Obama to be prayer day no-show

[cali]

President to sign proclamation, observe privately
By Julia Duin (Contact) | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

President Obama is distancing himself from the National Day of Prayer by nixing a formal early morning service and not attending a large Catholic prayer breakfast the next morning.

All Mr. Obama will do for the National Day of Prayer, which is Thursday, is sign a proclamation honoring the day, which originated in 1952 when Congress set aside the first Thursday in May for the observance.

For the past eight years, President George W. Bush invited selected Christian and Jewish leaders to the White House East Room, where he typically would give a short speech and several leaders offered prayers.

Obama White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that the president is simply reverting back to pre-Bush administration practice.

<snip>

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/06/prayer-day-no-show/

[IDemo]

1. "the president is simply reverting back to pre-Bush administration practice"

I just wanted to copy and paste that line for the spiritual replenishment.

[Smith_3]

2. Hooray for seperation of church and state.

:thumbsup:

[Mari333]

3. good. because its been co opted by evangelicals who dont want

any hindus , wiccans , buddhists, jews, mulsims, satanists, secularists, shintoists etc to show up and pray.
There is a little prayer group that shows up at city hall at noon in town here on that day and every last one of them is bornagain. not one other religion or belief is represented.
I sit in the park across the street and eat sandwiches and drink coffee and watch. I find it amusing.

[derby378]

23. My wife and I took part in a couple of counter-rallies

Remember that one year when organizers asked God to bless the Republican majority on Capitol Hill with "supernatural power?"

During that rally, I uttered a counter-prayer asking God to give Republicans the power to burrow underground at great speed and to leap the tallest mound of shredded documents at a single bound. Or something like that. I lost the exact text a long time ago.

I do remember calling upon God "to punish the inhabitants of Antarctica, who go forth in public without clothes and know not the ways of the Lord, for they are but penguins."

:evilgrin:

[radfringe]

4. can you hear the howls and wailing from the religious-reich?

"see, I told ya he wuz a muslin!"

[SemiCharmedQuark]

5. Thank goodness.

Good job, Obama.

[polichick]

6. Maybe he's finally done with the wacko Warrens of the world.

[mrs_p]

7. "revert back" is redundant mr gibbs

but i approve of the sentiment

;-)

[IDemo]

9. The reporter's words, not Mr. Gibbs

It's the Washington Times, after all.

From the White House transcript of the May 5 press briefing:

Q The previous administration had a ceremony with prayers and speeches and such. Does he think -- the current President think that that was politicized in some fashion?

MR. GIBBS: No, I'm not going to get into that. Again, I think the President understands, in his own life and in his family's life, the role that prayer plays. And I would denote that administrations prior to the past one did proclamations. That's the way the President will publicly observe National Prayer Day.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-White-House-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs-5/5/09/

[mrs_p]

21. goodness gracious

even worse... do these people even care about the language in which they write?

[sabbat hunter]

8. oh noes!!

it must be because he is muslim!!!! (just waiting for the rightwing nuts to come out and say that on other political boards)

[Historic NY]

10. but if he was a Muslim he'd be praying 5 times a day

[Captain Hilts]

13. Okay, that's a good one!

[sabbat hunter]

22. it didn't take very long

on another political board that I am on the wingnuts are saying it is because he is a Muslim that he is not attending.

[sarge43]

11. About time

Just checked Article II, USC, again. Nope, still no requirement for the chief executive to be a religious leader.

[moggie]

12. God to be prayer day no-show

Why focus on the president, when the big guy himself can't be bothered to show up either?

[Nicole Lambeth]

14. no shit! n/t

[peacetalksforall]

15. If National Prayer Day was a born-again event for the last eight years, then

the visit with the President should end if it was exclusionary. To each his own get-together. The White House event was NOT N A T I O N A L.

Long live the separation of church and state.

Long live the absence of coronations in the House of Representatives such as the one that took place with Rev. Moon.

[madokie]

16. Makes me like him even more

The separation of church and state is for a reason

[Orsino]

17. We know how the wingnuts will pretend to interpret this...

...but I think Obama has wasted too much goddamned time already on religious matters. "Observing privately" is a great practice which I'd like to see more politicians adopt.

Too many Pharisees rend their garments rather than their hearts.

[sarge43]

20. Yup. Jesus had some strong opinions about praying in public

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to standing in the synagogues and the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and they Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6: 5-6.

[peace13]

18. Thank you President Obama!

That's one more on my list of things that Obama has cleaned up since he took office.

[pocoloco]

19. Maybe he will be in his closet?

[derby378]

24. It'll be renamed the National Day of Teabagging

Just you watch.

[Obamanaut]

25. This was most helpful to me. Miz O got an email from a SIL moaning

about how Pres Obama has "canceled prayer day."

I used the link you provided and parts of some of the posts in the thread to explain what really happened.

Thanks for having the answers at my fingertips. Oh, and Miz O sends thanks to all who participated.