I do like your connecting of “community organizer” with pragmatism. I’d not yet seen those two as being reflections of each other. Honestly, it is his community organizing skills that interest me. I want to see where that goes – although, of course, the cynic in me fears simple demagoguery!

The other thing that gives me hope is his popularity out in the world: not because we need a popular president, but rather because I think it means the world might actually trust us to be who we promise ourselves to be under him – rather than the local bully.

I’m more hopeful and intrigued at this than you are, including thinking that the belittled ‘community organizer’ will be consistently moderate because he’s looking for consensus for change. That’s how I understand his declared pragmatic approach to abortion, for example (which offends both pro-life and pro-choice purists).

more to the point, though, and what prompted me to write here was that I really, really like your last little paragraph. “I think a lot of faithful people imagine Obama will make living out the Gospel easier for them. I think a lot of faithful people imagine OBama will make living out the Gospel harder for them. I think the only thing that matters is that Jesus is Lord.”

love,
donald