On Saturday, August 16, 2008, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain sat down, individually, with Rick Warren, author of uber-best-seller “The Purpose Driven Life” and pastor of the Saddleback Church where the forum took place. While enough hot air has been spewed about this event to warm Minneapolis for all of January, I haven’t seen or heard much about one particular comment Obama made. (Granted, I can only tolerate so much campaign analysis at a time, so I’m not claiming that this is a truly original analysis.)

Warren asked Obama a two-part question. First, what was Obama’s greatest moral failing and, second, what is America’s greatest moral failing? The senator’s answer to the first part was the expected “youthful drinking and drug dabbling” response. No big whoop. But I found his answer to the second half of the question quite interesting. Here’s what he said:

I think America’s greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we still don’t abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me, and that notion of ”” that basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism. It applies to, you know, not having ”” not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class. There’s a pervasive sense, I think, that this country, as wealthy and powerful as we are, still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of us.

Now, I’m going to set aside the whole issue of whether or not it’s the government’s responsibility to take care of a nation’s poor. (Here’s a hint: I think it’s the people’s responsibility, as in you and me.) That’s a discussion for another day when I feel like quoting P. J. O’Rourke a lot. What’s really intriguing is that Obama bases his answer on a Bible verse, specifically Matthew 25:40.

Why is this intriguing?

Have you not been paying attention for the last couple of decades?

There’s been an all-out war against using any type of Judeo-Christian principles as a basis for public policy. Can’t even mention such ideals in the public arena without getting attacked by the ACLU or the ironically named People for the American Way. You know, the folks who equate a plaque of the Ten Commandments hanging on public property with the federal government establishing a national religion. I guess those buildings that have pictures of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton on display are endorsing thievery, lying and adultery. But I digress.

So the question of this post’s title remains. Will the ACLU and other organizations of similar ilk stand for this egregious intrusion of religion upon the body politic? Will they rise, en masse, to defend those, such as myself, who are unable to defend ourselves from the subtle encroachment of morality upon our lives? Will they take Mr. Obama to task and insist that he base his views purely on secular philosophies?

Somehow, I doubt it.

Later,

Fox