Ever see a president-in-office dance with the devil? Perhaps yesterday was as close as one has gotten. In his pasodoble with the The First Amendment to the United States Constitution (expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws “respecting an establishment of religion” or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to peaceably assemble, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances) Obama reached out to Jewish and Christian clergy through a conference call and webcast Wednesday evening, urging the leaders to push health care reform from the pulpit. Obama and an official spoke to about 140,000 people of faith about the moral dimension of health care, telling the mostly Christian audience that “this debate over health care goes to the heart of who we are as a people.” But earlier that day, Obama went much further, asking about 1,000 rabbis to preach his political agenda in their sermons on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year — one of the holiest days of the year. The conversation was supposed to be off the record but was captured on the Twitter feeds and blogs of some rabbis who took part in the call, which was organized by the Union of Reform Judaism and included rabbis from other denominations. Must we remind Mr. Obama that nothing is ‘off the record’ anymore? What was he thinking? Does this breach the line of church and state? Is it acceptable? GO!
Be First to Comment