Bob Casey Jr's Abortion Line

Bob Casey Jr. didn't devote much of his primetime convention speech last night to abortion (he told God-o-Meter as much before taking the stage) but he did mention it:

Barack Obama and I have an honest disagreement on the issue of abortion. But the fact that I'm speaking here tonight is testament to Barack's ability to show respect for the views of people who may disagree with him.

I know Barack Obama. And I believe that as president, he'll pursue the common good by seeking common ground, rather than trying to divide us. We are strongest when we are together. And there has never been a more important time to devote ourselves to common purpose.

Those lines echo the recent innovation in the Democratic platform's abortion language: a subtle shift toward welcoming pro-lifers into the party, at least rhetorically. Will these baby steps add up in the eyes of voters who oppose unlimited access to abortion?

Here's video:

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Filed Under: abortion, Bob Casey Jr., Democratic convention

posted by Dan Gilgoff @11:33am Permalink Email This Add to:

Brian Schweitzer's Faith Talk

When Democratic National Convention officials say they're pressing this year's speakers to stress their character and values--which includes their faith--over their political accomplishments and policy positions, this is what they mean:

My grandparents were immigrants who came to Montana with nothing more than the clothes on their back, high hopes and faith in God. My family didn't have much in our little house. But a few things stand out in my memory: a crucifix and, on our kitchen wall, a framed picture of President Kennedy.

Those lines came from Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, whose rousing address last night would have had lots more people talking today were it not for Hillary Clinton's headlining show-stopper. Here's video:

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Filed Under: Brian Schweitzer, Democratic convention, messaging, Montana

posted by Dan Gilgoff @11:15am Permalink Email This Add to:

God-o-Meter Talks to Bob Casey Jr. Before Tonight's Convention Speech

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Jr's landing a prime time speaking slot at the Democratic convention is another step in the party's campaign to burnish its image among pro-lifers. Casey's dad, then-Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, was famously denied a speaking role at the 1992 Democratic convention because of his pro-life views. Casey Jr. called God-o-Meter to talk about his role at the convention and to give a little preview of tonight's speech:

Many pro-life Democrats were pushing for the opportunity for you to speak at the convention because of what it would represent symbolically, since your father was famously denied a speaking role at the 1992 convention over his pro-life views. Were you pushing for a speaking slot for that same reason?

We were invited to speak by Senator Obama's campaign and were grateful for the opportunity. But when you're in your first 18 months in the Senate, you shouldn't expect it. So I didn't ask.

Did your father's experience color your own reaction to learning that you'd been accorded a speaking role during prime time?

Everybody remembers 1992, but I also have memories of the 1988 convention, when [my father] did speak about the economic struggles our state had. So I think about more than one convention. What happened in 1992 is something people are talking about, the subject of a lot of discussion, but it's important to look ahead and not just recollect about the past.

Does your inclusion on tonight's speakers' lineup send a message that the Democratic Party has changed on abortion?

The fact that I'm speaking is really a testament to Senator Obama's willingness to reach out to people who disagree with him even on important issues. It's emblematic of his ability to put coalitions together on an issue and to bring all sides together. He's not just talking about that, but acting.

Do you see signs that pro-life voters are getting that message?

It's hard to tell. A lot of what will come before voters between now and Election Day. Most of the hard work of a campaign like this and most of the weighing that voters do when they decide who to vote for will come after the convention. That's the real decision period and the time for the really hard work.

How did you decide what you're going to speak about in your limited time tonight?

I'm speaking with about ten other governors, about the economy and about what I know about Barack Obama personally and about his ideas and his personality. That'll really be the focus of almost every speech at the convention. And also trying to bring people together. If Democrats are going to make the case that they can bring the country together, it's important to bring our party together.

Will your speech address the life issue, which is what many in the party identify you with?

Yes, it will. But it's mostly a night and an opportunity when we've been invited to focus on the economy and frankly what a lot of folks are struggling with in Pennsylvania. But certainly not only that. There's been a lot of discussion about '92, but there is an obvious disagreement I have with Senator Obama and we want to make sure that people understand that difference of opinion.

