The Anti-Christ

[LouiseVargas]

I feel this topic "The Anti-Christ" has strayed from the subject. I'll have to start another thread to attempt to get more information.

[Auntiem]

i don't know if you ever look over your borders.
but the entire world is watching the US elections closely.


do you think all obama supporters are terrorists?

so that means than that half of the electorate is a terrorist.

Auntiem, you really need to get a grip.




   

caesu, your insipid grinning, your mastery of English, your anti-Americanism,  PLUS your immediate focus on my posts ring such a familiar bell!!!!   I THINK I KNOW YOU FROM PREVIOUS FORUMS AND BY A SLEW OF OTHER NICS!!!!

[caesu]

i don't know if you ever look over your borders.
but the entire world is watching the US elections closely.


do you think all obama supporters are terrorists?

so that means than that half of the electorate is a terrorist.

Auntiem, you really need to get a grip.




   

caesu, your insipid grinning, your mastery of English, your anti-Americanism,  PLUS your immediate focus on my posts ring such a familiar bell!!!!   I THINK I KNOW YOU FROM PREVIOUS FORUMS AND BY A SLEW OF OTHER NICS!!!!

previous forums? then you are mistaken.
but to accuse me of anti-americanism, i am offended by that.
earlier you suggested i was a terrorist or something.
you must be such nice company if you disagree with someone.
accusing someone of such things.

and i know i make a lot of spelling errors. i wish i could edit my posts afterwards.
but this is not my first language. but my 3rd.

is there a way so i can make all your posts invisible. because i don't feel that they add anything towards discussion.
it's just ignorant hatefull accusations smearing and xenophobia.

[Auntiem]

  You only make spelling and gramatical errors when you "CHOOSE" to,   when you attempt to portray yourself as one "struggling" with the English language.

      but, oh boy, do you slip, and come out with impeccable English....or could that be some of your students?????

     Could you please show me when and where I accused you of being a "terrorist"??  Or will you once again evade my question????

[caesu]

  You only make spelling and gramatical errors when you "CHOOSE" to,   when you attempt to portray yourself as one "struggling" with the English language.

      but, oh boy, do you slip, and come out with impeccable English....or could that be some of your students?????

     Could you please show me when and where I accused you of being a "terrorist"??  Or will you once again evade my question????

so you think i make spelling and grammatical errors on purpose now?
OMG ROFLMAO you are illusions continue to make me laugh.

but read what you wrote here:

And while I am asking questions, why are you, supposedly a Dutch citizen, so involved in American Politics?  Are you really Dutch or do you reside there, but are you a Muslim Terrorist, as so many of those living in the Netherlands and England now are?  Pissed off due to your foiled attacks on those countries, American Airlines, and further bombings in London Tubes!!!!

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=2718.msg387726#msg387726

IF another illusion of you is that the lunatic right wing fringe represents a large part or even the majority of the country.
yes, than in your view, you could call me anti-american.

[Tamikosmom]

IF another illusion of you is that the lunatic right wing fringe represents a large part or even the majority of the country.

yes, than in your view, you could call me anti-american.

caesu

I contend that those who adhere a racist (Black Power) far left ideology are anti-American and ... those who adhere a racist (White Power) far right ideology are anti-American.

The rights and freedoms afforded by one of the greatest democracies on the face of the earth can be embraced by ALL American citizens.

Janet   

[caesu]

IF another illusion of you is that the lunatic right wing fringe represents a large part or even the majority of the country.

yes, than in your view, you could call me anti-american.

caesu

I contend that those who adhere a racist (Black Power) far left ideology are anti-American and ... those who adhere a racist (White Power) far right ideology are anti-American.

The rights and freedoms afforded by one of the greatest democracies on the face of the earth can be embraced by ALL American citizens.

Janet   

i agree with you.

but that was my response to Auntiem, who apparently thinks that a Obama supporter is automatically anti-American.

[Tamikosmom]

IF another illusion of you is that the lunatic right wing fringe represents a large part or even the majority of the country.

yes, than in your view, you could call me anti-american.

caesu

I contend that those who adhere a racist (Black Power) far left ideology are anti-American and ... those who adhere a racist (White Power) far right ideology are anti-American.

The rights and freedoms afforded by one of the greatest democracies on the face of the earth can be embraced by ALL American citizens.

Janet   

i agree with you.

but that was my response to Auntiem, who apparently thinks that a Obama supporter is automatically anti-American.

 

caesu ... I do believe that many but ... not all of Barack Obama's supporters are anti-American but ... I believe that Obama is anti-American.

