Tag Archives: American politics

Relevant and Challenging?

Over at the New York Times today, Ross Douthat describes the pope’s new encyclical as “relevant and challenging.” Well, those are adjectives that can mean anything, but so far as the politics (I have no comment on the theology) of … Continue reading

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“We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism.”

Newt Gingrich, in Virginia Beach, certainly seems to have learned to talk the talk. More: Allahpundit. And Ken Silber has a few “pagan” quotes to recommend to Gingrich, including this from Cicero: “Orators are most vehement when their cause is … Continue reading

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Obama as God

Conservatives, particularly religious conservatives, undoubtedly guffawed at this New York Times headline: “Poll Finds Faith in Obama, Mixed With Patience.” Faith belongs to God, they probably said, not to Man, and certainly not to a man as untested, lightweight, and … Continue reading

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The Elizabeth Dole “atheism” ad

Before the 2008 election cycle entirely passes into history, let’s take note of the TV ad that, according to some, helped seal Elizabeth Dole’s loss in her effort to hold on to her North Carolina Senate seat for the GOP: … Continue reading

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“Churchgoing” candidates who aren’t

Isaac Chotiner in the New Republic “Plank”, on revelations that Barack Obama isn’t actually a regular churchgoer despite carefully managed efforts to give the impression that he was: “If politicians want their religious lives to remain private, then they can … Continue reading

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Behind the Sharon Statement

If you’ve been around organized conservatism for long, you’ve almost certainly heard of the 1960 Sharon Statement, long cited as a declaration of principles around which the then-burgeoning conservative movement could rally, much as the Port Huron Statement later served … Continue reading

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Presidential Metaphysics

Does Barack Obama believe in God? Does he, in fact, have a single religious bone in his body?  Steve Sailer, in his terrific new book about the President-elect, is dubious: Obama believes, more or less, in nothing. He is, asserts … Continue reading

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Back to the future for Newt?

Here’s a quick piece in TNR which reports that Newt Gingrich is going into culture-war mode. Michelle Goldberg obviously has a perspective which is at odds with Newt’s rhetoric, but didn’t he make a name for himself in the 1990s for … Continue reading

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The Right Nation

Walter:  I reviewed Mickelthwait and Wooldridge’s book for the late lamented New York Sun here.  The Sun’s literary editor at the time, Robert Messenger, called up to congratulate me on having used the word “armigerous.”  I hope the paper did … Continue reading

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Micklethwait and Wooldridge on American conservatism

The Economist’s blog Democracy in America notices us, and one of its commenters says: To quote the distillation of Burke’s principles found in Mr [John] Micklethwait and Mr [Adrian] Wooldridge’s book on the subject [The Right Nation: Conservative Power in … Continue reading

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