One of the things that's missing in this important debate in American politics is candid and honest talk about disagreements and an honest effort to try to find common ground. It's much easier to say you don't agree with someone and to continue fighting and discontinue the dialogue. It's much harder but it's important to be honest and show respect for others that we disagree but to actually work to bring the sides together.

One way to do that, and neither party has done enough on this, is to be very supportive of pregnant women. And the Pregnant Women Support Act is the only vehicle and the best vehicle to do that. It's a challenge to the left and a challenge to the right and helps not only bring the sides together but provides affirmative options for women. When a woman becomes pregnant, for most women that's a time of happiness and joy and they look forward to bearing a child. But to some it's a crisis because they don't have the economic wherewithal and the support they need. And a lot of women feel all alone and we don't do enough to show solidarity with them. As Pope John Paul II said, we should show radically solidarity with the woman facing these challenges. This piece of legislation is the one vehicle in American government for bringing the sides together and for providing women with options.

But is Senator Obama supporting it?

He's spoken about it. I have gotten to know him on the campaign trail and he spoke about the concept when he was at Rick Warren's church. So I believe he will be supportive. We have not talked directly about the bill but it's something I will be discussing with people in both parties. It's going to take a lot of work.

Also check out God-o-Meter's interview with Senator Casey in the run-up to the Pennsylvania primaries in April.

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Filed Under: abortion, Bob Casey Jr., Catholics, Democratic convention, economy, Pennsylvania, speech

posted by Dan Gilgoff @ 1:01pm Permalink Email This Add to:

The Democratic Convention's Opening Night Benediction

Here's video of Blue Like Jazz author Don Miller's Benediction from the first night of the Democratic National Convention:

To God-o-Meter, the most noteworthy part of the video is how intently the convention audience is following the benediction, many with heads bowed. This crowd seemed more checked out during some of the evening's earlier speakers. God-o-Meter doubts that most folks at home are watching the convention via C-Span, the one channel to carry the benediction, but those who were saw a window into Democratic delegates that jars with the party's secular image.

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Filed Under: Blue Like Jazz, Democratic convention, Don Miller, speech

posted by Dan Gilgoff @10:52am Permalink Email This Add to:

Michelle Obama's Convention Speech: Focus on the Family

Yesterday, God-o-Meter reported that the primary way the Democratic convention would showcase its new faith and values friendly message was through primetime speeches that emphasize what animates Democrats rather than their policy positions.

The press release about Michelle Obama's speech tonight is a good example of that strategy in action. A few excerpts:

Denver, CO - In her prime-time speech before the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama will talk about her husband, Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, the values that have driven him as a father, husband and public servant and why she believe he will be an extraordinary president...

In her speech, Michelle will give the country a personal view of Barack Obama - her husband, and Sasha and Malia's Dad. She will talk about their life together, and building a family grounded in faith and values. The more America learns about this family, the more they're going to want to send them to the White House....

Excerpts from Michelle Obama's speech are below:

"But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey. I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend. I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world - they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future - and all our children's future - is my stake in this election.

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation...

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posted by Dan Gilgoff @10:31pm Permalink Email This Add to:

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Biden's Catholic Experience: The Kerry Parallels Mount

First conservative Catholic interest groups attacked Joe Biden for being insufficiently Catholic on the abortion question. That was the first parallel to John Kerry's experience as a Catholic candidate in 2004.

Religion News Service reports that at least one Catholic archbishop is joining the fray:

...shortly after Biden was picked, Archbishop Charles Chaput [pictured] of Denver told The Associated Press: "I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion, if he supports a false `right' to abortion."

That's the second parallel to Kerry's experience as a Catholic in '04, as RNS notes:

Chaput is one of a handful of Catholic prelates who entered the political fray in 2004, telling Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry, who supports abortion rights, that he should not receive Communion.