Janet
__________


Republicans prepare to take aim at Obama
Wednesday, January 9, 2008

But for former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was known as "the Hammer" on Capitol Hill, said Republicans need to start deconstructing Mr. Obama now.

"Somebody from our side needs to start talking about Obama today. He's a Marxist but a very smart one — he doesn't let anyone know it," said Mr. DeLay.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/09/republicans-prepare-to-take-aim-at-obama/?page=1

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/09/republicans-prepare-to-take-aim-at-obama/?page=2

++++++++++++++

Obama: ‘I’m a Pretty Darned Good Politician’
by FOXNews.com
Wednesday, April 16, 2008

... I’m a pretty darn good politician. And I can give a pretty good speech and I can connect and inspire the American people in ways that I think will become apparent.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/16/obama-im-a-pretty-darned-good-politician/

+++++++++++

Transcript: Rev. Jeremiah Wright speech to National Press Club
April 28, 2008

REV. WRIGHT: … We both know that if Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected. Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability …

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-wrighttranscript-04282008,0,3593201.story?page=6

+++++++++++

Matthew 24
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Back on topic...

In the end times, does anyone think the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be shocked if it turns out Obama is the Anti-Christ? 

Would John McCain make a good Anti-Christ?

Which candidate would sell more tickets if there was a movie?

[crazybabyborg]

Back on topic...

In the end times, does anyone think the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be shocked if it turns out Obama is the Anti-Christ? 

Would John McCain make a good Anti-Christ?

Which candidate would sell more tickets if there was a movie?

LOL! You're so cute WhiskeyGirl! OK, I'll bite.

I don't think Rev. Wright has the Holy Spirit discernment to recognize antichrist no matter who he is!

John McCain, at least right now, isn't innately likeable enough to be a good antichrist. I'm not sure his life expectancy is long enough to evolve into it either! 

If it were a true life story about Obama, I'd buy a ticket! I'm curious about his past!

Maybe tonight I'll post a few scriptures pertaining to antichrist to see what we can know about him. Right now, I'm supposed to be working! 

[Tamikosmom]

Back on topic...

In the end times, does anyone think the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be shocked if it turns out Obama is the Anti-Christ? 

Would John McCain make a good Anti-Christ?

Which candidate would sell more tickets if there was a movie?

WhiskeyGirl ... in the past I have speculated and ... was convinced ... at different times ... that three political figures and ... one spiritual leader fit ALL the characteristics that Scripture reveals regarding the Anti-Christ.  Obviously ... I was wrong each time.  I have promised myself that I will not go there again.  However ... I have been known to break promises to myself.

 

I believe that that Christians will have a difficult time recognizing the Anti-Christ.  Many deceitful politicians who have preceeded him will have been stepping stones and ... the gradual progression will have lulled many into a false security.

Janet

+++++++++

Matthew 24
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

[WhiskeyGirl]

I was liking Obama until the stuff about his church 

Because of this thread, I found good reasons to like Hillary Clinton, and she wasn't my choice before.

Now, John McCain has entered the arena.

I wonder if there are any independents on the horizon?  Maybe one will come out of the woodwork and surprise everyone?

These were my choices in the last election (Wisconsin) ~

DEM
John Edwards/
John F. Kerry

REP Dick Cheney/
George W. Bush

LIB (Libertarian)
Richard V. Campagna/
Michael Badnarik

WGR (Wisconsin Greens)
Patricia LaMarche/
David Cobb

IND
Peter Miguel Camejo/
Ralph Nader

IND
Margaret Trowe/
James Harris

IND
Mary Alice Herbert/
Walter F. Brown

Does anyone else have choices other than Democrat or Republican?

[crazybabyborg]

Back on topic...

In the end times, does anyone think the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be shocked if it turns out Obama is the Anti-Christ? 

Would John McCain make a good Anti-Christ?

Which candidate would sell more tickets if there was a movie?

WhiskeyGirl ... in the past I have speculated and ... was convinced ... at different times ... that three political figures and ... one spiritual leader fit ALL the characteristics that Scripture reveals regarding the Anti-Christ.  Obviously ... I was wrong each time.  I have promised myself that I will not go there again.  However ... I have been known to break promises to myself.

 

I believe that that Christians will have a difficult time recognizing the Anti-Christ.  Many deceitful politicians who have preceeded him will have been stepping stones and ... the gradual progression will have lulled many into a false security.

