Quote of the day
posted at 10:37 pm on June 9, 2009 by Allahpundit
“It was also puzzling how a major statement about religion could seem so detached from religion. Obama projected himself as a floating spectator of other people’s beliefs (as in his memory of hearing the call to prayer in Indonesia). Though he identified himself as a Christian, there was no sign that it goes very deep. Christianity seemed like a badge or school scarf, a testament of affiliation without spiritual convictions or constraints. This was one reason, perhaps, for the odd failure of the speech to acknowledge the common Middle Eastern roots of Judeo-Christianity and Islam, for both of whom the holy city of Jerusalem remains a hotly contested symbol.
Obama’s lack of fervor may be one reason he rejects and perhaps cannot comprehend the religious passions that perennially erupt around the globe and that will never be waved away by mere words. By approaching religion with the cool, neutral voice of the American professional elite, Obama was sometimes simplistic and even inadvertently condescending, as in his gift bag of educational perks like ‘scholarships,’ ‘internships,’ and ‘online learning’ — as if any of these could checkmate the seething, hallucinatory obsessions of jihadism.
The Cairo speech will certainly not be Obama’s final word on this important subject, which I hope will remain on the front burner throughout his presidency. But before he can sway hearts and minds, the president will need to show that he understands the ultimate divergence and perhaps incompatibility of major creeds. At the finale, his recitation of soft-focus quotes from the Koran, Talmud and Bible came perilously close to a fuzzy New Age syncretism of ‘all religions are the same’ — which they unequivocally are not. The problem facing international security is that people who believe something will always be stronger and more committed than people who believe nothing — which unfortunately describes the complacent passivity of most Western intellectuals these days.”
Blowback
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Dang…
I wanted to get some work done tonight. Too many good posts.
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 10:40 PM
What church did BO join?
txag92 on June 9, 2009 at 10:41 PM
I think you’re right, AP. He’s an Athiest.
cjtony97 on June 9, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Hopey has one real religion that he has demonstrated,
and that is,at the,
Alter of Liberalism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
canopfor on June 9, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Not principled enough. Agnostic.
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 10:42 PM
When one believes in everything one actually believes in nothing…thus Obama played well into the hands of the jihadists. Obama is not above the problem, he is now part and parcel to the problem, as viewed by the jihadists.
The mere act of a pseudo-Christian, a former Moslem, lecturing Moslems on how they should conduct themselves under their religious laws seems to be a bit over the top, even for Obama.
coldwarrior on June 9, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Allah is skipping out on work early so he can get a nap before Redeye comes on. Can’t miss that sexpert.
Jeff M (Formerly Jeff_McAwesome) on June 9, 2009 at 10:42 PM
God bless you, Ms. Paglia, you wonderful little pagan.
emailnuevo on June 9, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Yes We Can (Believe in Nothing!)
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on June 9, 2009 at 10:43 PM
AP, whatever happened to those Maverick thumbs up photos? i sure miss those.
moonbatkiller on June 9, 2009 at 10:43 PM
I don’t know what he is, but I wish he’d resign or someone would start impeachment proceedings.
Knucklehead on June 9, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Like any good communist, I’m sure he believes in the struggle.
leoncaruthers on June 9, 2009 at 10:45 PM
What church did BHO join?
txag92 on June 9,2009 at 10:41PM.
txag92: Thats easy,its the Church of Emaculate Chickens
that have Come Home to Roost!:)
canopfor on June 9, 2009 at 10:45 PM
You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.
jimmy2shoes on June 9, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Not at all sanguine about the use of the word impeachment at this point. Denigrates the entire concept.
However, a more fitting means to check Team Obama is to make sure that the Dems lose big next year, and we pull off a wide majority in 2012, to include the White House.
Let’s Carterize him.
coldwarrior on June 9, 2009 at 10:46 PM
“Jeff M (Formerly Jeff_McAwesome) on June 9, 2009 at 10:42 PM”
is she on tonite?!
/starts to count hours ’til 0300 …
:-)
:-)
Buckaroo on June 9, 2009 at 10:46 PM
I thought the same thing, but given his affection for ACORNS and tree-huggers, I’d say maybe he’s a druid.
Laura in Maryland on June 9, 2009 at 10:47 PM
New SoutherGent Translation: Obama will say anything to anyone at anytime.
SouthernGent on June 9, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Haven’t you heard? Work is sooooo 2008.
jimmy2shoes on June 9, 2009 at 10:47 PM
No, no, no.
Obama definitely believes there is a god. Him.
18-1 on June 9, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Agreed. I would guess that virtually all Marxists and Communists are athiests. They aren’t humble enough to admit faith in God or have spirituality that requires constant reflection and admittance of being imperfect and sinful. Marxists and Communists and other Leftists are too elitist for religion. They only worship power and the State.
TheAdmiral on June 9, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Do atheists count as believing in nothing or something?
Rosmerta on June 9, 2009 at 10:48 PM
The only thing Pres. Obama believes in is himself. And I must have missed the right wing radio pundits who said the SCOTUS nominee was mediocre. I never heard that one. But I don’t immediately give her education credentials all that much weight either. I’d love to know how may MBA’s from Harvard, Princeton and Yale drove Wall Street into the ground.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Except for this.
I agree with those who say he’s an atheist.
emailnuevo on June 9, 2009 at 10:48 PM
He sympathizes…
Doesn’t make me feel better :(
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Why work when you’ve got economic stimulus?
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on June 9, 2009 at 10:48 PM
He is a damned authoritarian that will say and do anything to gain ever more power over everyone else.
/thread
daesleeper on June 9, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Well, that is an option.
It depends on which ones you talk to. Plus there is a difference between the Atheists and atheists…
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 10:49 PM
Ogabe is an “intellectual” which means he’s just stupid enough to believe you can talk-down a movement composed of savages willing to commit the most heinous of crimes if it means they advance their agenda one inch.
It also means that when those savages inevitably come knocking in the U.S. again, Ogabe won’t have a flockin’ clue on how respond. A lot of innocent people are going to get killed because of his unwillingness to accept the evilness of our enemies.
Bishop on June 9, 2009 at 10:50 PM
OK, just throwing this out there… I know there are some history buffs here.
Hitler was no Christian, but was he a Pagan?
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Terry McAuliffe lost in Virginia tonight. Is that a start?
Knucklehead on June 9, 2009 at 10:51 PM
The Willam Ayers Enlighting Bombs for
Bible studies!(Sasrc).
canopfor on June 9, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Well……..
………. if someone had a pair in the White House, they would make a poster of that statement, and hang it in the Oval Office.
Seven Percent Solution on June 9, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Church of Immaculate Community Organizers for Destruction of America
C
I
C
O
D
A
No? Well, that’s what I heard!
Vntnrse on June 9, 2009 at 10:53 PM
…,but was he a Pagan?
Upstater85 on June 9,2009 at 10:50PM.
Upstater85: I think Hitler was into the occult!:)
canopfor on June 9, 2009 at 10:53 PM
txag92: Thats easy,its the Church of Emaculate Chickens
that have Come Home to Roost!:)
canopfor on June 9, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Sad but true.
txag92 on June 9, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Well that article was certainly an eclectic read… I agree. Mostly.
petunia on June 9, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Amazing!!
Yes, damn good start.
McAuliffe always reminded me of that bad guy [Tony Goldwyn's character] in that Demi Moore chick flick “Ghost.”
coldwarrior on June 9, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Yes, I’ve heard this too. Was he “experimenting” or serious?
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 10:56 PM
“I think you’re right, AP. He’s an Athiest.
cjtony97 on June 9, 2009 at 10:41 PM”
He is whatever he has to be, depending on the moment, the audience and his immediate need. That’s why he is “The One.” The Messiah. “Kind of a god.” He is a blank slate that allows people to see in him whatever it is that they want to see. He is Hope and Change.
Star20 on June 9, 2009 at 10:57 PM
C I C O D A
Vntnrse on June 9,2009 at 10:53PM.
Vntnrse: Nice creativity! Me likey.:)
canopfor on June 9, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Its very very sad and very very telling when the liberal administration is so radical and incompetent that Camile is a monumental improvement.
Speakup on June 9, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Obama is neither Christian nor Muslim. Like the vast majority of Liberals he believes in nothing but himself. Everything is relative and the end justifies the means. From everything that I’ve observed about Obama so far, I don’t think that he’s a kind person. His views have been shaped by radicals. He’s angry, he has a radical agenda, he’s one of the most powerful people on the planet and he has no morals. It’s a bad combination.
DixieSue on June 9, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Paganism was official in Nazi Germany…from the made-up Teutonic “rites” to newly married couples making their vows before nature rather than God. The hackenkreuz was a pagan symbol.
coldwarrior on June 9, 2009 at 10:59 PM
I usually see telepromted excrement.
jimmy2shoes on June 9, 2009 at 10:59 PM
Didn’t know all of that. Thanks.
So do you think Hitler was himself a Pagan or just realized he could use the tool?
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 10:59 PM
Actions speak so much louder than words in Christianity.His actions have spoken volumes.
ohiobabe on June 9, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Bill Clinton’s actions may suggest that he was no Christian… but I think we can all agree that he would label himself a Christian and would be considered on by many people. Obama kinda labels himself a Christian…
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 11:02 PM
I think it was more greed than stupidity.
Rosmerta on June 9, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Trounced………..I like that word. Thanks for the link!!!
Knucklehead on June 9, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Pouring water into a 7-Up bottle doesn’t make it 7-Up.
jimmy2shoes on June 9, 2009 at 11:04 PM
When you combine postmodernism and narcissism in one person, you get Obama.
nyx on June 9, 2009 at 11:05 PM
Yes and no.
Loxodonta on June 9, 2009 at 11:05 PM
The two often mix. Further, you’d have to include the government’s greed…
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 11:05 PM
Exactly.
But Obama is pouring water into a 7Up bottle and telling us it’s Lemon Water.
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 11:06 PM
This just isn’t even funny, anymore. But I love the implication – The Precedent who wants empathetic justices doesn’t even have enough of an empathetic response, himself, to know what empathy is. LOL. Too funny, though I’m sure Paglia didn’t intend this.
progressoverpeace on June 9, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Was he experimenting or serious?
Upstater85 on June 9,2009 at 10:56PM.
Upstater85:Thats a good question! Have to check out
some documantaries on this subject!:)
canopfor on June 9, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Wow, great quote. Very insightful. It’s true – Christianity to Obama is just another campaign position, not a deep-seated belief. It explains why he went to a racist America-hating church – it was an extension of politics, not a place of worship. It explains why he hasn’t only been to church once since he took office.
chemjeff on June 9, 2009 at 11:08 PM
I’ve always liked her writing. She is the kind of liberal who states her views logically and can understand where those who don’t agree with her are basing their arguments. She appreciates differences. It’s very cool.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:09 PM
Allahpundit projected himself as a floating spectator of other people’s beliefs… the he read Obama’s mind and declared their kindred non-spiritedness.
Stephen M on June 9, 2009 at 11:10 PM
Obama defines politically expedient.
coldwarrior on June 9, 2009 at 11:10 PM
Are you trying to say that Obama is a politician?
OldEnglish on June 9, 2009 at 11:10 PM
Good grief….. So in other words to be accepted as a good President someone must be a devout Christian, a diehard Conservative, and someone that dares not to deviate from what Republicans have done? That’s the entire impression I’m getting from quite a few postings here and in other places.
Just answer me one little question before I get labeled as a troll, What exactly have the Conservatives/Republicans done that has made everything “magically delicious” and are they also to be held blameless for the mess our current president inherited when he took office? Try to answer a simple question this time please. If you cannot, then spare me all the manufactured indignation and outrage.
Hick on June 9, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Like I said, telepromted excrement.
jimmy2shoes on June 9, 2009 at 11:11 PM
LOL!
elduende on June 9, 2009 at 11:12 PM
Something – reality.
OldEnglish on June 9, 2009 at 11:13 PM
I don’t know, it’s probably both. I am pretty sure it would boggle the mind to realize how many of the graduates of those schools only got in because they are the children of alumni. Add to that the idea that they are entitled to a high paying job in large firm the next thing you know, we have a real mess. Obviously I am painting with a pretty broad brush but I’d be willing to bet there are more than a few who hold down jobs that they aren’t equipped to do them competently.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Fair enough.
