Obama losing ground in N.C.

Partly it's timing. The media focussed on Obama's minister because it's easy and dramatic TV that sells advertising, but felt no urge to investigate Hillary's own spiritual albatross. That's harder journalism, but not much harder.

Hillary attends Foundry United Methodist Church in DC. Its minister, Dean Snyder, has praised Reverend Wright publicly, quite differently than Hillary's response. That in itself has caused a stir.

Since 1993, Hillary has also belonged to a religious group led by Doug Coe called The Foundation, and informally referred to as The Family. The group is best known for its National Prayer Breakfast, and mostly Republican members like Jack Kemp. It's been around since at least the 1950s and often controversial for its secretiveness. According to Barbara Ehrenreich's article in The Nation:

The Family avoids the word Christian but worship Jesus, though not the Jesus who promised the earth to the "meek." They believe that, in mass societies, it's only the elites who matter, the political leaders who can build God's "dominion" on earth. Insofar as the Family has a consistent philosophy, it's all about power -- cultivating it, building it, and networking it together into ever-stronger units, or "cells." "We work with power where we can," Doug Coe has said, and "build new power where we can't."

According to an article in Harpers a few years ago:

Coe listed other men who had changed the world through the strength of the covenants they had forged with their "brothers": "Look at Hitler," he said. "Lenin, Ho Chi Minh, Bin Laden." The Family, of course, possessed a weapon those leaders lacked: the “total Jesus” of a brotherhood in Christ.

"That's what you get with a covenant,” said Coe. “Jesus plus nothing"

Jeff Sharlet's book, "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" will be published in May.

McCain recently switched to the Baptist faith to please his wife, but refuses to get Baptized. He's still in negotiations over that.

I don't think any of this is important; not Clinton's secretive insider church, or McCain's religious flip flopping, or Wright's loony sound bites. But the conversation has only focussed on Obama's problem and given the others a free ride-- at least until the general election.

Because Obama refuses to sink to the level of attacking Hillary's friends and pastors, he takes the hit. She's behind and thinks anything is fair game, and of course it will work. Voters aren't smart enough to see through crude tactics. Karl Rove and the Swift Boaters taught us that.

That's why Obama's poll numbers are sliding a bit. The public thinks he's the only candidate who isn't a spiritual Boy Scout. Or Girl Scout. They may learn the truth a little too late for the North Carolina vote on Tuesday.

Kenn Amdahl

I am the effete, latte-sipping elitist that Hillary Clinton has programmed you to hate and fear. I live in Los Angeles. Everything she says about me is probably true. Even more horrifying, I’m gay!!! So it’s only fair that I should have a chance to say something. Your future and the future of this country will really depend on how well you heed my words.

First of all, although I'm a white guy, I'm not really afraid of Rev. Wright. I just retired after spending a life time teaching in an inner city school in Los Angeles. Granted I resent some of Rev. Wright's comments, but then again, if I walked a quarter of a mile in his shoes, I might feel the same way. I've had plenty of experience with folks like Rev. Wright, and trust me, after spending a life time teaching in a 'hood nicknamed The Killing Fields, Rev. Wright was one of the least of my worries.

Secondly, I am really not to put off by Obama's comments either. You may not know some of the criticisms Obama levels at the African-American community, or even the African American church. He constantly stresses the importance of self-reliance, hard work, education, and responsibility. When he criticizes his own community, even if he uses harsh words, he gets a standing ovation. So if he at times seems too harsh for your sensibilities, please understand where Obama is coming from.

With those two issues aside, let's talk about some ways our divergent life styles converge.

1. The current issue of the day is the high cost of fuel. Living in Los Angeles, I rely on public transportation for the most part. Even though LA's transit system isn't the best, my using it helps conserve gasoline. The less gasoline I use, the lower the price you'll have to pay. Currently only 7% of the people in LA use public transit. Supposing we could get 78% of the people in LA to garage their cars, supposing we could build public transport systems in other urban areas and persuade the effete elitist liberals living there to use public transportation. (They would if they had decent systems.) Wouldn't that bring you cheaper gasoline? In addition, if you fly over Los Angeles, you'll see a sea of roofs. What would happen to the cost of gasoline if we covered those roofs with solar energy collectors? Can you see how my lifestyle might help yours?

