Obama: Policies are extension of my faith
President Barack Obama sings Amazing Grace at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. / AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Updated 11:37 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Blending politics and religion, President Barack Obama said his Christian faith is a driving force behind his economic policies, from Wall Street reform to his calls for the wealthy to pay higher taxes.
Obama's remarks Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast were his most explicit account of how his personal religious beliefs factor into his decision-making on the nation's pressing problems. The comments came amid election-year criticism from Catholic groups and some Republicans that the president is waging a war on religion following his decision to require church-affiliated institutions to cover free birth control for employees.
Speaking to more than 3,000 people at the annual breakfast, Obama said "faith and values" should play as much as role in tackling the nation's challenges as sound decision-making and smart policies.
He said, for example, that his own call for fairness in the tax code — a central tenet of his State of the Union address and his 2012 campaign — is both economically sound and consistent with the teachings of Jesus.
"If I'm willing to give something up as somebody who's been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that's going to make economic sense," he said. "But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus's teaching that `for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.' It mirrors the Islamic belief that those who've been blessed have an obligation to use those blessings to help others, or the Jewish doctrine of moderation and consideration for others."
He also said the Wall Street reform he championed both "makes the economy stronger for everyone" and abides by God's command to "love thy neighbor as thyself" because it helped people who had been hurt or treated unfairly by financial institutions.
And Obama said he believed in a "biblical call" to care for the poor and to follow "the responsibility we're given in Proverbs to `Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."'
The president's remarks came one day after Mitt Romney, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, created a flap with clumsy comments about the poor.
Romney said wasn't concerned about the "very poor" because they have a safety net. He also said he wasn't concerned about the very rich and intended to focus his campaign on the middle class.
"You can focus on the very poor; that's not my focus," Romney said.
While the White House said the president's remarks were not meant to be political, his comments did fit neatly into the Obama campaign's effort to draw sharp contrasts between the president and Romney.
The former Massachusetts governor is among Republicans who have criticized the president for not exempting religious organizations from a requirement in the 2010 health care law that requires insurers to cover birth control for their employees. Romney said this week that the president was ordering "religious organizations to violate their conscience."
GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Obama has "declared war on the Catholic Church," and House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday the mandate violates the Constitution.
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum castigated the policy and Obama's remarks during a campaign stop in rural Fallon, Nev.
"He made the claim that his policies of taxing the rich is authorized by the Bible, that he is doing what is biblically called for by taxing the rich, by having the government tax the rich. Now, I've read the Bible, and I must have missed that passage," Santorum told reporters.
"This is an administration that attacks religion, and then tries to cloak itself in religion in order to take your money."
Obama never mentioned the health care controversy in his remarks Thursday, nor did he reference his Republican rivals by name. But his broader defense of his policies was a rare interjection of politics into the annual prayer breakfast. The breakfast is organized by bipartisan congressional lawmakers, but speakers often avoid overt political references beyond calling for civility and respect in Washington.
While Obama speaks often about his faith, he prefers to worship in private. He said Thursday that he starts each morning with a brief prayer, then spends time reading scripture. Sometimes, he said, pastors come to the Oval Officer to pray with him, for his family and for the country.
He also described his own religious transformation in deeply personal language Thursday, from growing up in a non-religious home to finding Christ later in his life. He recalled a visit a few years ago with the evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, which ended with the president feeling compelled to pray for the aging Graham.
Obama said when he found himself at that moment not knowing what to say, the Holy Spirit interceded.
"I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that moment, asking God for guidance not just in my personal life and my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in the values that hold us together and keep us strong," he said.
Popular in Politics
- IRS' Lerner: "I have not done anything wrong" 459 Comments
- Officials on Benghazi: "We made mistakes, but without malice"
- Anthony Weiner comeback try begins: Running for NYC mayor
- Obama to view Oklahoma tornado damage Sunday
- Christie: Keep politics out of Oklahoma disaster relief
- Major immigration overhaul passes first big test
- Will tornado relief funding escape politics? 47 Comments
- Top IRS official to invoke 5th Amendment at congressional testimony 219 Comments
President Obama is now trying to use religion to get his way in funding a massive government. He is now trying to use religion to justify his vision of "remaking" the United States from a democratic republic and into a socialist democracy. Anyone with a brain can see that democrat socialist governments of Europe are on the verge of collapse, but this will not deter President Obama from pushing for this nonsense.
I can't speak for his faith, as faith is only really known between that person and God. I do know that President Obama practiced "his faith" under Rev. Wrights extremism and racist preaching for 20 years. I do know that President Obama lied 8 times about airing the health care discussions on CSPAN, and instead formed it behind closed doors meeting with union leaders. I am ready for President Obama to go back to Chicago to practice his faith.
