Senator Steps In It

Barack Obama, after leading a charmed political existence, has suddenly become controversial.

The Illinois senator gave a speech at a Washington church the other day in which he talked about the importance of religion in the public square and how Democrats should not be seen as hostile to organized religion. He also talked about the importance of Christ in his life.

Suddenly, the party's golden boy, talked up as part of the 2008 ticket despite having been in the Senate for only about an hour and a half, is losing a bit of his luster.

The comments didn't seem particularly radical or outrageous to me, but they seem to have struck some kind of nerve.

Bill Clinton spoke easily about faith and loved campaigning in churches, but apparently it's still a hot-button issue, particularly for liberal bloggers.

Chris Bowers at MyDD says Obama is helping the other side:

"Obama's comments lend tri-partisan support (Democrats, Republicans and the media) to a narrative that Democrats are hostile toward people of faith. This tri-partisan support will result in a 'closing of the triangle' against Democrats where it become conventional wisdom that Democrats are hostile to people of faith. This has been how the DLC has managed to reify ever anti-Democratic narrative it likes within the national discourse. So thanks Senator Obama, for reifying this Republican-driven talking point about Democrats. Now almost everyone will think that Democrats are hostile to people of faith. Well done. Your mentor, Joe Lieberman, would be proud.

"Being someone who is preoccupied with electoral strategy, I want to focus on how this narrative is perhaps even more dangerous to progressives than the rather simple 'Democrats are hostile to faith' narrative it engenders.

"In a national environment where both parties must focus their electoral strategy on courting the most conservative and pro-Republican voter in the country, we end up with a Congress that is only responsive to the most conservative, pro-Republican voters in the country. In the electoral strategy Obama reifies with his comments, progressive don't matter. Moderates don't matter. Swing voters don't matter. Independents and Democrats don't matter. Many Republicans don't even matter. The only people who matter are the most conservative people in the country."

I Am Vince signals his displeasure with a subtle headline: "Obama Is An Idiot":

"I disagree strongly with everything he said in the article. If this man ever gets to be a presidential or VP nominee I'll change parties. Hell, I'll start my own party. I won't be a member of a party actively trying to get evangelicals into the fold, period."

Not a big-tent man, obviously.