Gov. Sarah Palin: the next Queen Esther?
I actually think Gov. Sarah Palin will do fine in the vice-presidential debate tonight. She’s got a big personality, is a fighter by nature, and I think those qualities will make up for a lot of shortcomings. Plus, Sen. Joe Biden can’t hammer her too much about her lack of experience — because Palin will turn it back on the Democratic ticket. I’ll be teaching a political science class at UC Irvine when the debate is on, so we’ll watch in it class and have the kids comment.
If Palin does well, some conservative evangelical Chrisitians will credit the David-like victory to God’s Providence. Think it’s a little far-fetched to believe the Lord would intervene in a vice-presidential debate? Below are highlights of an e-mail prayer circulating among the Religious Right (inspired and taken in part from a column by Mark Joseph at foxnews.com).
The Palin story is steeped in religion. Her supporters believe she is a modern day version of the biblical Queen Esther, sent by God to save the nation from peril “for such a time as this,” …But there may be another story that fits Palin’s dilemma: In the story of David and Goliath, the young, future king decides that he will take on the 9-foot giant and goes to King Saul and tells him of his plan. Saul is bemused by the teenager who has no chance against the giant, but he consents and immediately gives him the appropriate gear, a heavy protective outfit worn to battle, known as a “coat of mail,” along with the king’s sword.
[snip]
Not unlike the young shepherd boy, the best thing Sarah Palin can do in the remainig hours before she faces her own Goliath in the form of a tough, smart senator with three decades of experience, and the best thing the McCain campaign can do for her, is to let her rid herself of her coat of mail — the overzealous handlers — and let Palin run wild and be the natural, untamed politician she is.
[snip]
Palin’s political skills are the equivalent of David’s battle skills, honed in the Alaskan wilderness where she operated as her nickname “Barracuda” suggests, ruthlessly defeating opponents who crossed her (including her own mother-in-law, who ran for mayor after Palin) and political mentors who she thought had become corrupt (Gov. Frank Murkowski).
If that Palin shows up at Thursday night’s debate, it will because she dismisses the advisers, trusts her instincts, regains her confidence and remembers where her success came from. (end)
[snip — end of Joseph’s column, start of e-mail remarks; I’ve highlighted some especially remarkable passages]
Clearly, we’re engaged in a raging spiritual battle right now and as the Apostle said, it is not ‘against flesh and blood’, but it is the spirit of AntiChrist that is permeating this campaign. The powers of darkness are seeking to extinguish the Light. So much is weighing in the balance. These elections will shape the future of our nation for the next 40 years. The future of millions of unborn children is at stake. The judges that will be appointed by the next president will help determine whether or not America will fully turn away from the fixed moral standards of God’s loving laws. No wonder the media and every liberal in this nation is seeking to destroy Sarah Palin; because her platform stands for light and they want to extinguish that light!
These next 24 hours are critical…please set aside time to pray and cry out to God for Him to show up and show off tomorrow night!
Father, cause Sarah Palin to know that she is equipped to face Joe Biden tomorrow night not with political acumen, but with the wisdom of God with which you endow her. We praise you, because she enters this debate in the name of the Lord Almighty and she stands against a platform which has defied you. By faith we declare that during this debate, you shall strike down her opponent with all of his knowledge and political experience; he shall not be able to stand against Sarah Palin, because she is not a mere political opponent, but she represents YOU and your righteous purposes on the earth. Let the whole world know that you do not save by sword or spear or by those abilities that man deems as important in this debate; but this battle is YOURS and Sarah Palin shall triumph through You. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
I don’t know where to start.
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7 responses so far ↓
1 Drew // Oct 2, 2008 at 11:45 pm
yikes, that is some scary stuff there at the end…
If only all Christians were all about love and peace and stuff…
2 Thranil // Oct 3, 2008 at 1:08 am
“If only all Christians were all about love and peace and stuff…”
Yeah, but then they wouldn’t be ‘bible believing’ christians…
3 Tim Stroud // Oct 3, 2008 at 5:02 am
For fairness sake, begin with the moderator, Gwen Ifill. Would her new book on black politicians, with a section on Obama, sell more copies if Obama won the election, or would it sell more copies if McCain won the election?
Bias or not, this question would not even have arisen if she had simply admitted that the public may perceive that she has a financial interest in the outcome of the election and opted not to moderate.
Extremist Christians, i.e. fanatics, will always exist. They are not the ones that scare me because they are mostly a vocal minority and will usually shout their presence. They do not sway elections.
Lets not start seeing religious crazies in every shadow and around every corner.
4 Jenny // Oct 3, 2008 at 6:44 am
Bill - c’mon - we’ve been blogging long enough to know that crazies lurk out there! You can’t take the most extreme comment you read in the thread and capsulate that into the beliefs of all Christians.
Picture the classic bell curve. Now go ahead and snip off the ends.
5 Wil // Oct 3, 2008 at 7:11 am
On the issue of the book that Ifle wrote - people have had a chance since July to take issue with this fact. McCain has stated that he is perfectly fine with Ifle as the moderator, and if his own campaign is fine, why the sudden fuss now? What could she possibly do to derail Palin that wouldn’t immediately come back and bite her? Not to mention, running for such a high ranking office, shouldn’t Palin be considered savvy enough to be able to handle a tough moderator if that’s the case anyway? I mean honestly, Obama went on Bill O’Reilly! But I digress.
Ifle made no secret of the fact that she wrote the book, she’s done and has been doing interviews and promotions for months now. It’s very suspicious that people suddenly have a problem round about the day of the debate. Could the sudden outcry now simply be to give Palin an out if she crashes into blithering?And as an aside, Hillary Clinton had to bring four stones to debates, why is Palin so pampered if she is such a moose hunter man’s woman of the wild?
Further, if she does do well tonight it will be the primming of the handlers at debate camp shining through. She proved her caliber in these days and weeks leading up to the debate already. Honestly, if you can’t hold your own with Katie Couric how could you possibly expect anyone to think you could run the country?
Finally, on that final prayer. Let her have it partner, she’s going to need all the help she can get. And if she’s elected, so will we.
6 Barbara // Oct 3, 2008 at 7:35 am
I didn’t realize you taught at UCI - go Anteaters!
Anyhow I won’t leave my commentary on all this but wanted to tell you I linked here today. I’ve worked with Mark in the past. He’s a good guy but I think my views are much closer to yours these days. Make that, I know my views are much closer to yours.
7 jesus // Oct 3, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Hi Bill,
FYI I talked to Bill Clinton earlier tonight and he thinks Palin is a “total milf”. To be honest I do too. I have a spiritual battle raging in my pants after watching that debate. On another note why do the fundalmentalists always talk about “young shepherd boys” and “sheep” in their prayers to me? It’s weird.
Jesus
p.s. I loved the book. It’s really going to piss off the religious nuts! Oh and remeber the Trinity says No on 8!
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