HOWARD DEAN DROPS THE BALL

I hate to resurrect this dreadful mid-90s meme, but Howard Dean obviously just doesn’t get it:

Howard Dean rejected a voter’s request to be more neighborly and stop “mean mouthing” President Bush saying Sunday someone needs to stand up to the president.

Dale Ungerer, a retiree from Hawkeye, Iowa, lectured Dean for nearly three minutes near the end of a forum aimed at winning voters for Iowa’s Jan. 19 caucuses.

Ungerer accused Dean and other Democratic presidential hopefuls of dividing the country by bashing Bush instead of outlining their own plans and showing respect for authority.

“Please tone down the garbage, the mean mouthing, the tearing down of your neighbor and being so pompous,” Ungerer told the former Vermont governor and Democratic front-runner. “You should help your neighbor and not tear him down.”

“George Bush is not my neighbor,” Dean replied.

Sorry, Howie, but Jesus begs to differ.

Wasn’t it just last week that Dean said he was going to start talking more about Jesus in his campaign? Well, he certainly did in this sad exchange . . . just not quite in the way he intended.

Ungerer used Christian language without explicitly referencing Jesus Christ, and maybe that threw Dean for a loop. After a few months on the campaign trail, he’s probably used to hearing Christians being a little more forceful about their faith. But, if Dean was really serious about showing his own faith a little more, we’re faced with two possibilities: (a) he missed a great opportunity to explain his views on faith and politics, or (b) he honestly believes George Bush is not his neighbor, not even in the Biblical sense. The first is human frailty, but the second is simple ignorance.

Ordinarily I’d be inclined to give Dean the benefit of the doubt, if not for this:

“That is exactly the problem. Under the guise of ’support your neighbor’ we’re all expected not to criticize the president because it’s unpatriotic,” Dean said to enthusiastic applause. “I think it’s unpatriotic to do some of the things that this president has done to this country.”

I won’t comment on the patriotism of George Bush (and if you can’t criticize a sitting president, then the American Revolution obviously failed), but this quote clearly shows (at least to me) that Howard Dean really doesn’t think George Bush is his neighbor, not in any meaningful sense. While I’m in no position to judge his soul, he’d flunk Christianity 101 if I was his prof. Understanding care for the neighbor is one of the most basic things I (or any other pastor) would expect from a member of my flock. Jesus only mentioned it about a thousand times in his preaching, and the Old Testament is shot through with the idea as well. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the sine qua non of Christianity–if you don’t understand this, and its importance, it’s doubtful that you know enough to be considered a Christian in good standing. Indeed, it’s likely that you wouldn’t know Jesus if he walked up and bit you on the arm.

So, either Howard Dean failed to recognize one of the most basic principles of the faith, or he has no interest in righteousness when there’s political points to be made.

As for me, I’ll stick with what Martin Luther had to say:

We must fear and love God, so that we will not deceive by lying, betraying, slandering or ruining our neighbor’s reputation, but will defend him, say good things about him, and see the best side of everything he does.

This makes for dull politics, but good neighbors. Then again, what’s wrong with that?

THIS . . . OR THAT?

Following is a list of plural nouns. Which are the names of 90s action movies, and which are the names of sports bars?

Shooters
Chasers
Poppers
Clockers
Junkers
Sneakers
Sliders
Bleachers

As usual, no prizes, just enjoy.