Janet

+++++++++

Matthew 24
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

 I believe as you do, Tamikosmom. Take the Matthew passage with this from 2 Thessalonians. Just as a brief background, in this letter from Paul to the early church at Thessalonica, he is addressing the congregation's concern that the "Day of the Lord" had already come. The Church was facing heated opposition from the synagogue, and inside the church there was great hope and expectation around Christ's promise to return. There was a vivid presence of the power of the Holy Spirit, and the opinion that perhaps the Lord's Day had already come, was beginning to emerge:

2 Thessalonians 1-17
The Man of Lawlessness
 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.   Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Stand Firm
 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.   May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.


I believe that this passage, supported by many others, tells us a few things about antchrist. Simply, I believe that he will proclaim to be Messiah, and I believe that he will perform "miracles". A study of Revelation depicts a time of accelerated "Supernatural" activity, both good and evil. Probably the most well known example of this is the 2 witnesses:

Revelation 11:3

 3"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."


Revelation 11:7-11
7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.

 8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

 9Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.

 10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

 11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.

 12And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here " Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.

Everytime I read that passage, I'm curious as to how early Christians took this passage. It must have been a real head scratcher to try to figure out how the entire world could see these two lying in a street and ascend into the air when a voice calls! Of course, today, we take for granted that we can see on television any event around the globe in real time by turning on our TV!

Up until this point, antichrist has been "Christ-like", and has risen to power proclaiming peace. Here, we're at the 3 1/2 year mark and things are about to change. The 2 witnesses's preaching is over, but through the Jews, God's truth will continue to be proclaimed and many will achieve Salvation from their knowledge of God and scripture!

John 4:22
Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.

[Tamikosmom]

Thank you cbb.

The passages which you shared implied that Christian were anticipating ... since Biblical times ... the ushering in of the Anti-Christ which precludes Christ return.

cbb ... I believe that many Christian will not recognize the anti-Christ for who he is and ... will actually be instrumental for his rise to power through the democratic process.  His will have the ability to deceive in so many areas as the many politicians (mini anti-Christs) before him who have paved the wave.

It has been a gradually progression over the years as both our great nations have ... in the name of political correctness ... left the God of our founding fathers out of the political process ... let the Absolute principles and values of Scripture ... principle and values that made America and Canada testimonies to the world ... become debateable.

I hope you have a good day cbb.

Janet

++++++++++++++

Matthew 24
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

[Dihannah1]

Thanks to all for sharing scripture, I hope LV is reading here, since she mentioned we were off topic,but she wanted to learn and lots of answers here for her.
Janet, I got the book and what a page turner! Awsome read, however, I realize I'm reading the last book out of a series, so need to buy the 1st three. I hate reading series out od oerder, but can't put this book down!

[crazybabyborg]

Absolutely, Tamik! Antichrist could not just appear from a position of nowhere. He has to have a position of power and leadership and that takes time prior to the unfolding of tribulation events. The watering down of God's standards through political correctness is central to that and occurs even within the church:

2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,

Today it seems biased, naive,  judgemental, and narrowminded to adhere to God's law. The notion of, "I have my truth, and you have yours, and we'll give equal respect and acceptance to both" is considered the "right, fair, and sophisticated" thing to do. And then there are the Rev. Wrights who pursue their own desires from the pulpit to push along a particular agenda.

Not everything is grey, sometimes things are black and white, and there is only one truth. Dismissing truth for tolerence "seems" so fair, even to Christians. We have arrived at a point that political candidates to our highest office who proclaim their Christianity, can advocate for Partial Birth Abortion, Gay Marriage, Internet Porn, etc. and the conflict is never even questioned. Over the door of the Supreme Court is a carving of Moses holding the tablets of God's Law. It stands as a measure of just how far away we have fallen.

There are many Christians, maybe even most Christians, who will not recognize who is among them. Obviously Eve was not repulsed by the creature in the garden, and his words seemed so reasonable that God's words began to seem strict and harsh. The author of the "Spirit of Lawlessness" is the same then as it is now.

[Tamikosmom]

Absolutely, Tamik! Antichrist could not just appear from a position of nowhere. He has to have a position of power and leadership and that takes time prior to the unfolding of tribulation events. The watering down of God's standards through political correctness is central to that and occurs even within the church:

2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,

Today it seems biased, naive,  judgemental, and narrowminded to adhere to God's law. The notion of, "I have my truth, and you have yours, and we'll give equal respect and acceptance to both" is considered the "right, fair, and sophisticated" thing to do. And then there are the Rev. Wrights who pursue their own desires from the pulpit to push along a particular agenda.

Not everything is grey, sometimes things are black and white, and there is only one truth. Dismissing truth for tolerence "seems" so fair, even to Christians. We have arrived at a point that political candidates to our highest office who proclaim their Christianity, can advocate for Partial Birth Abortion, Gay Marriage, Internet Porn, etc. and the conflict is never even questioned. Over the door of the Supreme Court is a carving of Moses holding the tablets of God's Law. It stands as a measure of just how far away we have fallen.

