A couple nights ago we got to see the first Presidential Debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. I'm going to offer my view though a Christian perspective.
Politically speaking, I believe Obama won, but not by a big margin. There were plenty of opportunities to hammer McCain on economic issues, but I feel he will save that for future debates. I am an Obama supporter, but I would have no problem pointing out a victory for McCain if that were the case. That's all I want to get into in regards to the political aspect.
Both men have expressed that they are Christians in one form or another of Institutionalized Christianity. From a Christian perspective, Obama again won, but by a huge margin. If there are any honest Christians out there, I believe they would see it the same way. However, as I've discussed prior, there are so many brainwashed "Conservative Christians", that they don't even know what to look for anyway. After all, they don't follow the Two Most Important Commandments.
McCain didn't look at Obama once. Not once! He never directed any of his comments towards him and never referred to him cordially. This debate format consisted of a lead question that both had time to address, then both would engage each other. McCain didn't engage Obama one time. He looked angry when Obama spoke, or sarcastically smiled and laughed which showed that he was very disturbed, and only laughed to avoid losing his head. His body language was one of contempt. It was a hard thing to watch as a Christian. There was no bi-partisan language or friendly tones.
Obama routinely looked directly at McCain while he was listening. And when he spoke during the exchange periods, he was always looking and addressing McCain. He called him "John" when speaking to him. He stretched out his hands and looked genuine in his body language. He pointed out what he agreed on with McCain while he was pointing out their differences. And while he was doing this, all McCain could do was look down or away. It was as if Obama didn't exist.
From a Christian and genuine openness perspective, Obama wins easily.
Maybe that's why he's owning him in the polls now.
If you put faithful Christians that follow the Teachings correctly that don't know the candidates in a room, showed them the debate, asked them to put political views aside, and choose which one showed their Christianity beliefs the most. Obama would have won unanimously.
They would have chosen the Black man with a Muslim name.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
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15 comments:
Perhaps your psycho-analysis is correct, or perhaps it is swayed by pre-concieved biases.
Here's my psycho-analysis:
Barack has perfected the art of schmoozing and has sold many in America a personna of him that is inconsistent with the extremist associations of his past.
McCain is just aghast that many in America are still taking this inexperienced Senator from Illinois, who's only experience is being smooth, seriously.
wonderful post botts! i couldn't agree more.
i used to have a pretty positive opinion of john mccain, but his actions have made me more and more disgusted by him. it's not just because he is a republican either, as i'm sure some people would like to assume. i'm an independent so i don't take sides before i get a good feel for the candidates.
i was absolutely shocked by mccain's behavior in the debates. he likes to brag about his bipartisan record, but he is incapable of being respectful of his opponent. obama was clearly demonstrating a bipartisan attitude at the debates by telling mccain when he agreed with him and being respectful.
i also noticed at the end of the debate mccain walked toward the moderator and started talking with him while obama went right to mccain to shake his hand and tell him "good job." it almost seemed like mccain was trying to avoid obama.
mccain likes to say the reason the current admonistration has done wrong is because they let washington change them, well i think mccain has let this election change him. he wants it so badly that he has lost his integrity to try to get it.
he has tried to benefit from bitter hillary supporters by picking palin as a vp. this, of course, undercut his argument about obama's inexperience. as a woman i was incredibly insulted that mccain would think i am so stupid i would vote for him because he picked palin and palin just so happens to also have a vagina.
well my news for mccain is this, i vote issues, not gender. so my vagina and i are supporting obama this election.
"Extremist associations"? Man, mark...you guys love your talking points, don't you? Are you referring to the former "terrorist", present-day college professor Bill Ayers, or that "radical black preacher" who dared to say that the government is run by rich white people? Because his connections with the actual "extremist" of the two is tenuous, and the other one was only villified by the "liberal media" as a radical for...to be honest, I don't know why.
As for being "inexperienced", I would have thought that 8 years of George Bush would have taught us that it doesn't matter how many years under your belt you have if your policies don't make any damn sense.
You get to know a person by who he associates with. So yes, when Barack hangs with Rezco, has as a mentor (until it was politically inexpedient) like Rev. Wright, Father Pflager and sits on boards and receives political guidance from William Ayers the terrorist, one becomes hesitant to throw his lot in with the guy.
I know very well that there are people that aren't bothered by the views of the above, but those people are in the distinct minority and would be classified "extreme leftists". Having that label will not win elections, thus Obama has verbally distanced himself.