Final word before I retire for the night. Slow is a condemed man. He is not worthy of being a Catholic. He is a liberal. He likes deficits. He in an Obomination. God bless, and good night.
--------------
Thou shalt not judge. Did NO ONE teach you that Dan?
How can anyone in their right mind continue to support President Obama? Most Americans don't care for lies, corruption, and extremism in a President.
Let's look at the list of achievements during the first 3 years of President Obama and fellow progressives:
1) He lied 8 times in promises to televise the health care discussions openly on CSPAN.
2) He made deals giving one premium health care plan to union members (supporters) and another to the rest of the country.
3) He stood by and allowed the House and Senate to buy health care votes using taxpayer money.
4) He allowed the health care bills to be fashioned behind closed doors and be filled with political favors. This disaster of a health care law costs the American taxpayers an additional $105 billion EACH YEAR, after the Democrats cut more than $400 billion from Medicare to pay for it.
5) He and they took over the nations health care by the federal government - most Americans did not want this extreme action - and still do not. This horrible law will cause the majority of Americans to have higher health care cost in rising premiums. The CBO in May 2010 said that this irresponsible bill will cause $1 trillion over the next 10 years in additional federal spending. We already can not afford the size federal government that we currently have, with a $14.4 trillion national debt. It imposes $billions of unfunded mandates on struggling states to provide greater Medicaid coverage. 27 states are suing the federal government over this nonsense, as they don't have the money to pay for this. Businesses are not hiring because of the additional cost PER EMPLOYEE that is caused by this law. President Obama has continued at least a 8% unemployment rate for three years.
6) He irresponsibly overspent 100s of billions of dollars the US didn't have on bailouts (President Bush started it and President Obama accelerated it) and bogus stimulus packages. The worthless 111th Congress (led by Democrat Nancy Pelosi) was too busy screwing up the nation to do their job. They never established a budget for the nation in 2010, and by law they are to do this.
7) President Obama has behaved in the most partisan manner of any recent President, after promising bipartisanship. He has arrogantly trashed everyone who has not agreed with his socialist agenda - even the Supreme Court.
8) Instead of securing the border and enforcing federal immigration laws, the President has made war on Arizona Americans as they attempt to protect themselves from an invasion of illegal immigrants.
9) The President's man, AG Holder, dropped his case against the Black Panthers who blatantly intimidated voters at the polls. Now, Holder may finally be kicked out over "Fast and Furious" - the program that sold guns to Mexican cartels, guns used to kill a US border agent.
10) This President has focused on this extremist agenda, instead of the millions without jobs. You can not grow the federal government on the backs of business and taxpayers during a recession, and expect job creation.
11) President Obama imposed a moratorium on drilling in the gulf, throwing thousands more out of work. One foreign oil company screwed up, and the President decided to punish other oil companies that have drilled responsibly for decades.
12) President Obama wanted the President Bush tax cuts to expire, which would have resulted in redirecting money away from the economy and pushing it into Washington. The President held on to this until he was forced to change by the pounding the Democrats took in the 2010 election. Still, he promises to increase taxes next year.
13) The President and other progressives in Congress have imposed oppressive additional expenses and regulations on private sector businesses that are crippling the private sector jobs market, while expanding the federal government and public sector jobs. Anyone with any economic sense knows that you need tax revenues from a healthy private sector jobs market to fund public sector expansions, and the money is just not there. Yet, President Obama wildly and irresponsibly continues to massively grow the federal government - hence an outrageous $15 trillion national debt.
14) He knows nothing about economics or foreign policy, as he was a community organizer. A community organizer is someone who agitates for a particular cause.
He has continually agitated one group of Americans against another in class warfare and pointing blame at entire groups of Americans for his failures (bankers, mortgage lenders, the Supreme Court, private insurance providers, CEOs, all Republicans, oil companies, Fox News, corporations...etc). He does nothing to unite the nation.
Just to name a few. The perfect word for President Obama is "irresponsible". His failed policies and practices are tearing this country apart. How in the world can he still have any serious support? He has to go in 2012.
Wrong, you get more out of Medicare than you put in, same for SS. It is all underfunded.
And you didn't put ANYTHING in, making that all UNFUNDED.
When you vote, if your select the Obama check box, your future, your kids future will be done away with forever...you basically voted for the "I sold my soul to the devil for gov. benifits".
Says the guy that collects the government benefits.....
I'm going to have to run Ms Zann - I plan on seeing you at Rolling Thunder to collect my dance Texas Lady!
:)
v/r
Ranger
-------------
I plan to be there Ranger! : )
I earned mine through wages and benefits earned for 20 years of my service. It is not GIVEN to me. So NO!!!
You're in the EXACT SAME position as a Medicare recipient is, yet you decry the Medicare recipient while reaping the rewards.