Bush Biographer Pens Pro-Obama Book

Politico: Conservative Evangelical Author Writes About Democratic Candidate's Faith

(The Politico)  This story was written by Ben Smith.

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The conservative Evangelical biographer of George W. Bush and Tom DeLay has moved on to a new subject: Barack Obama. And his new book, due out this summer, may lend credibility to Senator Obama's bid to win Evangelical Christian voters away from the Republican Party.

The forthcoming volume from Stephen Mansfield, whose sympathetic "The Faith of George W. Bush" spent 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 2004, is titled "The Faith of Barack Obama." Its tone ranges from gently critical to gushing, and the author defends Obama-and even his controversial former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright-from conservative critics, and portrays him as a compelling figure for Christian voters.

"Young Evangelicals are saying, 'Look, I'm pro-life but I'm looking at a guy who's first of all black-and they love that; two, who's a Christian; and three who believes faith should bear on public policy," Mansfield, who described himself as a conservative Republican, said in a telephone interview. "They disagree with him on abortion, but they agree with him on poverty, on the war."

His book, provided exclusively to Politico by the publisher, focuses more on Obama's religious journey than his electoral prospects.

"For Obama, faith is not simply political garb, something a focus group told him he ought to try. Instead, religion to him is transforming, lifelong, and real," Mansfield writes, going on to compare Obama favorably to Christian Democratic presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who he says erected a "wall of separation" between their religion and their governance.

By contrast, "Obama's faith infuses his public policy, so that his faith is not just limited to the personal realms of his life, it also informs his leadership," Mansfield writes.

The book is published by Thomas Nelson, the world's largest Christian publisher. It's due out August 5. "The Faith of Barack Obama" is expected to retail in Christian outlets and the Wal-Mart chain of stores, as well as secular bookstores. A motivational speaker and former pastor, Mansfield is the author of several books on faith as well as the co-author of former House Republican powerhouse Tom DeLay's 2007 book "No Retreat, No Surrender," a defense of his tarnished legacy sprinkled with fierce attacks on his opponents and on liberal causes.

Mansfield writes that Obama "is unapologetically Christian and unapologetically liberal." But he writes that in substance and in style, Obama holds an appeal to Evangelicals that Senator John McCain may lack.

He contrasted Obama's relative "fluency" with the language of religion-his campaign has outlined a pitch to the "Joshua Generation," a common term in Christian circles for younger Evangelicals-with the approach of his Republican rival.

"The McCain campaign is pretty clumsy when it comes to religion," he said, noting McCain's courtship, then renunciation, of two prominent Evangelical pastors, John Hagee and Rod Parsley.

In his Fathers Day speech at a Chicago church Sunday, Obama again spoke explicitly of his personal Christianity: "We do what we can to build our house upon the sturdiest rock, and for me that means building that house on the foundation of Jesus Christ."

Mansfield's book validates Obama's attempt-which began in earnest in his 2004 speech to the Democratic National Convention-to provide a compelling public face to the nascent "Religious Left." In that speech, he proclaimed that "we worship an awesome God in the blue states," and Mansfield tracks his continuing attempts to contest the Republican hold on white Evangelical voters.

One notable moment came in 2006 when Obama appeared at Reverend Rick Warren's megachurch beside GOP Senator Sam Brownback.

"Welcome to my house," Brownback told Obama on stage.

"This is myhouse too," Obama responded. "This is God's house."

Obama, Mansfield writes, "made it clear to all that he [will] not be moved from his rightful place in the Christian fold." 

Obama's Christianity, however, has been under attack on two fronts this campaign season. The first is from a false, but widely held, belief that he is a Muslim. Mansfield dismisses that charge, then dwells at length on Obama's controversial church, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.

Mansfield said in the interview that he entered Trinity having heard "that Obama's church was a cult, something un-Christian, that Reverend Wright was a nut," but emerged with the view that it is "a pretty solid Christian church."

His warm description of the church reflects that view.

Though Mansfield writes of some jarringly radical features of the black liberation theology from which Trinity is descended, he concludes that what it offers is the "'born-again, new birth, blood-washed, Spirit-empowered Chrstianity' that Evangelicals know."

"Few sermons this good will be preached anywhere in America on this Sunday morning," he says of the sermon he heard from Trinity's current pastor, Rev. Otis Moss.

Mansfield's book is addressed to Evangelical readers, and it raises some questions about his own faith, including his willingness to see contradictions in the bible, his belief that religions other than Protestant Christianity provide other "paths" to a "higher power," and his doubts about the afterlife.

There are also passages in Mansfield's book that may give Obama's secular supporters pause. In particular, a theme from his book on Bush-the suggestion that the president's rise was itself an act of God-reappears in his coverage of Obama. He approvingly quotes Obama's old rival Rep. Bobby Rush saying that Obama's Senate win was "divinely ordained."

"Increasingly, words such as called, chosen, and anointed are being used of Obama," he writes.

Despite Mansfield's praise of the candidate, however, and his view that Obama may win over large numbers of younger Evangelical voters, the author also demonstrates the limits to the Democrats' appeal.

Mansfield said he will vote against Obama in November for a single reason: "Because I'm pro-life."

[rowdywicca]

Hey! When is Braaaawk Obama going to debate
McCain??? Cluck Cluck.
Posted by TruUSA at 06:33 PM : Jun 16, 2008

How about an unscripted debate without handpicked audiences? One where the debaters do not get questions in advance?

