.  This youngster on the throne gathers a team…

Photo Courtesy New York Times

A few days ago the New York Post ran a column  by Iranian-born journalist Amir Taheri highlighting comments made by the Rev. Jesse Jackson describing the radical change of influence Israel would have under a Barrack Obama presidency. Taheri writes,

The most important change [says Jackson] would occur in the Middle East, where “decades of putting Israel’s interests first” would end.

Jackson believes that, although “Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades” remain strong, they’ll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House.

“Obama is about change,” Jackson told me in a wide-ranging conversation. “And the change that Obama promises is not limited to what we do in America itself. It is a change of the way America looks at the world and its place in it.”

Soon after, Jackson released a statement suggesting that the New York Post column misrepresented his views on America’s partners…

Photo courtesy NBC News, Augusta, GA

In today’s New York Times, William Kristol suggests that John McCain fire his entire campaign team because of the recent firestorm regarding McCain’s rallies and his shifting positions. Kristol writes,

“McCain should stop unveiling gimmicky proposals every couple of days that pretend to deal with the financial crisis. He should tell the truth — we’re in uncharted waters, no one is certain what to do, and no one knows what the situation will be on Jan. 20, 2009. But what we do know is that we could use someone as president who’s shown in his career the kind of sound judgment and strong leadership we’ll need to make it through the crisis.”

However, there is a deeper problem regarding the trajectory of both campaigns: they have become religious. Americans are expecting too much from both of Obama and McCain. As a result, both candidates have a profound…

So after an unintentional summer long hiatus, what to write? What to write?

I’ve read some of the recent posts and it seems politics is a hot topic. Of course it is. With the election around the corner, and the juicy conversation that our candidates inspire, why not? 

Well, after the last election I learned a lesson. If you want to keep your friendships intact, don’t talk politics. Always up for the debate, the first to defend my candidate of preference, arguing policy reform…….not anymore! That was sooooo last election.

Politics and religion are personal. Deeply personal beliefs. So, you will never read what I think of Obama. Or my opinion of Sarah Palin. Joe Biden doesn’t factor in to my daily interactions and you won’t overhear me discussing McCain. Especially in this forum. For two reasons: First, who the heck am I to force my opinions on you? And second, I don’t…

If you didn’t have a chance to watch the two-hour Saddleback Church/Rick Warren questioning of presidential candidates Obama and McCain, you can find the transcript here.

The chattering class had plenty to say about the evening, including the following:

McCain and Obama Face Questions About Faith - Associated Press

McCain Shines at Saddleback Forum - Michael Gerson, Washington Post

The Importance of Saddleback Church - Alan Wolfe, The New Republic

McCain, Obama at Saddleback Church - Carrie Budoff Brown, The Politico

John McCain, Barack Obama Display Abortion Divide at Evangelical Forum : LifeSite News

Are We Now Officially a Christian Nation? - Joan Walsh, Salon

McCain’s Back in the Saddleback - Chuck Todd, NBC News

McCain’s Depth & Experience Stood Out - Byron York, National Review

Obama’s Purpose-Driven Gamble - Mike Madden, Salon

Kristol: Showdown at Saddleback

Sullivan: McCain’s ‘Cross’ Story 

Podhoretz: Obama on Thomas 

Of special note are a couple of claims:

The New York Times reports that McCain was traveling by car to the broadcast and could easily have heard…

You could call it Hijabgate, I guess.

The Politico reported that two Muslim women wearing head-scarves were barred from sitting behind Obama at a campaign rally in Michigan on Monday. Campaign volunteers were “seeking to prevent the women’s headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate,” according to the Politico.

The campaign later apologized, of course, but the mix-up can’t help Obama’s somewhat tarnished reputation among American Muslims who are already uneasy about the candidate’s forceful rejection of rumors that he is Muslim. As the Politico’s Ben Smith puts it, for Obama…

…the old-fashioned image-making contrasts with his promise to transcend identity politics and to embrace all elements of America. The incidents in Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country, also highlight an aspect of his campaign that sometimes rubs Muslims the wrong way: The candidate has vigorously denied a false, viral rumor that…