Thursday, March 11, 2010

Obama's Spiritual Advisors

The National Catholic Reporter has given us a glimpse at the various spiritual advisors whom President Obama consults now, or has consulted in the past.  The article states that Obama is "frequently summoning the spirits of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and even St. Thomas Aquinas to frame his policies in moral terms."  I certainly hope that this isn't being done in the same fashion as did Hillary Clinton, when she reportedly consulted the "spirits of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mahatma Ghandi".

He is reputed to consult with some "advisors" who were consulted by previous presidents.  Such luminaries include:
  • Rabbi David Saperstein.  A Reformed Rabbi, Mr. Saperstein has sat on many boards - including that of People for the American Way.  We need go no further here.
  • Sojourners founder Jim Wallis.  He lashed out at James Dobson when the latter dared to question the wisdom of voting for Obama.  Boys and girls, can we all say "payback"?
  • Last but not least, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick.  Why, oh why, does it seem quite natural to list him along with these other two left-wingers?  The article states that the Cardinal has advised Obama about (wait for it!) - health care reform.  Now doesn't that explain a lot?
Other advisees/friends of the Cardinal include:
  • The late Senator Edward M Kennedy.  I can only hope beyond hope that the Cardinal did, in accord with his high office, preach the truth to the now-deceased Kennedy before his death.  That hope looks dim.
  • John Sweeney, former president of AFL-CIO.  Sweeney, who was president of a union that demanded contraceptive coverage for union workers, was frequently honored by McCarrick.  I led pickets of two of these functions.  By the way, if you haven't yet done so, watch the "CIA" clip from Real Catholic TV about Alinskyte organizing - and note Sweeney's role.
From 2 Timothy 4:3 - "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."
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2 comments:

  1. KRGMarch 12, 2010 at 12:12 AM

    Blah blah blah. If you're going to be so negative, can you at least be substantive?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Restore-DC-CatholicismMarch 12, 2010 at 6:45 PM

    First, let me repeat (again!) my thoughts on the "positive versus negative" hooey that folks such as KRG seem to think is so important. "Positive versus negative" is NOT a valid criterion for evaluation of any subject matter, for that criterion has more to do with how the subject matter registers emotionally with the person evaluating it. In other words, it's subjective and varies from person to person. What one might find "negative", another might find "positive". Rather, let's concentrate on "true versus false", "accurate versus inaccurate". That involves attention upon the merits of the subject matter itself, independent of any emotional reverberation.

    All that being said, KRG's reaction confirms my belief in the truth of what I wrote. Often the truth will sting and we will see visceral reactions such as that of KRG's.

    ReplyDelete

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