What if President Palin decides the "End Times" are near?

[Anonymous]

(Assuming something happens to McCain and she becomes president)
Will that affect her foreign policy or her decision to use the military in a time of crisis?

I've been ruminating over these two videos of her talk at her church in Wasilla. At the end the pastor talks about how Alaska will be a "refuge state" to the lower 48 during the "End Times." She doesn't disagree with him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1vPYbRB7k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k84m2orSOaM

Could she be expecting the "End Times" soon? How will that affect her judgment if she happens to be president during a crisis? Would she put our soldiers in danger because of her religious beliefs? Would she put us in danger?

I wish I could say this line of questioning is farfetched but until I hear her address this specifically I have no way of being confident about her ability to function effectively at the highest level of government.

[Anonymous]

Oh please.

[Anonymous]

Reverend Wright says "God damn America" and Obama is expected to comment on where he stands with regard to Reverend Wright's views. I don't see why Palin shouldn't have to clarify where she stands on her church's views, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reverend Wright says "God damn America" and Obama is expected to comment on where he stands with regard to Reverend Wright's views. I don't see why Palin shouldn't have to clarify where she stands on her church's views, too.

yeah, but you know the playing field is not level when in comes to Republicans. Look what happened in the last 2 elections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh please.

Fear that she would make presidential decisions based on fundamentalist beliefs may seem like it merits an "Oh please" except that her positions on abortion and creationism appear to based on religion. Her seeming to say that God is behind the Iraq war may also indicate she bases support for Israel on the role it is supposed to play in the End Time. Given all the hype over Rev Wright's supposed influence over BO, I hope a straightforward question and answer on this will be included in the Gibson interview.

[Anonymous]

Do you honestly think she won't be given a copy of the questions in advance? I don't think we're going to see any straightforward question/answer with Palin until the Debate. When there's no way to "prep" her in advance.

[Anonymous]

So it is grossly unfair to judge Obama by Rev. Wright, but a okay to do the same thing to Palin vis a vis her minister?

GW is as religiously conservative, and I don't see any theocracy being proposed and implemented - and he is the President - not VP.

This is what the fly over states don't understand - they are supposed to be hugely tolerant of urban issues (gay marriage as just an example) but you are so hugely full of distain someone who is an openly practicing Christian? The double standard boggles.

[Anonymous]

What about the email she wrote to friends speaking as God? Here's a quote: “Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth.” And she signed it "Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father".
End Times theology is relatively rare, happily, but she still seems like a religious nut...

[Anonymous]

I think it's useful to actually look at Palin's record as governor of Alaska, if you wonder what impact her religious faith will have on her in the unlikely event she becomes president. This Associated Press story from this weekend does that. Here's the link:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gV5jvU52RD3WBflzbmSu5l6zwOqAD92V3VQG0

Palin has not pushed creation science as governor

By DAN JOLING – 5 days ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — As a candidate for governor, Sarah Palin called for teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. But after Alaska voters elected her, Palin, now Republican John McCain's presidential running mate, kept her campaign pledge to not push the idea in the schools.

As for her personal views on evolution, Palin has said, "I believe we have a creator." But she has not made clear whether her belief also allowed her to accept the theory of evolution as fact.

"I'm not going to pretend I know how all this came to be," she has been quoted as saying.

McCain said during a debate last year that he believed in evolution when it came to the origin of life.

When asked during a televised debate in 2006 about evolution and creationism, Palin said, according to the Anchorage Daily News: "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."

In a subsequent interview with the Daily News, Palin said discussion of alternative views on the origins of life should be allowed in Alaska classrooms. "I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum," she said.
"It's OK to let kids know that there are theories out there. They gain information just by being in a discussion."

Creationism is the belief that the Earth and its creatures were created by a deity. It's an alternative to the origin of life explanation taught in public schools under the theory of evolution, which puts forth that all living organisms descended from a common ancestral gene pool.

Palin said during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign that if she were elected, she would not push the state Board of Education to add creation-based alternatives to the state's required curriculum, or look for creationism advocates when she appointed board members.

At a GOP presidential debate in May 2007 in Simi Valley, Calif., McCain said he believed in evolution. "But," he added, "I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also."

Palin's children attend public schools and Palin has made no push to have creationism taught in them.

Neither have Palin's socially conservative personal views on issues like abortion and gay marriage been translated into policies during her 20 months as Alaska's chief executive. It reflects a hands-off attitude toward mixing government and religion by most Alaskans.

"She has basically ignored social issues, period," said Gregg Erickson, an economist and columnist for the Alaska Budget Report.

[Anonymous]

The article in PP is encouraging. It should not be hard for her to specify which of her religious convictions are private and will not affect her behavior should she become president, whether as a matter of policy she thinks RvW should be overturned, and so on.

The fact that she would know the questions in advance does not bother me. I don't think a president makes important decisions in a black box; there are expert advisors around to remind him or her which are Sunnis and which are Shiites, or that Freddie and Fannie are not government-funded (at least heretofore) or whatever.

And to put this in context, I am an Obama supporter.

[Anonymous]

I think we should get to know this woman a little better.