But as Mr. Obama’s victory showed, the path to change is arduous. Even as the nation shattered one barrier of intolerance, we were disappointed that voters in four states chose to reinforce another. Ballot measures were approved in Arkansas, Arizona, Florida and California that discriminate against couples of the same sex. —NYTimes
“He certainly indicated his broad and deep support for the full civil rights for gay and lesbian … I pressed him on the Millennium Development Goals. I wanted to know whether he thought more about them than just they were a good idea but whether he had any intention of pushing for their full funding.” Bishop Robinson said he feared that the economic crisis might affect this agenda.
Obama beat McCain soundly among Catholics (55% – 44%), performing better than Kerry in 2004 and Gore in 2000. Among white Catholics, Obama narrowed the Republican advantage from Bush’s 13-point advantage (56% – 43%), with McCain holding only a 5-points advantage (52% -47%).
From Wuthnow’s ‘Creqtive Spirituality • Moments of transcendence … “But in the final analysis, these writers, musicians, sculptors, and painters are less concerned with identifying
At the heart of all this is American exceptionalism – the belief that there is something special about the United States held by Americans of varied religious beliefs and none – it ought to be a country in which a seven-year-old Muslim American can aspire to be president. What seems to have divided Americans in this election is not disagreement over America’s unique calling, but whether that vocation confers privilege or responsibility
While it won’t be the same as it ever was, an Obama presidency will give the Religious Right an opportunity to bask in the glow of martyrdom and seize the mantle of underdog, while it raises hundreds of millions of dollars for its political campaigns and the never-ending ‘culture wars.’
5:30 a.m. New York time, my phone wakened me. It was my wife, Ellen, calling from San Francisco. 2:30 a.m. there. She said it simply, ‘Donald, your dad has died.’ I heard it but had no idea what to do next. Ellen spoke to my stammering silence, ‘Come home now, your mother needs you.’
While we deliberate, he reigns; when we decide, he reigns; when we decide foolishly, he reigns; when we serve him in humble loyalty, he reigns;
Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians. Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities.
Ward Connerly, the California activist-businessman who has led the crusade against affirmative action, said Obama’s victory proved his point. “We have overcome the scourge of race,” Connerly said.