There are many Christians, maybe even most Christians, who will not recognize who is among them. Obviously Eve was not repulsed by the creature in the garden, and his words seemed so reasonable that God's words began to seem strict and harsh. The author of the "Spirit of Lawlessness" is the same then as it is now.

WOW!!!

 

cbb ... I am very conservative in my worship.  "God says it ... I believe it and ... that settles it"!  However ... at eldest son and DIL's church ... the congregation is rolling in the aisles.

cbb ... I must have said AMEN out loud at least three times while reading your post.  D and S would have been so proud of me if they had been in the next room listening.

 

Your post is a keeper.  Thank you.

Janet

+++++++++

Thursday June 5, 2008
Exclusive: Interview with Mark DeMoss

With clients like Focus on the Family, Franklin Graham, and Campus Crusade for Christ, Mark DeMoss may be the most prominent public relations executive in the evangelical world. A former chief of staff to Jerry Falwell, DeMoss became then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s chief liaison to evangelical leaders. God-o-Meter caught up with him this week to ask how John McCain—and Barack Obama—are doing among evangelical opinion shapers and voters.

Interview ...
http://blog.beliefnet.com/godometer/2008/06/exclusive-interview-with-mark.html

Barack Obama is trying hard to win evangelical voters. Does that effort stand a chance?

If one third of white evangelicals voted for Bill Clinton the second time, at the height of Monica Lewinsky mess—that’s a statistic I didn’t believe at first but I double and triple checked it—I would not be surprised if that many or more voted for Barack Obama in this election. You’re seeing some movement among evangelicals as the term [evangelical] has become more pejorative. There’s a reaction among some evangelicals to swing out to the left in an effort to prove that evangelicals are really not that right wing. There’s some concern that maybe Republicans haven’t done that well. And there’s this fascination with Barack Obama. So I will not be surprised if he gets one third of the evangelical vote. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 40-percent.

[Tamikosmom]

Thanks to all for sharing scripture, I hope LV is reading here, since she mentioned we were off topic,but she wanted to learn and lots of answers here for her.
Janet, I got the book and what a page turner! Awsome read, however, I realize I'm reading the last book out of a series, so need to buy the 1st three. I hate reading series out od oerder, but can't put this book down!

Good Morning Dihannah

Di ... I confess that I have not even look at DEAD HEAT other that scan through the pages.  It looks like some heavy reading.

I know I will have lots of time without grandkids and computer while hubby and I are taking a trip to the Northern waters of British Columbia in our boat this summer.  Travelling as well as the hours hubby spends fishing will given me the uninterrupted time needed to comprehend Joel Rosenberg's words.

Hey ... I did not know DEAD HEAT was part of a series.

Anyways ... enjoy and ... please provide us with a short outline as you finish reading each chapter.  In some areas of my life I lack will power.  I am one who reads the last chapter of a book to see how the story  is going to end but ... I always read the book.

Have a great day.

 

Janet
10:15 AM

[Tamikosmom]

I cannot comprehend the prediction of Mark DeMoss ... the prediction that implies that up to 40% of Evangelicals would vote for Barack Obama.

Janet

++++++++++++++
 
6-9-2008

Obama Makes Promise to Planned Parenthood
by Jennifer Mesko, managing editor
The so-called Freedom of Choice Act could wipe away every state law limiting abortion.

Last year, presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., made a promise to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," he said.

The so-called Freedom of Choice Act could wipe away every state law limiting abortion, undoing decades of legal work, research and educational successes.

Obama has co-sponsored the legislation with 18 other senators. The bill has the support of 109 members of Congress.

"Thirty-five years after Roe, abortion supporters, like Senator Obama, are dismayed that abortion remains a divisive issue and that their radical agenda has not been submissively accepted by the American public," writes Denise M. Burke, vice president of Americans United for Life.

"Rather than confronting legitimate issues concerning the availability and safety of abortion, they choose to blatantly ignore the concerns and interests of everyday Americans, as well as the growing evidence that abortion hurts women."

Day Gardner, president of the National Black Pro-Life Union, said even the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act could be overturned.

“This shows exactly how dangerous this man is to unborn children," he said. "We are killing off our children, and this is something we really have to pay attention to.”

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000007601.cfm

++++++++++++

Obama's Abortion Extremism
Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Obama has not made abortion rights the shouted refrain of his campaign, as other Democrats have done. He seems to realize that pro-choice enthusiasm is inconsistent with a reputation for post-partisanship.

