The God Thing

One thing I like about Obama is that he's able to connect with religion and with religious people without turning into an intolerant asshole to do it. He speaks the language, and understands how to move them. And should he go all the way with this thing, it could really deal a body blow to the sort of small-minded, hate-inspired fundamentalism that too many people have come to view as synonymous with "Christianity."

Obama Says Homophobia Isn't Christian

Obama's rally in Beaumont today was the highest-energy of this Texas swing, with a crowd that was about three-quarters black cheering at almost every turn.

An interesting moment came when he was asked a question about LGBT rights and delivered an answer that seemed to suit the questioner, listing the various attributes — race, gender, etc. — that shouldn't trigger discrimination, to successive cheers. When he came to saying that gays and lesbians deserve equality, though, the crowd fell silent.

So he took a different tack:

"Now I’m a Christian, and I praise Jesus every Sunday," he said, to a sudden wave of noisy applause and cheers.

"I hear people saying things that I don’t think are very Christian with respect to people who are gay and lesbian," he said, and the crowd seemed to come along with him this time.