During a 24-hour span, President Barack Obama walked that line between American politics and American religion. On Wednesday’s first-of-his-presidency visit to a mosque, Obama thanked Muslim-Americans for their service to the country and acknowledged their concerns and fears of being targeted or blamed when terrorists strike. He assured Muslims — especially the young — that they fit in the American fabric, exhorting “You are not Muslim or American. You are Muslim and American.” Thursday, Obama took advantage of the annual National Prayer Breakfast to press the mostly Christian audience to reject an underlying theme in the presidential campaign, saying “faith is the great cure for fear.” The president’s high-wire act has drawn both praise and scorn.
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Obama at the Intersection of Religion and Politics
Barack, Hillary and Bernie
Keeping with tradition, President Obama is traveling to the American heartland to sell his State of the Union message. That message — the country is in better shape than the presidential campaign rhetoric makes it out to be — seems to be aimed helping his party continue to occupy the White House and burnish his legacy. As most of the media attention is focused on the fractious campaign among Republicans, the race between democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is getting closer and more contentious. How unscathed either can emerge will go a long way to determine how shiny the Obama legacy will look.
Obama’s Second Term Could Be The Most Consequential In Recent Memory
…The question today is not whether Obama has made real progress since 2012. The question is how much of that progress will last beyond 2017, when somebody else is in the White House.
‘We Will Prevail’
President Barack Obama gave a rare address from the Oval Office Sunday night on last week’s mass shootings in San Bernardino, California – deemed an act of terror – that killed 14 people at a work holiday party. While acknowledging that the U.S. is confronting a terror threat at home, he tried to reassure the country by vowing that “we will overcome” such acts of terror. He called for stricter laws on assault-style weapons, and reiterated his decision not to engage U.S. troops in a ground war against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Obama Must Wage War on the Islamic State, Not Merely Harass It
The president was right when he called the Islamic State a cancer, but it is a cancer that metastasized on his watch. Paris is proof.
Obama Rallies Audience Ahead of Democratic Presidential Debate
“No matter who is on the ballot next November, that’s the choice we’re going to face. And that’s why I’m still fired up and still ready to go.” President Barack Obama
The “Francis” Effect
After formally greeting Pope Francis at the White House today, President Barack Obama articulated exactly what is it about this pope that makes him so different: “Your Holiness, in your words and deeds, you set a profound moral example … you are shaking us out of complacency.” The excitement over the pope’s visit to the United States is not only generated by Catholics, but by many who are inspired by his kinder, gentler leadership style. It is clear that Francis has become far more than the head of the Catholic Church. He has joined the ranks of global leaders.
How the Iran Deal Became the Most Strategic Success of Obama’s Presidency
A weak president Obama may be. But a paradox of his presidency is that he has been at his toughest in fighting for the Iran nuclear deal against Netanyahu, the leader of one of America’s closest allies.
50 Years After the Voting Rights Act, We Still Have Work to Do
“We owe them a great debt. I am certain I wouldn’t be where I am today without their sacrifices.” President Barack Obama
Americans Mark Independence Day
Amid celebrations of our independence from Great Britain this July 4th, Americans are rightly worried about their future in a chaotic world. Between the threat of the Islamic State, containing Iran’s nuclear program and the economic struggles of America’s working poor, it’s easy to be pessimistic. But for many the world over, the promise of the United States remains the hope of the world.
Supreme Court Rulings Suggest Social, Political Shift
As the court winds up its term, decisions on controversial cases such as Obamacare and same-sex marriage have provoked heated debate. Supporters are hailing the constitutional inclusiveness of the rulings, while more conservative observers are decrying a court that they argue has overstepped its boundaries.