Barack Obama: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss:

AP reports:

"Reaching out to religious voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — support some ability to hire and fire based on faith. . . 'The challenges we face today ... are simply too big for government to solve alone,' Obama was to say, according to a prepared text of his remarks obtained by The Associated Press. 'We need all hands on deck.'"

Right, so how about those particular deck hands provide their own funds? It seems to me the federal government was perfectly capable of handling the challenges of the Great Depression through the New Deal without resorting to giving tax-payer hand-outs to the purveyors of fear, ignorance and intolerance.

Even worse, however, than the fact that "Mr. Change" wants to keep Bush's Faith-based charity program alive; he actually wants to expand it!!!

AP:

"Obama's support for letting religious charities that receive federal funding consider religion in employment decisions could invite a protest from those in his own party who view such faith requirements as discrimination. . . [He] supports letting religious institutions hire and fire based on faith in the non-taxypayer funded portions of their activities, said a senior adviser to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the new policy."

Uh huh, and how does he propose to keep track of which funds are which? Can you say: "Bait and switch?"

AP:

"Like Bush, Obama was arguing that religious organizations can and should play a bigger role in serving the poor and meeting other social needs. But while Bush argued that the strength of religious charities lies primarily in shared religious identity between workers and recipients, Obama was to tout the benefits of their 'bottom-up' approach. 'Because they're so close to the people, they're well-placed to offer help,' he was to say."

Fine, they can help from the bottom up on their own time with their own money. They can't come close to the kind of massive effort so desperately needed today that the federal government could provide. What this country needs now is a top down approach along the lines of the New Deal. Massive public works programs to repair our crumbling infrastructure, conservation programs to save our soil and water, jobs programs for the young in the CCC mold etc.

But, never mind about all that, Obama has his heads in the clouds, just like Bush . . .

AP:

"Obama also planned to talk bluntly about the genesis of his Christian faith in his work as a community organizer in Chicago, and its importance to him now.

'In time, I came to see faith as being both a personal commitment to Christ and a commitment to my community; that while I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work,' he was to say."

You know, that's great. I'm glad Obama has a healthy fantasy life and he believes in omniscient beings that tell him what to do (just like Bush). What we need, though, are folks right down here on earth who aren't so preoccupied with killing each other over which one's God is mas Macho that they actually have time to help real people who are really hurting.

You do the "Lord's work" on your own time Barack. I expect you to do our work with our secular tax money on our time.