![]() "I just assumed he was running as a joke." "Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising," said the Saturday Night Live actor, entrusted with providing some of the comedy for the evening. Trump chuckled at some of the earlier jokes, but was clearly less amused as comedian Seth Meyers picked up where Obama left off. "Trump" was prominently displayed in glittery letters and girls could be seen with cocktails on a Jacuzzi-augmented front lawn. ![]() Well handled, sir."Īnd then, as a coup de grace, Obama showed a screen with his vision of how Trump could bring change to the White House. "Evangelicals are people who take Bible interpretation very seriously, and the sort of speech he gave shows that he is worlds away in the views of evangelicals," he said."No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than 'the Donald,'" Obama said, referring to Trump's claims the same day that he was responsible for solving the issue.įor Trump's decision to fire actor Busey instead of rock singer Meat Loaf from his TV show earlier this month, Obama quipped: "These are the types of decisions that would keep me up at night. Minnery said he doesn't expect Obama to make inroads into the reliably Republican voting bloc. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.ĭobson himself has said he will not vote for the Arizona senator. ![]() In response, Minnery said, "Many people have called a black racist, and is somehow equating with that and racial bigotry."ĭobson's comments follow the Obama campaign's recent efforts to increase its appeal among evangelicals, many of whom have expressed reservations about supporting Sen. In the speech, Obama said, "Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?" Now, that is a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution."Īccording to Minnery, Dobson was particularly offended by a portion of the speech in which Obama mentioned evangelical leader and the Rev. "And if I can't get everyone to agree with me, than it is undemocratic to try to pass legislation that I find offensive to the Scripture. "What the senator is saying there, in essence, is that 'I can't seek to pass legislation, for example, that bans partial-birth abortion, because there are people in the culture who don't see that as a moral issue,' " Dobson said. "What he's trying to say here is, unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe. "Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?" he asked. "It requires their proposals be subject to argument and amenable to reason."ĭobson said the suggestion is an attempt to lead by the "lowest common denominator of morality." "Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal rather than religion-specific values," Obama said. Minnery wouldn't say whether any such meeting is planned but said the group is open to it.ĭobson also takes aim at Obama for suggesting in the speech that those motivated by religion should attempt to appeal to broader segments of the population by not just framing their arguments around religious precepts. "Obama is proud to have the support of millions of Americans of faith and looks forward to working across religious lines to bring our country together."ĭuBois had earlier called Focus on the Family to suggest a meeting with the group ahead of the Democratic Party's convention in late August, according to Tom Minnery, the organization's senior vice president for government and public policy. "A full reading of his 2006 Call to Renewal speech shows just that," DuBois said. Joshua DuBois, Obama's national director of religious affairs, said the Illinois senator is "committed to reaching out to people of faith and standing up for American families." But there's no, no theological work being done in that speech in terms of the Bible." "And I do suggest that the separation of church and state is important. "I do make the argument that it's important for folks like myself, who think faith is important, that we try to translate some of our concerns into universal language so we can have open and vigorous debate rather than having religion divide us," Obama said. "It is a speech that affirms the role of faith not just in my life but in the life of the American people, that suggests that we make a mistake by trying to push faith out of the public square." "Someone would be pretty hard pressed to make that argument," he told reporters aboard his campaign plane. Seen on 60 television stations in U.S.Radio commentaries heard by more than 220 million people each day.Founder and chairman of Focus on the Family.
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