So far, Chaput appears to be sole Catholic bishop taking aim at Biden, though RNS recounts some friction between the Deleware senator and his hometown bishop in the not-too-distant past:

In Delaware, the outgoing bishop of Biden's home diocese, Bishop Michael Saltarelli, issued a statement in 2004 saying "it would be more spiritually beneficial" for Catholic public officials supporting abortion to refrain from Communion. Saltarelli also said, "our Catholic institutions will not honor Catholic politicians who take pro-abortion legislative positions." Following those statements, Archmere Academy, the Catholic prep school in Claymont, Del., that Biden attended, dropped plans to name a new student center after him. Wilmington diocesan spokesman Bob Krebs said Saltarelli had not issued new comments about Biden and stands by his previous statement.

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Filed Under: Catholic Bishops, Catholics, Charles Chaput, Joe Biden, running mates

posted by Dan Gilgoff @ 9:39pm Permalink Email This Add to:

McCain's Greatest Moral Failure Pays Off

It wasn't when he said that life begins at conception without skipping a beat.

It wasn't when he said that marriage should be limited to one man and one woman.

It wasn't even when he answered the question about which Supreme Court appointment he'd rescind by naming all four moderate to liberal justices.

No, the high point for many evangelicals at John McCain's appearance at Saddleback church was when John McCain answered a question about his greatest moral feeling by citing the breakup of his first marriage.

McCain had never said that before. Evangelicals don't mind sinners--so long as they 'fess up. Remember George W. Bush and the tales of his rudderless, hard-drinking ways before he turn 40 and seeing the light?

Want proof that McCain's Saturday night confession has evangelicals talking? The AP reports that McCain's own Baptist pastor played the clip during services yesterday, while McCain was in the pews:

John McCain found himself the center of attention at his church in Phoenix yesterday, watching himself on a giant-screen television talking about his "greatest moral failure," which he said was the collapse of his first marriage.

"I have been a very imperfect person," McCain said, in an interview with the Rev. Rick Warren shown at his church. "It's my greatest moral failure."

McCain sat next to his second wife, Cindy, as he watched the interview during the services at North Phoenix Baptist Church, where the Rev. Dan Yeary described the exchange as a "seminal moment" in the presidential campaign. For balance, he showed Barack Obama's interview with Warren, in which the Democrat confessed he had been too self-centered. "I couldn't focus on other people," Obama said.

McCain, the hometown favorite, got solid applause from the congregation after his confession.

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Filed Under: Arizona, church appearance, marriage, Saddleback Civil Forum

posted by Dan Gilgoff @ 1:07pm Permalink Email This Add to:

Joe Biden: The Catholic Factor

Steve Waldman notes that the attacks on Joe Biden's Catholic bona fides came fast and furious after he was named Obama's running mate on Saturday.

But there's little doubt that Biden's Catholicism was a major factor in Obama's decision to pick him. A well-placed source close to the campaign tells God-o-Meter that "the fact that [Biden's]a proud and committed Catholic was definitely a big plus... the guy's the real deal." The source emailed GOM this 2007 Christian Science Monitor profile, which likely means that Obama's Catholic outreach team will be mailing out to Catholic opinion-shapers everywhere.

It's no secret that Obama has a Catholic problem. God-o-Meter riffed on the numbers from a Quinnipiac polls just a few weeks ago:

In both Florida and Ohio, Obama's losing white Catholics to McCain by 52-percent to 40-percent. That's not an insignificant gap. (In Pennsylvania, white Catholics are evenly split between the Democratic and Republican candidates.) It's not as dramatic as the gap in 2004, when John Kerry lost white Ohio Catholics (one in four Buckeye State voters) to President Bush 59-41 and lost Florida Catholics 59-41. But the difference from 2004 says more about Catholic uncertainty about John McCain than any increase in Catholic support for Obama.

Most of the candidates on Obama's short list for veep were Catholics: Biden, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. So Obama knows he has a Catholic problem. After John Kerry--a Catholic--lost the Catholic vote in 2004, Democrats are paying a lot closer to that problem. The thing to watch for this week is whether and how Biden responds to the attacks from conservative Catholic groups and whether actual Catholic bishops join the fray. Kerry's failure to respond to attacks from those two camps made it seem like he was running against the Catholic church rather than as a member of it.