Of course McCain couldn''''t handle that...he only wants Bush-style public events, where the audience, questions and outcome are pre-determined.

Weak.


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Posted by RickNuber at 06:54 PM : Jun 16, 2008

Of course all Obama wants is his teleprompter so somebody else can write the answers down and he can read them, because he hasn''t a clue.

Guess Obama doesn''t think he needs to answer questions from republicans...that would be just too...too...much to ask!

[von_marko]

Obama short list of where to attend church as Prez:
1. Anywhere with a smoking area
2. Anywhere with a kick back from the offering
3. Anywhere where no one ask him his qualifications to be President

[ricknuber]

Hey! When is Braaaawk Obama going to debate
McCain??? Cluck Cluck.
Posted by TruUSA at 06:33 PM : Jun 16, 2008

How about an unscripted debate without handpicked audiences? One where the debaters do not get questions in advance?

Of course McCain couldn''t handle that...he only wants Bush-style public events, where the audience, questions and outcome are pre-determined.

Weak.

[it_oldtimer]

McSame refuses to debate Obama unless the audience is composed entirely of McSame supporters.

In short, he''s a gutless coward. When he gets some balls (he''ll have to borrow them from Cindy I think) then the debates will begin. McSame''s firs debate with Obama will be his last, too. He won''t survive it.

[it_oldtimer]

McSame couldn''t even pay for his first wife''s medical bills - Ross Perot paid them.

And he sure can''t afford to keep Cindy in the style she''s accustomed too, either, apparently she pays all John''s bills for him.

What a lazy, disloyal "mooch" he''s shown himself to be.

If he can''t even make a decent living on his own by the advanced age of 71, why in the world would America trust him to run our national economy? Even Cindy won''t be able to bail him out after he makes a total mess of that!

[ricknuber]

IT_Oldtimer:

Yow...that stings. Good show.

[it_oldtimer]

Quote: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

But Ross Perot, who paid her (Carol''s) medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel %u2013 even by the standards of modern politics.

%u2018McCain is the classic opportunist. He%u2019s always reaching for attention and glory,%u2019 he said.

%u2018After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.%u2019

[it_oldtimer]

Quote: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

"Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans%u2019 rights, said: %u2018I have been following John McCain%u2019s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is %u2013 deceit.

%u2018When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it.

%u2018Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better.

%u2018This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.%u2019

[yankeerebel7]

Ba''raq Al Obama is actually closer to Bush when it comes to their evangelical faiths than he is to McCain, who I don''t believe is that religious at all.

[jerr11]

Posted by RickNuber at 05:32 PM : Jun 16, 2008



Rick, thanks for the story.

My respect for McCain just took a massive nosedive.

[it_oldtimer]

You repugs have nothing to go on, and you are so laughably pathetic.

No issues, just name calling. No solutions, just promises of more of the same: failure.

No class, no charisma, no intelligence, no patriotism. Only rumors and innuendo, lies and spin-doctoring by the likes of Limbaugh and Rove.

You''re gonna loose so bad - and then, finally, you''ll begin to realize how badly this country has come to hate you and your failed agenda.

Yee-ha Obama! The White House is YOURS, sir!

[it_oldtimer]

Quote: "This man is dangerous to this country. I view him like a John F. Kennedy."

You mean the very same JFK that we have honored and enshrined by stamping his face right on our national currency for over 40 years now? LOL...

You Repug freaks are all so anti-American!

[ricknuber]

Faced with tough choices, McCain runs away from his problems:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

[it_oldtimer]

Quote: "He won''''t do open meetings with McCain because he knows that "live" questions to be debated would catch him with his pants down."

Wrong. The reason Obama declined to accept McSame''s invitation to debate was reported in the press:

McSame claimed the audience that they were to debate in front of was made up of people from both sides. The press found out that McSame had lied: his people had loaded the audience with only McSame supporters.

Oooops, John! You got caught, you liar!

Obama is 101% American. Google his biography and see. McSame has spent less of his life in the USA than Obama has.

[it_oldtimer]

Alzheimer McSame:

"What are terrorists? Who am I??"

[jfrance5]

This man has massive amounts of money behind him including huge amounts from George Sorros. Obama has the most questionable background I have ever seen in a candidate. He won''t do open meetings with McCain because he knows that "live" questions to be debated would catch him with his pants down. He would rather have great big advertised events where he can preach to swooning crowds that are more intersted in him being the perfect American idol. This man is dangerous to this country. I view him like a John F. Kennedy. There are those of us that are old enough remember what an egg he laid with Russia. They saw him as weak, sent nuclear warheads to Cuba and we came within a hair of being blown off the planet. Kennedy also thought he would "good will" himself into everybodies hearts and minds around the world. Same inexperience same fake platform for the gulible to suck on while he gets the crown he is seeking. He may get the crown, I hope not. But, if he does, he won''t have a clue what to do after that.

[it_oldtimer]

Alzheimer McSame (what day is it? where am I?)

[it_oldtimer]

Alzheimer McSame!

[one-american]

Braaaaaaaawk Obama!

[it_oldtimer]

I think it''s only going to take one televised national debate to sink McSame''s political boat permanently.

He''ll never recover all the votes that he will lose after that first debate. From there it will all be downhill for him.

Obama is an exceptionally gifted debater, while McSame can''t keep the difference between Sunni''s and Shia''s straight without somebody stepping up to whisper a correction in his ear - then he goes right out the next day and makes the very same mistake again.

This election is going to be fun.