And This is An Appropriate Question Because…
By We (the country, the Dems) have capitulated to the GOP Rhetoric. In the Democratic debate the other night, at the tail end, host Tim Russert asked the candidates to name their favorite bible verse.
Senator Obama, what is your favorite Bible verse?
OBAMA: Well, I think it would have to be the Sermon on the Mount, because it expresses a basic principle that I think we’ve lost over the last six years.
John talked about what we’ve lost. Part of what we’ve lost is a sense of empathy towards each other. We have been governed in fear and division, and you know, we talk about the federal deficit, but we don’t talk enough about the empathy deficit, a sense that I stand in somebody else’s shoes, I see through their eyes. People who are struggling trying to figure out how to pay the gas bill, or try to send their kids to college. We are not thinking about them at the federal level.
That’s the reason I’m running for president, because I want to restore that.
RUSSERT: I want to give everyone a chance in this. You just take 10 seconds.
Senator Clinton, favorite Bible verse?
CLINTON: The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I think it’s a good rule for politics, too.
RUSSERT: Senator Gravel?
GRAVEL: The most important thing in life is love. That’s what empowers courage, and courage implements the rest of our virtues.
RUSSERT: Congressman Kucinich?
KUCINICH: I carry that with me at every debate, this prayer from St. Francis, which says, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,” and I believe very strongly that all of us can be instruments of peace. And that’s what I try to bring to public life.
RUSSERT: Senator Edwards?
EDWARDS: It appears many times in the Bible, “What you do onto the least of those, you do onto me.”
RUSSERT: Governor Richardson?
RICHARDSON: The Sermon on the Mount, because I believe it’s an issue of social justice, equality, brotherly issues reflecting a nation that is deeply torn and needs to be heal and come together.
DODD: The Good Samaritan would be a worthwhile sort of description of who we all ought to be in life.
RUSSERT: Senator Biden?
BIDEN: Christ’s warning of the Pharisees. There are many Pharisees, and it’s part of what has bankrupted some people’s view about religion. And I worry about the Pharisees.
I understand why he’s asking the question: the Democrats have been unable to talk about religion, and it’s hurt them. They’re trying to change that. But why does changing that = talking like Republicans?