On God, Palin Was Right, Gibson Was Wrong

The Republicans are guilty of one case after another of egregiously ripping Obama words out of context. This time it's Palin's words that have been taken out of context.

Here's what Gibson asked:

GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, "Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God." Are we fighting a holy war?

PALIN: You know, I don't know if that was my exact quote.

GIBSON: Exact words.

Actually, Palin asked members of the church to pray "that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

In the quote as edited by Gibson, the meaning is that she thinks the war is part of God's plan. In her actual quote, she's saying it might or might not be part of God's plan and we sure better hope, and pray, that it is.

I understand the impulse to hear in that Palin comment the sentiment that the war is God's plan. After all, she has in fact used that line of logic in other cases - like when she said it was "God's will" that the state build a natural gas pipeline. (I wish Charlie Gibson had asked her about that!). Maybe this is a case of framing the guilty. And perhaps in this case Palin accidentally phrased it in a Lincolnesque way and some shrewd aide notice the parallels and suggested the Lincoln comparison.

But all we have is her words, which, in this case, were quite responsible.

Now, if you want to know what is actually worrisome about Palin and religion, click here.

Comments

[Zanti]

Gibson goofed, big-time. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

The problem is that too many of us on the left break out in sunspots every time there's any mention of God, the Bible, religion, or all of the above. Gibson, knowing that, wanted to pin something on Palin. To give the interview drama. TV, you know. Ratings, and all that.

Maybe he was so eager to activate the left ("She said 'GOD'!") that he forgot how to read things in context. Who knows? But, at least partly, it's what we on the left get for being so dang righteous in our anti-religiousness. And, meanwhile, Obama (back in January) stated that he prays to be "an instrument of God's will." This was reported at Huff-Po, among many other sites. Here we are, getting on Palin's case for saying the same kind of thing. Brilliant.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not here to defend this shockingly unqualified and brazen candidate, especially when her side is attacking us 24/7 with blatant, aggressive lies. But I do wonder if our ridiculous attitude toward religion is making us that much more vulnerable to the GOP's destroy-all-Dems attack plan. When it comes to faith, our intolerance is their gain.

[bigbingtheory]

No wonder we lose election after election. WE SHOULD BE BREAKING OUT IN SUNSPOTS WHEN A VP CANDIDATE INVOKES GOD IN THIS WAY WHEN TALKING ABOUT AN ILLEGAL WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What don't you get? You said yourself they are attacking us 24/7 and yet here you are suggesting we shouldn't bring this up. It's incredible. Do you want to lose? Why do we have to dance around religion when they beat us over the head with it?

[Zanti]

Sorry, my friend, but all I'm asking is that we stop relentlessly attacking faith. The opposite of attacking religion for sport isn't tip-toeing around it--rather, the opposite of constantly picking on religion is to NOT constantly pick on it. What part of that is so enigmatic?

[pickleweedpete]

No, I think Steve is right to point out Mr. Gibson's error. Okay, so Palin's words were actually something like, "Pray there is a plan and that it is God's plan", but that's still an odd thing to say, isn't it? What did she mean? Given her more recent comments to Gibson I doubt that she was questioning Bush's war, but what if everyone in her congregation took her advice and concluded that the invasion of Iraq was an enormous blunder? What would she suggest they do then?

[lwaxanatroi]

Pickleweed--

See, this is where there is a disconnect. "That's still an odd thing to say" means "we liberal secularists don't talk like that," but in Christian circles--not necessarily Christian right circles--this is a perfectly normal thing to say. In fact, in 12 step circles, speaking of God's plan and hoping you are following it is a fairly ordinary thing to hear. By treating every mention of God or faith or prayer as the lunatic ravings of alien beings, we stamp ourselves as the very God-haters they like to paint us as. This is not to say we have to keep our mouths shut on matters of separation of church and state, but we do have to be aware that we turn off a huge number of potential Obama votes if we look like we're dissing any expression of faith. You ask what Palin's congregation would do if they came to the conclusion that Iraq was a blunder. The answer is simple: they'd pray. We need to stop laughing at them for that; I recall a certain amount of praying going on at the antiwar rallies I attended during Vietnam. What's sauce for Daniel Berrigan is sauce for Rick Warren. like it or not.

[CitizenE]

Whether she asked or claimed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8mse0CsrGY. Bob Dylan: "With God On Our Side"

[eciaccio]

Waldman wrote: "...her words, which, in this case, were quite responsible," and "Actually, Palin asked members of the church to pray "that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan...In the quote as edited by Gibson, the meaning is that she thinks the war is part of God's plan. In her actual quote, she's saying it might or might not be part of God's plan and we sure better hope, and pray, that it is."

