Obama in 08

I was really impressed with the article on Barak Obama in the current issue of Time magazine.  I have had an eye for Obama since the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  I can only recall 3 speeches that caused my hair to stand on end when I first heard them.  Kennedy's inaugural address, Dr. King's "I have a dream", and Obama's speech from that event.  Still, I didn't know much about his specific beliefs or, more importantly, his ability to reason and think critically.  While it seems that most non-believers seem to favor more ideas associated with Democrats, it does not follow that I or any other secular American can support Democratic candidates blindly.  Many, including Nancy Pelosi who supports creating a faith based agenda for Democrats, do not either want our support or are not courageous enough to stand up for our place in America.  After reading an excerpt from Obama's new book, The Audacity of Hope published in Time along with the article, I have hope that Obama, while admitting to being baptised as a Christian despite secular parents and grandparents, will have respect and support for Secular America and Scientific Reality.  Consider the following quotes from the excerpt of his book in Time.

"...Democrats, meanwhile, are scrambling to "get religion," even as a core segment of our constituency remains stubbornly secular in orientation, and fears- rightly, no doubt- that the agenda of an assertively Christian nation may not make room for them or their life choices."

" It was because of these newfound understandings- that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking,...that I was able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized."

"Of course organized religion doesn't have a monopoly on virtue, and one not need be religious to make moral claims or appeal to a common good."

"What our deliberative, pluralistic democracy demands is that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values.  It requires that their proposals must be subject to argument and amenable to reason."

When he discussed his daughter questioning him about death and what is beyond, his words, clearly raw and not politically calculated, really struck me-

" I wondered whether I should have told her the truth, that I wasn't sure what happens when we die, any more than I was sure of where the soul resides or what existed before the Big Bang."

There are some less favorable points, but Obama, in my opinion, is the most thoughtful, honest politician I have witnessed since I became interested in the political process.