But Obama's record on abortion is extreme. He opposed the ban on partial-birth abortion -- a practice a fellow Democrat, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once called "too close to infanticide." Obama strongly criticized the Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth ban.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040102197.html

+++++++++++++

Jeremiah 1

5.  Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart ...

++++++++++++

Psalm 139

14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

+++++++++++

[WhiskeyGirl]

Additional comments about the abortion issue -

Obama's Unofficial Slogan: 'No, You're Wrong.'

As Barack Obama's campaign becomes defined by a series of embarrassments -- his assessment of what small-town residents cling to, a mentor who believes the government created HIV, a friend of 20 years who takes to the pulpit and demands whites give up 401(k) accounts to atone for their ancestor's racist sins, a wife who pledges to take away some people's pie and give it to others, an associate who expresses no regret over planting a bomb in a Pentagon women's bathroom, etc. -- it seems mind-boggling that this candidate was once promoted as a healer, a unifier, and a groundbreaking, post-partisan leader.

But back then, not terribly long ago, it did seem like Obama could, at the very least, promote a tone of mutual respect, decency, and trust.

Perhaps one of the best examples of this came shortly after he was elected to the Senate. In 2005, he wrote his second book, The Audacity of Hope, and described an e-mail from a doctor at the University of Chicago Medical School. The message expressed how the campaign's website made it impossible for the doctor, a pro-life Christian, to support Obama:


The reason the doctor was considering voting for my opponent was not my position on abortion as such. Rather, he had read an entry that my campaign had posted on my website, suggesting that I would fight "right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to choose." He went on to write:

"Whatever your convictions, if you truly believe that those who oppose abortion are all ideologues driven by perverse desires to inflict suffering on women, then you, in my judgment, are not fair-minded. ... I do not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak about this issue in fair-minded words."

I checked my website and found the offending words. They were not my own; my staff had posted them to summarize my pro-choice position during the Democratic primary, at a time when some of my opponents were questioning my commitment to protect Roe v. Wade. Within the bubble of Democratic Party politics, this was standard boilerplate, designed to fire up the base. The notion of engaging the other side on the issue was pointless, the argument went; any ambiguity on the issue implied weakness.

Rereading the doctor's letter, though, I felt a pang of shame.

Cynics will look at this and see only an early example of Obama's rogue staffers, who seem to misstate his beliefs with bizarre frequency. But an abortion-rights-supporting politician expressing "a pang of shame" for the way his campaign had characterized pro-lifers struck a profoundly decent chord. The candidate had the language changed and responded to the doctor, thanking him. Obama seemed to recognize that he set the tone for his campaign, that the buck stopped with him, and that he had to accept a certain level of responsibility for an unfair and harsh portrayal of the opposition. The abortion debate will probably never see consensus, but civility would indeed be a major step.

And in a political culture marked by grandiose promises, outsized egos, evasions of responsibilities, and "I'm sorry if you were offended" apologies, there was something refreshing and honorable about an elected official who came out and said, "I was wrong" -- and who could even express shame in a world that had seemed to become shameless.

But since the campaign truly began, that fundamentally decent vibe of "while I'm not solely to blame, I must acknowledge my own responsibility" has evaporated. As he finds himself in an increasingly tough primary fight and facing a tougher general-election foe than he expected, the candidate demonstrates a different approach. Now, when Obama is confronted with politically uncomfortable facts or questions, his first instinct is to assert that the questioner is wrong.

Had Obama said, "Yes, I forgot," or "it's still pinned to yesterday's suit," the issue never would have taken root. He could also have avoided the problem by saying he demonstrates his patriotism by his actions. Instead, he had to insist that the pin's absence was a deliberate choice, and offer a justification. He said he felt the flag pin had become "a substitute for I think true patriotism," perhaps unintentionally but clearly questioning the patriotism of those who still regularly wore flag pins.

But there's a pattern emerging here: The Iowa ABC reporter was wrong in presuming Obama had forgotten his flag pin. Voters were at first wrong to think Obama had seen Wright's controversial sermons, and then they wrongly and unfairly judged Wright. Then even if they were proven correct in their assessment of Wright, the press was wrong in "caricaturing" the tone of services at Trinity United. Stephanopoulos was wrong to presume that Obama's relationship with Ayers was of concern to the voters. Vieira was wrong to accuse Obama of mischaracterizing McCain's remarks.

No candidate enjoys admitting when he or she is wrong. But one of the ways Obama stood out as more than just a freshman senator when he came to Washington was his warm humanity, his humility, his willingness to express that "pang of shame."

The pang, it seems, is long gone.

http://www.aina.org/news/20080611155326.htm

I wonder how much of any campaign is "boiler plate"?