Politics

In a op-ed piece with the same title in today's NY Times, Kenneth Woodward argues that Mitt Romney, rather than pretending to be an evangelical Christian, should address the distinctive nature of his Mormon faith to prevent the American public's general ignorance about Mormonism producing a distrust of him as a presidential candidate. Highlighting some of the unique Mormon teachings, Woodward writes:

...the very different meanings Mormon doctrine attaches to words it shares with historic Christianity. For example, Mormons speak of God, but they refer to a being who was once a man of "flesh and bone," like us. They speak of salvation, but to them that means admittance to a "celestial kingdom" where a worthy couple can eventually become "gods" themselves. The Heavenly Father of whom they speak is married to a Heavenly Mother. And when they emphasize the importance of the family, they may be referring to their belief that marriage in a Mormon temple binds families together for all eternity.

I've been down on Dobson for a while now (link), but his latest comments judging whether Fred Thompson is a real Christian or not seem to be a new low. I know many people look to Dobson as a leader among Christian evangelicals, but to me his credibility is gone. From an article by Dan Gilgoff in US News and World Report:

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday. "Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Thompson, took issue with Dobson's characterization of the former Tennessee senator. "Thompson is indeed a Christian," he said. "He was baptized into the Church of Christ." In a follow-up phone conversation, Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger stood by Dobson's claim. He said that, while Dobson didn't believe Thompson to be a member of a non-Christian faith, Dobson nevertheless "has never known Thompson to be a committed Christian-someone who talks openly about his faith."

Here's a few political videos from YouTube. The first one is the best.

From an article of the same title by Paul Watson in the LA Times:

As a boy in Indonesia, Barack Obama crisscrossed the religious divide. At the local primary school, he prayed in thanks to a Catholic saint. In the neighborhood mosque, he bowed to Allah. Having a personal background in both Christianity and Islam might seem useful for an aspiring U.S. president in an age when Islamic nations and radical groups are key national security and foreign policy issues. But a connection with Islam is untrod territory for presidential politics.

...Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque. "We prayed but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played," said Zulfin Adi, who describes himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends. The campaign's national press secretary, Bill Burton, said Wednesday that the friends were recalling events "that are 40 years old and subject to four decades of other information." Obama's younger sister, Maya Soetoro, said in a statement released by the campaign that the family attended the mosque only "for big communal events," not every Friday.

From an article of the same title in USA Today by Richard Wolf:

A 10-year-old national program that has helped 6.6 million children get health insurance faces cutbacks here Sunday, and more states could follow unless Congress grants new funding. Georgia's PeachCare for Kids program, part of the national Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), will freeze enrollment because of a federal funding shortfall that threatens 13 other states. New Jersey, Iowa, Mississippi and other states say cuts may be required later this year. The program - which provides subsidized insurance for children whose families are not eligible for Medicaid - has helped trim the percentage of uninsured kids nationwide to 11.2% in 2005 from 15% in 1997. It is running out of money because of inflation, higher enrollment and program expansions.

Democrats in Congress want to add $745 million to a bill funding the Iraq war to take care of this year's shortfalls. Unless the federal government raises its $5 billion annual stake, however, 35 states could face shortfalls by 2012, and 1.5 million children could lose coverage. Advocates see the program as a precursor to universal coverage. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and others want to spend $60 billion over five years to enroll an additional 6 million eligible children whose families are either unaware of the program or have chosen not to join. President Bush wants to add $4.8 billion over five years but refocus on poor children. Fourteen states cover adults under the children's program.

There's a shortage of funding but states are covering adults under the children's program?