Can those who label themselves as conservatives be held without blame? No. Remember McCain calls himself a conservative. Many on the right would say that this bubble wouldn’t have been so big if the government had never been involved in the first place. Then they argue that the government is only making it worse.
Doesn’t exactly sound like Bush – at least more towards the end…
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 11:14 PM
No sir, they are not to be held blameless. They should be held to account. That being said, Obama cannot be blamed for what he inherited. He is, however, to blame for taking the same stupid things handed him by Bush and multiplying them to the nth degree. What’s even worse to me is Democrats and the media who crucified Bush over deficit spending (rightly, I might add) who now think that the spending that Obama is doing is the greatest thing since indoor plumbing. Where in the world does convoluted thinking like that come from?
jimmy2shoes on June 9, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Good grief….. So in other words to be accepted as a good President someone must be a devout Christian, a diehard Conservative, and someone that dares not to deviate from what Republicans have done? That’s the entire impression I’m getting from quite a few postings here and in other places.
Wait…are you tellin’ me you found posts like that at HA, a conservative website? Get outta town!
What next, you’ll claim that DailyKOS advocates that liberals make the best Presidents? I denounce you as a liar and a charlatan!
Bishop on June 9, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Did do or should have done? They should have followed the Constitution and kept their business withing the small confines of what is stated there. And when you lump everyone together like you did, you are going to get the troll tag. No one agrees with everyone 100% of the time, hide and watch before jumping to conclusions.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:18 PM
What’s reality? Whose reality? ;) “Rights”, for example, can’t really be “real”.
ddrintn on June 9, 2009 at 11:19 PM
It all reminds me of “God Emperor Dune” in the Dune series.
The seemingly immortal God Emperor Leto II has ruled his Empire for more than 3,500 years, his lifespan lengthened due to his decision in Children of Dune to merge his human body with sandtrout, the haploid phase of the giant sandworms of Arrakis. His continued evolution has slowly transformed him, altering his human form into what he calls a ‘pre-worm’. His body has come to resemble a small version of the ancient sandworms of Arrakis, ribbed, elongated, and covered in scaly sandtrout; his face remains, as do his hands and arms, but his legs and feet have atrophied to be of no use. He moves from place to place on a large cart of Ixian manufacture, and it is later revealed that his brain has gradually diffused into the rest of his body, becoming a series of nodes throughout his whole form. The sandtrout skin makes him virtually impervious to harm, even allowing him to survive lasgun fire.
Yeah it’s true Evan Thomas’s is worshiping a sandtrout :)
Allah There’s you Headline. Forget Spock and Star Trek.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_Messiah
Twelve years after the events described in Dune (1965), Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides rules as Emperor, following a jihad which conquered most of the human universe.
Dr Evil on June 9, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Our form of government was never intended to make it all “magically delicious” for you. You have to do that yourself. Now get out there.
kahall on June 9, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Ain’t she somethin?
Camille Paglia is very difficult to dismiss, however one may disagree with her. She has battled FemiNazis for years without giving an inch, and once memorably dismissed David Letterman as “that smirking ass.”
Gotta love her. A brilliant woman, and men are the lesser for her lesbian orientation.
warbaby on June 9, 2009 at 11:21 PM
The Obama Man Can.
[That stupid old Sammy Davis, Jr. song is going to be bouncing around inside my aging brain around for a while...dammit.]
coldwarrior on June 9, 2009 at 11:23 PM
If I recall, the Republicans drafted an alternate plan for the economy that was shut down. And some, not all, voted against it, which was a good, if symbolic, gesture. The conservatives have pointed out the weaknesses in Obama’s foreign policy (which is smart, since it’s always our best issue), they have sufficiently called into question Sotomayor’s judgement, such that everyone has to report on the scandal. They’ve also, if you want to credit it to them, managed by hook and crook to get the majority of Americans to be pro-life.
Cut the inheritance stuff, too. No one talks about what Bush inherited from Clinton, and that included a vandalized residence.
emailnuevo on June 9, 2009 at 11:24 PM
You’re dead right on that one. Rights are a perception, subject to change, according to conditions. Reality, to me, is that which transcends any type of change in attitude, and is not dependent upon belief.
