Yes, we can.

[scaeagles]

You know, you are right Alex, when you say that the all people who wish to be President do so because they feel are best for the job. I'll go ahead and completely back off my thinking that Obama is a part of it. I do think, however, as Obama is a Christian man, that he does believe himself to be doing the lord's work. Of course there will be the retort that it won't dictate his policies, but of course it will to an extent, as his religious views will influence his thinking of right and wrong.

The messianic complex is more like a cult forming through a large portion of his supporters. I did a bit of research, and apparently almost immediately after Palin's speech at the RNC there were items being sold with this statement on it. It was first made publically, at least to my knowlege, by a representative from Tennessee (D. Steve Choen) who directly compared Obama to Jesus in his statement during a speech on the house floor.

“If you want change, you want the Democratic Party,” Cohen said. “Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus, who our minister prayed about. Pontius Pilate was a governor.”

If they are trying to throw it back in the face of the "religious right", that is a completely fine tactic. I just think it solidifies the whole messianic complex being discussed in the election - again, I will absolutely concede that it is not Obama himself, but a large portion of his supporters. It is clever, no doubt, but comparing Palin to Pilate might be seen as a bit extreme. i see no other way to interpret the "Pilate was a governor" portion of that.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Of course there will be the retort that it won't dictate his [Obama's] policies, but of course it will to an extent, as his religious views will influence his thinking of right and wrong.

Well, here's one. He actually says his religious views are dictating his policy toward gay marriage rights, and I think he's lying. His strategic electoral views are dictating his policy, I'm sure of it.

So it seems, whether they say so or not, what dictates a president's policies, whether by religious belief or not, is truly between them and their god.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

If they are trying to throw it back in the face of the "religious right", that is a completely fine tactic. I just think it solidifies the whole messianic complex being discussed in the election - again, I will absolutely concede that it is not Obama himself, but a large portion of his supporters. It is clever, no doubt, but comparing Palin to Pilate might be seen as a bit extreme. i see no other way to interpret the "Pilate was a governor" portion of that.

I think you are missing the chronology here. Of course they're trying to throw it back in Palin's face, and of course the reference to governor means her.

In her red-meat speech, Palin was the one who threw the snarky Obama-is-Messiah reference into the national ring. It's been circling among Fundies for months via the right-wing nutjob talk shows and such. She's the one who brought the vile insult to the national stage, along with the disgusting demeaning of community service work.

It's fantastic quid-pro-quo to point out that Jesus did community service and Pilate was the governor. She's a fvcktard and, in this case, it doesn't much matter what effect this has on radical fundamentalists. It's brilliant turnabout that has us Democrats chuckling in good spirits.