President Obama: Ex-Liberal

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm by Francis J. Beckwith

President Obama: Ex-Liberal 2015-03-13T13:28:50-04:00 Francis J. Beckwith

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That’s the title of my latest entry over at The Catholic Thing. Here’s how it begins:

President Barack Obama has abandoned liberalism. What I mean by liberalism is not the political philosophy that we typically associate with left of center politicians and candidates. The President, of course, remains unabashedly in that camp. What I am referring to you is a particular posture concerning moral questions the President has publicly embraced on several occasions. It is from that liberalism he has walked away.

In a speech delivered at the 2006 “Call to Renewal” conference, Senator Obama offered these thoughts on the relationship between politics and religion:

“Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”

In his 2009 Notre Dame commencement address, the President eloquently opined on the importance of mutual respect in the face of deep irreconcilable differences on the matter of the moral status of nascent human life:

“Understand – I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. No matter how much we may want to fudge it – indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory – the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.”

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