In her amusing and frank blog, The Dude Abides, Cathleen Falsani talks about her book “The God Factor.” She gives me a lot of hope that Barack Obama could be the next president of the United States. That is the way things go, isn’t it — like a pendulum? I think we deserve a serious swing! President Bush and his cronies have so alienated and abused their constituents that I think we could ‘even’ have a midwesterner, and a black liberal as president! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

The reason I believe Kerry didn’t win wasn’t because of his charisma. He had plenty, as did Gore. But not the right kind. He wasn’t a Baptist. The only victories the liberals have had have been from dyed-in-the-wool Christians, Clinton and Carter… Can’t we learn our lesson, and find a Christian liberal that could stand up to the intensely oppressive right-wing regime? Barack, after reading Falsani’s blog entry, seems to be the perfect candidate!

Here is Falsani, from her blog, quoting an interview from a couple of years ago that is in her book, The God Factor.

Here’s one of my favorite things Barack told me from that chapter in The God Factor:
The God Factor

“The most powerful political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I’m talking to a group and I’m saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I’m just being glib or clever.

Is that the power of the Holy Spirit? I asked him.
“I think it’s the power of the recognition of God, or the recognition of a larger truth that is being shared between me and the audience. That’s something you learn watching ministers — what they call the Holy Spirit. They want the Holy Spirit to come down while they’re preaching, right? Not to try to intellectualize it, but what I see there are moments that happen within a sermon where the minister gets out of his ego and is speaking from a different source. And it’s powerful. There are also time when you can see the ego getting in the way, where the minister is performing and clearly straining for applause or an amen. And those are distinct moments. But I think those former moments are sacred.”

Obama is a real force to be reckoned with!