I would like to see evidence showing Barack is not extreme, however, aside from the rightwing "nutjob" media, Barack has been given a free pass from the mainstream media and none of the "vetting" that a Palin is receiving from the media in their attempts to get to know her is directed toward Barack. We as Americans have little to go on as to who Barack really is other than his past associations.
Just as there is much interest into Palin's past, I would like to see the real Obama and until some of the questions of his past associations are answered, I don't think we ever will see the real Obama and of course some don't really even care.
"Just as there is much interest into Palin's past, I would like to see the real Obama and until some of the questions of his past associations are answered, I don't think we ever will see the real Obama and of course some don't really even care."
What would you like answered Mark?
Sharing an educational Board with a person who committed Terrorist attacks when Barack was 8 is hardly his fault. It wasn't just the two of them on the board. Obama was a professor. Was he supposed to vet the entire board? What was his goal on the "educational board"? Terrorist activity planning? Give me a break Mark.
Rezko? There are no ties to corruption between the two of them, and that has been extremely investigated by MSM and more importantly the Right Wing "Nut Jobs". They have nothing. Rezko did do good work as well Mark. Doesn't make his corruption okay, but you can't blame Obama for it.
What about McCain's associations Mark? His has been proven and he has a history of Corruption.
So I take it you'll be voting for a third party then or not voting at all?
Your association questions are something everyone should look at. The man is 47 years old. I'm almost positive most of us have friends or associates that do or have done things that we wouldn't do.
You don't seem to grasp that.
Throw out the Preacher. A 20 second snippet doesn't define the man. And until you have seen every sermon for 20 years and tie Obama to those sermons, unfortunately you have nothing.
But I guess praying away the Gay and teaching the congregation to hate liberals and Muslims is acceptable. But exposing the Government for it's past discrimination towards minorities is bad.
As far as George Bush goes, there is much that wasn't (isn't) right about his presidency. I'm mad and most of America is mad. Anger and emotions may carry this election Obama's way.
However, it is simplistic to categorize McCain as McSame and to think we will be in for 4 more of the same. I want to believe that McCain will clean house and be the "Maverick" as advertised. I happen to have more hope in that "change" than Barack's "change".
We are all at the mercy of their "promises".
Since this is a blog about Christlike behavior, is it OK to critique a VP?
Way back during the Clarence Thomas hearings, there was one senator on the panel of inqiusitors that stood out more than the others. In his questioning of Thomas I was struck by how belittling and condescending his whole demeanor towards Thomas was. I don't care whether you agree with Thomas or not, but no one should have been treated like that.
That senator was Biden and since then, he has never had my respect.
Botts,
I appreciate your feedback on associations. I happen to be 3 days older than Barack. I cannot however, give him a free pass on Rev. Wright. To have gone to a church for 20 years, have Wright as a mentor and to have never been exposed to the Reverends views or not to have found them endearing so as to keep coming back again and again is a stretch. To suddenly dismiss the Reverend as extremist when it became apparent his association was not politically expedient is one that only the naive can swallow. I would like to view Barack as reasoned and honest and maybe one day I will be found wrong, but in the meantime I'm certainly on the skeptical side of things.
I have been going to churches since birth and I have never in that time, heard a political discourse from the pulpit. Nearly all the churches were what you would describe as conservative. I have never heard anything near to "hate" as you would assume. Every sermon focuses on "The Teachings" and challenges us to serving and loving others. These teachings have formed me.
The only exception was when, as part of a missions group to south- central LA, I attended Mt. Zion Missonary Baptist Church. The mayor of LA at the time, Tom Bradley, happened to be there and spoke and the concern was that chain stores were reluctant to locate in the neighborhood. The excuse was that white owners were afraid of the blacks and of course, their bottom line. (I could clearly see the concerns from both sides). The jist of the sermon was an "us vs. them". I am not black and don't pretend to understand why this mindset is so ingrained, but it is there. So I ask, what teachings have formed Barack?
