"This is Anne Jones, reporting live from the headquarters of the ACLU, where the organization has issued a 'DEFCON 1 Threat-to-the-Constitution Alert' in the wake of a Republican presidential candidate's call for the creation of God's 'kingdom on earth.' We're speaking with ACLU representative Amanda Rogers. Ms. Rogers, now that a Republican candidate has brought the wall that separates church and state crashing to the ground, can our constitutional system be saved?"
"Anne, I'm afraid the answer is a resounding 'no,' at least, not if someone who thinks like this, and who sadly reflects the thinking of his entire party, is elected president. Fortunately, there are candidates from another party who respect the constitutionally decreed separaration of church and state."
"Thank you, Amanda; very frightening stuff. Now back to our studio, where we'll be breaking into our regularly-scheduled programming throughout the day to bring you updates on this unfolding crisis. I'll be back a little later with an interview with the pro-Constitution group 'People for the American Way,' which has called the Republican candidate's statement 'the gravest threat to America since the presidency of Ronald Reagan.'"
OK, perhaps I exaggerate just a tad with this apocryphal dialogue, but you get the point. The MSM would surely be in full threat-to-the-Constitution cry if ever a Republican presidential candidate had said exactly what Barack Obama did yesterday:
"Sometimes this is a difficult road being in politics. Sometimes you can become fearful, sometimes you can become vain, sometimes you can seek power just for power’s sake instead of because you want to do service to God. I just want all of you to pray that I can be an instrument of God in the same way that Pastor Ron and all of you are instruments of God . . . We’re going to keep on praising together. I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth."
I can report that there was no mention of Obama's comments during the crucial first half-hour of "Today." Over at MSNBC, Joe Scarborough praised Obama's words in the first half-hour of "Morning Joe," and Mika Brzezinski later chimed in, suggesting that Obama's statement was a good political move.
Check back later for updates to this item with quotes and video.
We'll make it a point to monitor the MSM over the coming days to see what the reaction might be. In the meantime, the very absence of an overwhelming -- and overwhelmingly negative -- response to Obama's statement speaks volumes about the MSM double-standard when it comes to Republicans and Democrats discussing their faith.
Update 10 AM | MSNBC agrees: statement was a good move by Obama.
View video here.
Appearing on "Morning Joe" at 7:32 A.M. EDT this morning, NBC's Norah O'Donnell reported on Obama's statement and cast it as a good strategic move.
NORAH O'DONNELL: They're trying to make that distinction [with Hillary Clinton], and Barack Obama was over the weekend in South Carolina at a church service and he talked very much about faith and how it fits into this race. And as you know, values and church-going voters are a big part of who actually turns out on the caucus and primary days.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: No doubt.
Discussing the matter, Joe and Mika Brzezinski agreed Obama had made a good move.
MIKA BREZINSKI: But you wonder why Barack Obama doesn't more, and others have been asking [note how Mika realized she had expressed an opinion, then backtracked and put it in the mouth of "others"] have been asking why he doesn't more clinically go after Hillary Clinton. Maybe his sort of really channeling religion this weekend was a sort of way to differentiate himself from her without going after her. He won't do it! You can ask him directly.
SCARBOROUGH: This will certainly help him humanize himself.
BREZINSKI: Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: It will help him in South Carolina.
BREZINSKI: I think so.
What are the odds O'Donnell and Brzezinski would be congratulating a Republican who had made such a statement? Note also how Mika frames her description of Obama's discussion of his Christianity in New Age-y language: "channeling religion."