OldEnglish on June 9, 2009 at 11:25 PM
Eye-hand-keyboard function is diminished tonite…old age? Or long day?
Better call it quits while I can. ‘night all.
coldwarrior on June 9, 2009 at 11:25 PM
Does that include one’s perception of reality, since that’s subject to changes in attitude and beliefs?
emailnuevo on June 9, 2009 at 11:26 PM
No, just someone who honors the Constitution and stays the hell out of our way as much as possible.
“Blameless”? Of course not. “Magically delicious” though is the territory of the
liberalsprogressiveswhatever label they’re using these days. Conservatives aren’t the ones in the habit of promising utopias.As for the “inherited mess”, what president hasn’t inherited a mess? Obama quadrupled the deficit all on his own.
ddrintn on June 9, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Later dude, good to see you back.
Knucklehead on June 9, 2009 at 11:27 PM
So is Kim Jong Il…at least in the same way Obama is.
AUINSC on June 9, 2009 at 11:28 PM
Almost. It is the medieval character, and inherent violence and intolerance of islam that ensures eternal war. She forgot their belligerence and hyper-sensitivity, which is very dangerous in a shame/revenge culture. Very, very dangerous. They’ve been at it for 1400 years, to date, and don’t look to be changing much. But … maybe today is the day …
progressoverpeace on June 9, 2009 at 11:28 PM
BHO is confused.
watching america on June 9, 2009 at 11:28 PM
Boy…Paglia had better hope none of Obama’s buddies pull off another major attack in the US while the boy wonder is in charge or she’s not even begun to see “ruthless” and “paranoid”. hah.
P.S. GO USMC! Recoil baby! Fry em!
elduende on June 9, 2009 at 11:28 PM
The story explores the complex and multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as forces of the Empire confront each other for control of Arrakis and its spice.
Dune
I can’t make out which character would be Obama though….
Dr Evil on June 9, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Night
Dr Evil on June 9, 2009 at 11:30 PM
I don’t know, I think the Rights in the Declaration of Independence are pretty concrete.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:30 PM
And many writers have imagined for themselves republics and
principalities that have never been seen or known to exist in reality; for there is such a gap between how one lives and how one ought to live that anyone who abandons what is done for what ought to be done learns his ruin rather than his preservation: for a man who wishes to profess goodness [or who is just clueless] at all times will come to ruin [and if President will drag his country down with him] among so many who are not good.
From this arises an argument: whether it is better to be loved than feared. I reply that one should like to be both one and the other; but since it is difficult to join them together, it is much safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.
- Niccolo Machiavelli
MB4 on June 9, 2009 at 11:32 PM
I am not in the habit of questioning anyone’s faith but let’s just say adopting Christianity wouldn’t be the first politically expedient thing our shiny new president has done in his life.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:32 PM
Absolutely true. Take a look at Europe. That gauzy secular humanism is no match for a committed belief.
ddrintn on June 9, 2009 at 11:34 PM
i think ive had my fill of Muslim theorizing for tonight.
bye
blatantblue on June 9, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Question:
If I don’t post very often will I eventualy be removed?
chacker on June 9, 2009 at 11:35 PM
chacker on June 9, 2009 at 11:35 PM
elduende on June 9, 2009 at 11:36 PM
I don’t think that, given the circumstances, anyone would think less of you for doing so now. I think it’s telling he joined the church that had all the connections.
I don’t believe so.
emailnuevo on June 9, 2009 at 11:37 PM
Already?
‘Nite then
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 11:37 PM
One more point, on the “devout Christian” part:
Personally I don’t think presidents have to be religious at all. What galls me the most, though, is that Obama is a Christian, but only trots out his religion when he has some speech or political point to make. He has only been to church once since arriving in DC, did you know that? If he’s going to talk the talk, then he should walk the walk, otherwise he should shut the hell up.
chemjeff on June 9, 2009 at 11:38 PM
night bro
blatantblue on June 9, 2009 at 11:38 PM
Thanks elduende
I am new to blogging and don’t know quite what I am doing.
Bear with me
chacker on June 9, 2009 at 11:39 PM
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