As far as Sarah, you're assertions towards her are conjecture just as many of the assertions toward Barack are conjecture. Please don't be like the rest and pass judgment before you even know her. It's too easy to belittle someone unduly just because they aren't on your side. We'll find out on Thursday.
mark,
there seems to be a double-standard here. you say obama is guilty by association, but for palin it's conjecture and we shouldn't judge her before we know her. well, here's one thing i know about palin that is not conjecture, she doesn't know what she's talking about.
there is a great chinese proverb i'd like to use to demonstrate why sarah palin is, in my opinion, an idiot: "he who asks is a fool for 5 minutes, he who does not ask remains a fool forever."
when she doesn't know the answer to something she tries to play it off, but she can't. this makes her look worse than if she were to just admit that she doesn't know. the things that come out of her mouth are just ridiculous! like saying if the pledge of allegiance was good enough for the founding fathers it's good enough for her. what kind of retarded statement is that?!
and instead of asking what the bush doctrine is she just tried to weasel her way through that question. as a mother, if my son was joining the army to be sent to a country we invaded i would do my best to know any doctrine or policy that would send him off to fight.
then you said you have no respect for biden because of the way he belittled clarence thomas during the thomas hearings. well first of all, joe biden did not allow testimony from certian witnesses against thomas because he wanted to let thomas maintain some of his rights to privacy and preserve the decency of the hearings. he could have made things a lot worse for thomas by parading experts on sexual harassment through as witnesses, but he didn't.
and second, if you were so offended by biden's actions during the clarence thomas hearings should you not also take offense to john mccain's demeanor during the presidential debate? the man was clearly disrespectful and condescending toward obama. and this was during a presidential debate, NOT a hearing that involved allegations of sexual harassment (the details of which make my stomach turn.)
here are some things i know about john mccain. like i said before, he obviously thinks women are stupid. he voted against a bill that would help women seek compensation when they are cheated out of equal pay. he voted against a bill that would keep rape victims from being billed for their own rape kits (a bill introduced by biden!) and when palin was a mayor her town did bill rape victims for their own rape kits.
and let's not forget mccain's 1998 joke about chelsea clinton that goes something like this:
"why is chelsea clinton so ugly? because her father is janet reno!"
he doesn't want anyone talking about palin's pregnant 17 year old daughter, but he has no problem making a disgusting joke about someone's 18 year old daughter. i doubt he would like it very much if somebody were to make a joke about his adopted daughter.
i wouldn't vote for this man if my life depended on it.
Richelle,
Save the sermon.
I have no problem saying Palin isn't ready for her role. Thursday night we will find out just how out of touch she is or maybe we'll all be in for a surprise.
I also have no problem saying Obama isn't ready for his role. Everyone is casting their lot with the guy because that is all they've got. An inexperienced senator that talks big.
Most of what is said about him is false and conjecture, but there are some things I can't let go.
McCain is a better candidate than Obama, even if you were offended. I do know that McCain is not as impressed with Obama as others are. They have a little history from Obama's first days as senator when he came in as though he owned the place and the veteran McCain took offense. Doesn't excuse anything, just a perspective.
By the way, thank you for the added info on Biden and the hearings. My memory missed that part.
Hi Botts!
This is off topic, maybe a 'supernatural' hint at what could be your next topic? (wink)
I am trying to engage Observant in a dialogue about his 'archtype', "I was a sinner and then I found GOD, so can you!", story.
Do YOU have this same 'revelation' story?
"Do YOU have this same 'revelation' story?"
LOL Pboy,
Hardly.
Mine is:
I was a sinner, God found me, I acknowledged it, and I'm still sinning in one form or another. I learned the Teachings, and believe in them 100%.
Am I going to Heaven? Beats me. But I'm loving this life.
McCain continues to lose credibility with me by continuously lying by omission. Take for example his quote about the failed vote on the bailout. He said '95 democrats and some republicans' voted it down. His intent is clear - blame the dems. That works for all those people who don't check the facts. In this case he fails to comment on the fact that 133 republicans voted against it, 140 dems voted for it and only 65 republicans voted for it. I guess telling the whole truth isn't part of his plans for shaking up Washington.
Pelosi has the same problem only in reverse. She claimed that Republicans were unpatriotic for not passing the measure yet failed to mention that 95 Democrats also voted "NO". Are they unpatriotic too?
Politics is such a backstabbing business.
Botts..if I may?
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"I was a sinner, God found me, I acknowledged it, and I'm still sinning in one form or another. I learned the Teachings, and believe in them 100%.
Am I going to Heaven? Beats me. But I'm loving this life.
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I wasa a man, god didn't find me because he doesn't exist, I'm still sinning ( by christian standards) I learned some of the teachings and believe very few about 10%.
Am I going to heaven? NO, it doesn't exist ! But, I am loving this life.
You are doing a fine job here- even if I don't believe it
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