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Filed Under: Catholics, Joe Biden, running mates

posted by Dan Gilgoff @11:00am Permalink Email This Add to:

God-o-Meter on Fresh Air

God-o-Meter sat down with Fresh Air's Terry Gross for a long interview that airs today. Listen to it here.

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posted by Dan Gilgoff @10:52am Permalink Email This Add to:

How this Democratic Convention Will be Different, More Faithy

A senior source at the Democratic Nation Convention Committee has just briefed God-o-Meter on how this convention will be more faith-friendly than those that have come before. For viewers watching the convention from their living rooms, the biggest change will probably be in the primetime speeches. Here's that well-placed DNCC source, speaking on background:

The speeches will be more values laden, with a lot of talk about what we believe in and what motivates us. You'll see a whole lot more of that kind of language and messaging than in the past. Instead of talking about all the wonderful things we've accomplished in the last 10 years--not that we won't talk about that--but the overall convention will be more, I know this is not the right word, but on a higher plane. It will really ask about what motivates us and what drives us, about why we want to make change and why we support Obama and why we have faith in our country and why we have faith in what our country can be. It comes from who the speakers are, and allowing them to speak from their hearts. We are not writing everybody's speech or telling them what to say but we really want people to talk about their own experience and what motivates them, why they believe in this campaign and in this party. That naturally comes from their own belief system, and you'll see that in the speeches.

This might seem like a small shift, but it could be subtly tectonic. One of the major lessons that the Democrats took away from the 2004 election in the faith and values department is the need to tell voters who they are--about their character, values, and what motivates them--rather than merely telling what they stand for. The Bush v. Kerry contest nicely encapsulated these two different approaches. The Democrats believe that a central component of showcasing the characters of their party's leaders is shining a light on their faith and how it drives them. The convention will be the biggest stage yet for testing this new approach.

The convention will also include a lot smaller "faith" touches that will be lost on TV viewers but which the Dems hope will impact the delegates, who will return home and spread the word to the faithful. These include installing a chapel in the convention hall and distributing faith directories in the delegates' welcome bags. Here's GOM's source:

We did an interfaith directory for the delegates' welcome bags. It lists local houses of worship if they are observant, or if they want to find halal food or a kosher place to eat. We've always given them directories of where to go shopping and cultural attractions and where to go hear good music. This is the first time we're paying attention to their spiritual needs. It's a very small thing but for people of faith coming as delegates it's a big thing to be able to go to pray one night or to mass.

In the convention hall, were have a small chapel that is being staffed by local clergy, so people can sit quietly if they're looking for a clergy person to sit with them. There's a room for our Muslim brothers and sisters to do their daily prayers. It's a small thing, but it acknowledges folks' traditions and a fundamental need and how they have chosen to live their lives. It's a small thing but an important thing. Even if a person never goes to the chapel, they'll know that it's there and that we thought about them.

Of course, the one faithy convention event that has received a good deal attention so far is today's Interfaith Gathering, the first official event of convention week. Here's some more details on that event--notice the emphasis on interfaith dialogue:

We took the four major faith traditions in our party: Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism and Islam, and we wanted to highlight those and we started with four keynote speakers to make sure nobody felt left out. And we asked who have we been working with from each tradition who has a great voice, who has something interesting to say, and who would other people find compelling, and we invited a keynote representative from each tradition.

Once we had those, we could sort out what we doing to honor and respect each individual tradition but also to highlight the ways in which we're interconnected with each other. So we have each keynote speaker is going to be preceded with a reading from a sacred text that's not from their tradition and that will focus on four themes: our sacred responsibility to our children, our sacred responsibility to our neighbor, our sacred responsibility to our nation, and our sacred responsibility to our world.

As of last week, the DNCC had distributed 3,000 tickets to the Interfaith Gathering.

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Filed Under: Democratic convention, Denver, Interfaith gathering, messaging, values

posted by Dan Gilgoff @12:21pm Permalink Email This Add to: