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Obama defends faith at Nelsonville meeting
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Monday, March 03, 2008
NELSONVILLE — In what is expected to be his final campaign swing across Ohio before the state's primary Tuesday, March 4, Democrat Barack Obama defended his Christian faith and argued he is tough enough and prepared enough to be president.
During a town hall meeting Sunday, March 2, on energy at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Obama spoke at length and in detail on issues ranging from clean coal to teacher recruitment and retention to how to handle the mortgage foreclosure crisis.
Extras
He likened the Appalachian city to parts of downstate Illinois, and said if elected, he'd work to give rural areas a leg-up with new technology and new "green collar" jobs.
"We can invest in infrastructure," he said. "We've done it before so there's no reason why building broadband lines should be any different than building roads and bridges in rural communities."
Stand on social issues
He also answered a question about his religious beliefs as well as whether his stance on social issues might hurt his chances of wooing evangelical Christians.
Obama said he didn't believe in gay marriage but said he believed in civil unions that would allow same-sex couples to visit each other in the hospital or transfer property to each other.
On abortion, he said he wanted the federal government to encourage adoption and personal responsibility but also supported Roe v. Wade. "In the end, I think women, in consultation with their pastors and their doctors and their family, are in a better position to make these decisions than some bureaucrat in Washington," he said.
He also defended his Chicago church — part of the United Church of Christ — and sought to deflect months worth of Internet rumors that he is a Muslim.
"Here are the simple facts," Obama said. "I am a Christian. I am a devout Christian. I have been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night."
Last month Republican candidate John McCain apologized after conservative Ohio radio host Bill Cunningham repeatedly used Obama's middle name — "Hussein" — and portrayed him as a terrorist sympathizer.
Playing the fear card?
Athens pastor Leon Forte, who questioned Obama about his faith, likened criticism of Obama's middle name to assuming someone whose middle name was "Adolph" automatically hated Jewish people. He said the attacks were coming from conservatives "who want to play the fear card."
Later Sunday, Obama spoke to a crowd of 3,200 at Westerville Central High School in Westerville, where he also invited voters to ask questions and "lift the hood, kick the tires."
As in Nelsonville, he addressed Clinton's criticism that he lacked experience.
"I think that the reason that we've done well is because people understand the problem is not who's got the 10-point plan, because everybody has got a 10-point plan, we've all got experts, we've all got accomplishments that we can tell, we've all got a track record," he said. "The question is who can bring the country together so that we have a working majority that can actually bring about change."
