There seems to be a trend in Western Politics. The politically conservative party gets in for a long time and gets so unpopular that any change is greeted with open arms.
NuLabour in the UK, Kev07, Barack Obama.
Questions, questions.
- Did Obama win the election or did McCain lose it?
- Does this also represent a backlash against the right-wing Christian moral majority?
- What impact does the answers to these previous two questions have on the world wide Christian church?
I'll do some thinking and post later.
But in the meantime, anybody got any thoughts?
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4 comments:
Here's one thought: A lot of people bothered to vote this time who never bothered before. A backlash in some ways, but certainly an understandable desire amongst many to elect the first black president as a potent symbol of hope. And change. And hope. And change. Etc.
Psalm 118.8-9
Did McCain lose the election? No, I believe Obama won. But a better choice of VP for McCain and some slightly less silly pronouncements on the economy would have made it a more modest victory by Obama.
I believe that the economy was the pivotal issue and that nothing on earth bar perhaps Obama being caught on camera burning a flag or robbing a granny would have changed the ultimate result.
Hi John, there's no doubt that as one political reporter said this week, a drover's dog could have defeated McCain (especially following Bush). Having said this, I also think that Obama's oratorical skills are strong and he has given American's something to believe in. They want to feel proud of their nation again, and they want the world to appreciate them. The average American is shocked by the world's attitude to them. It took a long time for the average American to think the war in Iraq was a bad thing (they elected Bush twice!). And there is obviously a sense in which a pluralist society will want to celebrate a black president, even I think that this is a wonderful thing. What has puzzled me is how many people (including many Christians) have been prepared to ignore his VERY liberal views on homosexuality, Stem Cell research and abortion and his lack of experience and thrust upon him the Christ-less hopes of the world.
There's an interesting (if brief) analysis of the rôle of religion in the election in last week's Religion Report: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2008/2416069.htm
It starts about 9 minutes in.
P.S. I really liked Byron Smith's reflections on the Obama and hope:
http://nothing-new-under-the-sun.blogspot.com/2008/11/change-we-need-reflections-upon-obama.html
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