We know that Bush lied countless times to justify his illegal invasion of Iraq, a war of aggression. That is the "supreme war crime" according to the Nuremberg Tribunals. So, according to Waldman, Palin is saying the U.S. war on, and following occupation of, Iraq, the supreme war crime of aggressive war based on multiple lies, might or not be part of God's plan.

So multiple lies resulting in the worst war crime and over a million deaths is considered by her to be "God's plan"? Doesn't that make God a lying war criminal?

How are these words "quite responsible"?

[bigbingtheory]

They're not. They're indefensible yet here we have the Spineless Democrat Syndrome rearing it's ugly head.

[Zanti]

"Its."

[Zanti]

What she said, in essence, was that she hopes we're doing the right thing. That's an honorable hope.

You know, if you take everything as literally as possible and then attach every possible negative connotation, just about anything can be characterized as evil. But that doesn't make it so.

The bottom line is that Palin said something many of us disagree with. However (and I hope this isn't news to anyone), we live in a free country. People have a right to think differently than we do, just as we have the right to disagree with them. Palin's religious views, on many levels, are objectionable to me. But I can't take away her right to hold them. Nor should I want to.

How about you? Agree or disagree with my concept of democracy?

[TexasDem0]

You can split hairs about what she said, but she is not the most articulate or organized speaker, and she is prone to ramble and repeat herself. Taken in the context of her other pronouncements on God, religion, and government, her intended meaning was clear.

This woman is a total fraud, clueless and unqualified.

[platopenis]

In response to Mr. Waldman's piece "On God, Palin was Right, Gibson was wrong" I say this. It may be that Gibson misquoted the Govenor, but what kind of a vice president will she make if she cannot strongly and clearly straighten out the record for Gibson. It was on her to stand up to Gibson, straighten out the record and give those of us who do not share her religious views reassurance that her views are not extreme. In my opinion she failed on all those counts and convinced me that she is not ready to serve even as vice president, let alone be president if something befalls McCain.

I think that it is important to see Govenor Palin for who she truly is. One of the things that surprises me most about Palin as v.p. is that she is under educated for the job. Of all the candidates in the race she has the least formal education. In fact, compared to her counter part Joe Biden the disparity in their education level is almost laughable. Biden has a law degree where as Palin has only a B.A. in communication journalism. I must admit that the main thing that I picked up from her interview with Charlie Gibson is that she didn't seem that bright to me.

[Henry]

Steve,
If you'd bother to look, you'd see that the founding fathers are turning over in their graves.
You see, the only way their interpretation of religion "works' is that if God controls everything.
Katrina was sent from God. You see.... everything is part of the plan. Study up, "my friends",
this is not the "direction" that we the people want to set out on. There's many a hockey team in
AK that could use this pitbull.

[em3]

You are right that Charlie Gibson didn't correctly understand what she said. And I say this as a Christian and die-hard Democrat who is against Palin. Good that you pointed out the wrong interpretation of her words, Steve.

[wingman1]

You, Sir, are splitting hairs.

[Zanti]

By pointing out that Palin was quoted out of context? I don't think so.

[bigbingtheory]

She was not quoted out of context. She made one statement, she made another. You are free to intepret her second remark with more weight than the first but it didn't change what she said. You want context? Look at her church, look at it's programs for praying away homosexuality. When one belongs to a wing nut church and makes wing nut statements I am prone to believe she means what she says.

[mommadona]

"that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God"

Uh....WAR is NOT a task that is from God.
WAR is the FREE WILL choice of man.

I took it like she said it and meant it.

She considers this war God's will.

I don't know what part of that YOU don't understand.

Different paradigms for different folks.
Hers is an extremist's view.

[uther44]

lol... you obviously don't know what you're talking about.

[bigbingtheory]

Anyone that types "lol" over the age of 25 should be shot.

[BassMonk]

No, Charlie got it exactly right. He left out the word 'out' ,which doesn't change the meaning of the first sentence one bit.

[uther44]

But the last part of the comments, the part that clarifies the former, was the essence of the comment.

Folks, please get this right. I spend more time trying to keep my fellow Dems speaking the truth than I do actually picking the candidates apart.

Man you sound ignorant, but worse, you sound like you're beyond being reasonable.

[bigbingtheory]

The last part of the comments doesn't change the meaning of her first comment. Even if it did as you suggest, it's still a terrifying thought coming from a future VP that belongs to a Pentacostal Church that has some pretty far out views. "Pray for my gas pipeline" that should be on t-shirts. Any politicians that asks people to pray that hopefully by some miracle God is just pleased as punch that we invaded Iraq. You sound pretty ignorant yourself.

[protagonia]

uther44

You are the kind of troll that keeps things interesting.

FINALLY, a cunning and crafty one!