Diane Carman looks at Gary Hart and using one's religion in politics in her column in today's Denver Post [November 8, 2005, "Hart tackles divine view in politics"]. She writes, "Back in the day, back when Gary Hart was running for office, candidates kept their religious faith to themselves. Sure, even in the 1970s there was the obligatory pre-election photo op with the family on the church steps. But using religion to get elected in the post-World War II era was considered bad form. Memories of genocide and religious persecution were still too fresh for any leader to dare suggest that his actions in office would be dictated by his religion." She quotes Hart as saying, "There are no great leaders of our time. None."
Previous coverage here.
The high cost of health care will certainly be a big issue in the 2008 Presidential election. Here's an opinion piece on the subject from today's Denver Post [November 8, 2005, "Health care overhaul radical"]. From the article, "And now comes a health care overhaul potentially more radical than anything Hillary Rodham Clinton ever dared. No Rose Garden speech celebrated the extraordinary idea. It is tucked into a concise chapter of the voluminous report of President Bush's tax revision commission, a panel the White House created to help jump-start Bush's moribund second term. The grand idea is to sharply limit the amount of health insurance premiums that employees buying insurance through their jobs can receive as tax-free compensation. This tax subsidy is the major way the government promotes the purchase of private health insurance. It is why Americans who can't afford to purchase insurance on their own - that's most of us - cling to work-based policies. The job-based system is so embedded in American life that Clinton's health care task force deliberately left it intact, and tried instead to fill the gaps around it."
And what of the War in Iraq? Here's an opinion piece from today's Denver Post detailing the effects of the war on Ohio voters [November 8, 2008 "Iraq war shaping political futures"]. From the article, "Far more than anything else, the voices in Columbus suggest that the president's biggest problem - and therefore the Republicans' biggest worry - is the unresolved and uncertain struggle in Iraq. Bring it to some sort of satisfactory conclusion and all the other issues confronting the administration at home and abroad probably become manageable. But let it drag on for another year of deaths and frustrations - and you are really tempting the fates."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
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