Obama: God backs jobs plan

[Warren Dew]

President Barack Obama Wednesday said even God wanted to put Americans back to work, invoking divine blessing for his joust with Republicans over measures designed to slice into high unemployment.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... df02dc.171

[Schneibster]

[maiforpeace]

The president rebuked the House of Representatives for passing a bill reaffirming the US motto "In God We Trust" rather than getting to work on his stalled $447 billion jobs program.

[Schneibster]

If they didn't want him talking about it they shouldn'a brought it up in the first place.

Of course they whine. They're used to being able to do that and not get hit back with it.

[Warren Dew]

The president rebuked the House of Representatives for passing a bill reaffirming the US motto "In God We Trust" rather than getting to work on his stalled $447 billion jobs program.

Just kind of leaves the atheists out, with both sides lobbying god for their favorite pet projects.

[Drewish]

The title makes it sound like Obama is making an appeal to faith, but if you hear it in context, it's clear he isn't.

[Schneibster]

The president rebuked the House of Representatives for passing a bill reaffirming the US motto "In God We Trust" rather than getting to work on his stalled $447 billion jobs program.

Just kind of leaves the atheists out,

Speak for yourself. I recall Bob Costas saying, "God doesn't care about your football game." Even as an atheist, I would stipulate that if God in fact exists, he certainly wouldn't care about a football game, and if he did he wouldn't be anything worthy of worship.

Similarly, even as an atheist I would stipulate that if God exists, he is a lot more interested in how we treat workers than what it says on our money.

[Warren Dew]

The title makes it sound like Obama is making an appeal to faith, but if you hear it in context, it's clear he isn't.

I think it's quite clear he is. Here's another quote:

I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.

That looks pretty clearly like, "If you believe in God like I do, you should support my jobs plan."

But hey, keep believing Obama's an atheist in the face of all contrary evidence.

[Schneibster]

But hey, keep believing Obama's an atheist in the face of all contrary evidence.

You can keep your insulting suppositions about my thought processes to yourself.

For the record, I don't believe Obama's an atheist. It's certainly a personal insult for you to claim I do.

[maiforpeace]

The president rebuked the House of Representatives for passing a bill reaffirming the US motto "In God We Trust" rather than getting to work on his stalled $447 billion jobs program.

Just kind of leaves the atheists out, with both sides lobbying god for their favorite pet projects.

Obama has always acknowledged and been inclusive of non-believers, he just isn't one himself.

How is the jobs program a pet project of the religious? The In God We Trust crap was definitely a pet project of someone religious, and it accomplished less than zero, it was so useless.

The title makes it sound like Obama is making an appeal to faith, but if you hear it in context, it's clear he isn't.

Exactly.

If what religious people are doing is praying for change, (as Rick Perry would have them do), then I have no problem with Obama reminding them what they should be doing instead, in a language that they will understand - that god helps those that help themselves. Whatever works.

[Drewish]

The title makes it sound like Obama is making an appeal to faith, but if you hear it in context, it's clear he isn't.

I think it's quite clear he is. Here's another quote:

I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.

That looks pretty clearly like, "If you believe in God like I do, you should support my jobs plan."

But hey, keep believing Obama's an atheist in the face of all contrary evidence.

Hahahaha. Okay. I get that you're not familiar with my views, but I am no Obama supporter and I have no illusions about him being anything other than a Deist. That said, he was clearly mocking the Republicans for wasting time and saying that God doesn't want them to focus on such petty BS:

[Warren Dew]

I recall Bob Costas saying, "God doesn't care about your football game." Even as an atheist, I would stipulate that if God in fact exists, he certainly wouldn't care about a football game, and if he did he wouldn't be anything worthy of worship.

Similarly, even as an atheist I would stipulate that if God exists, he is a lot more interested in how we treat workers than what it says on our money.

As an atheist, would you say "I trust in God" as Obama did?

Obama has always acknowledged and been inclusive of non-believers, he just isn't one himself.

He's been inclusive of us as long as we sit in the back of the bus, yes. He's never given us equal respect with the religious.

[FBM]

I'd be more inclined to raise an eyebrow at the statement 'God wants us to...' It scares the shit outta me when leaders start acting like the mouthpiece of a deity. But I think it's pretty clear that it was just a bit of rhetoric this time.

[rachelbean]

The president rebuked the House of Representatives for passing a bill reaffirming the US motto "In God We Trust" rather than getting to work on his stalled $447 billion jobs program.

Just kind of leaves the atheists out, with both sides lobbying god for their favorite pet projects.

Obama has always acknowledged and been inclusive of non-believers, he just isn't one himself.

How is the jobs program a pet project of the religious? The In God We Trust crap was definitely a pet project of someone religious, and it accomplished less than zero, it was so useless.

The title makes it sound like Obama is making an appeal to faith, but if you hear it in context, it's clear he isn't.

Exactly.

If what religious people are doing is praying for change, (as Rick Perry would have them do), then I have no problem with Obama reminding them what they should be doing instead, in a language that they will understand - that god helps those that help themselves. Whatever works.

[Schneibster]

I recall Bob Costas saying, "God doesn't care about your football game." Even as an atheist, I would stipulate that if God in fact exists, he certainly wouldn't care about a football game, and if he did he wouldn't be anything worthy of worship.

Similarly, even as an atheist I would stipulate that if God exists, he is a lot more interested in how we treat workers than what it says on our money.

As an atheist, would you say "I trust in God" as Obama did?

No. But what's that got to do with anything? He believes it, he expresses himself in terms of his beliefs. What he means is obvious, and very similar to what Costas said. And I agree with it, when the terms are translated.

I got no problem with other people believing in jebus. I don't want it stuffed up my nose, but that's the culture in the US and I'd be reacting to the point I couldn't do anything at all if I made that big a deal out of it.

Obama has always acknowledged and been inclusive of non-believers, he just isn't one himself.

He's been inclusive of us as long as we sit in the back of the bus, yes. He's never given us equal respect with the religious.

Hey, man, I've heard some of those Republican Teagagger Party assholes saying shit like, "I could never trust an atheist."

I'm OK with voting for someone who's better than that.