2. With the soaring price of gasoline, Iraq has taken a back burner. Yet while I am writing this, young Americans are still fighting and dying. Yesterday I went to see a documentary called Body of War which portrayed the day to day life of a severely paralyzed Iraqi war veteran. Of course the veteran in the movie was a hetero from a sort of conservative home in a conservative neighborhood in the Midwest, but are those differences that important. As I watched, I really had to struggle to keep from bursting into tears. Hillary Clinton could have stood up against the war. She could have said no. She didn't because her political career was more important, than 4,000+ lives being lost. As a liberal on the left coast, I always opposed the war even when it wasn't popular. So did Obama. Everything I said about the war back in the day has come true - in some cases it’s much worse than anything that I could have imagined. You can say that Obama should have walked out of Rev. Wright's church. Fine. But one died because of Obama's decision. Hillary voted for the war in Iraq, thousands of people have died because of Hillary's error in judgment. Incidentally, invading Iraq after 9/11 made as much sense as invading Brazil after Pearl Harbor. Yet this is a military decision Hillary endorsed. Does this sound like a competent commander-in-chief?

3. In spite of my so-called elitist reputation, I support unions. Reagan got history all wrong. He didn’t cause the fall of Communism. Working class unions did. (Check the history again.) I belong to UTLA and subscribe to USW at Work. I love what USW is doing. Maybe I prefer opera to bowling, but in the end, are my musical tastes really that important?

4. I believe in health care for everyone - with an emphasis on preventative health care. I've read horror stories about health problems in small town America as well as horrible work-place accidents. I'm bitter, angry and frustrated when I get this news. Is that un-American?

5. I believe in saving the environment. Albeit I will never go hunting, but the less deer I bag, the more deer for you to hunt. Is there anything wrong with that? Furthermore I know that we won't have any deer at all if we keep pimp slapping mother earth. That's what we're doing right now. In addition I hear all sorts of stories about tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes. In LA, of course, we're worried about drought. These are all by-products of global warming,

6. I'm tired of all the brouhaha over trivial pursuits. Look at the recent cover of Newsweek: arugula vs. beer. What's sort of crap is that? Yeah, I have rather exotic eating habits, but then I've got to be careful about my weight. I suspect Obama is facing the same problem. But the more careful I am about my weight and health, the less health care I need and to more health care for you and your family. Similarly the less meat, beer, pizza, bacon and eggs I eat - the more for you. Furthermore, if I spend more money and buy organic food, I'm helping support a family farm somewhere in America. Is there anything wrong with that? Why is Hillary fixating on non-issues?

7. Finally I'm sick and tired of Hillary painting me as unAmerican. Urban America has its problems as Obama himself will be the first to admit. But in LA, no one has a "funny" name, no one has a "funny" skin color, no one a "funny" background and no one has a "funny" sexual orientation because in LA, we are all “funny” in one way or the other, so we have to try to get along. That strikes me as being much more American in spirit than place were only the straight, white,and right have any claim to count themselves as human beings. And, right or wrong, that's the message I'm getting from Hillary. - and she calls Obama "hurtful and divisive."

Finally I need to break the truth. I don't care what pollsters say, Hillary is sure fire loser - for one reason only. She is engaging in fear and smear campaign. That's the only reason she's gaining ground. And her current success proves that fear and smear works. She may be riding high now, but trust me. After she wins the nomination, the GOP and the GOP media will use the same smear and fear tactics against her - and there will be nothing, absolutely nothing, she or any one else can do about it.

In addition, the same smear and fear tactics that Hillary is using against Obama will be the same smear and fear tactics that McCain Elaine Chou and the anti-union GOP will use against you. Hillary doesn't realize what she's doing. The only person she seems to care about is herself. What sort of candidate is that?

There's only one way to save the Democratic party, or this country, for that matter - Vote for Obama. A vote for Obama is a vote against the fear and smear tactics of Karl Rove, McCain, Eaine Chao and the GOP.
The choice is yours. I'd advise you to think of everything Hillary promised you. If she wins the Democratic nomination, kiss it all goodby.
yours truly,
William Joseph Miller