By Nancy Thorner -
It was with great interest and pleasure that I read an article posted at Illinois Review on Thursday, February 7, entitled, "Dr. Benjamin Carson refutes Barack Obama's agenda at Prayer Breakfast." In light of the number of comments that were posted, the article struck a home run with many Illinois Review readers.
The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C. on the first Thursday of February each year. Every U.S. President since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event. This was President Obama's 5th National Prayer Breakfast. Typically there are two main speakers, the president and a guest whose identity is kept confidential until the morning of the event. This year's guest speaker was Benjamin Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins.
Surprising to me is that the prayer breakfast was given its rightful due occurring as it did on the same day as the much anticipated Capitol Hill hearings. As such Capitol Hill was buzzing with testimonies by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey in front of the Senate's Armed Services Committee about last year's Benghazi, Libya, attack.
News coming out of the hearing indicated that Panetta and Dempsey not only defended the Penagon's response to the Benghazi attack, which tragically killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and two former Navy seals acting as CIA security contractors (http://www.npr.org/2012/11/30/166243318/chronology-the-benghazi-att...), but Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) was able to conjure Panetta to admit that President Obama was AWOL on the night of the Benghazi attack and that no communication happened between him (Panetta) and Obama during the Banghazi attack. http://www.theinnoplex.com/news/newssub/panetta-obama-awol-on-night...
Also news worthy was the appearance of John Brennan on the same day in front of a Senate Intelligence Panel in a run-up to his confirmation as Director of the CIA. Brennan defended and even sparred with top Senate Democrats over the administration's legal defense for using drones to kill U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism. http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/281857-ove...
But despite a plethora of news reports throughout the day generated by the Senate hearings, the Prayer Breakfast was picked up by Illinois Review and other websites -- as it should have been -- as the event's featured speaker represented a breath of fresh air with remarks made in the presence of President Obama. It is absolutely amazing that no teleprompter was needed for Dr. Benjamin Carter to proclaim his love for others and for God and country, as displayed in this YouTube presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PFb6NU1giRA
Three bullets points highlighted what followed in a comprehensive report of the National Prayer Breakfast as reported by Blaze.com. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/07/prayer-breakfast-speaker...
- "Dr. Benjamin Carson delivered a noteworthy National Prayer Breakfast keynote speech in President Barack Obama's presence.
- Carson attacked political correctness as a "dangerous" threat to free speech and encouraged Americans to boldly share their views.
- The pediatric neurosurgeon also provided his theories about the national debt, deficits, taxation and health care, taking stances that were opposed to the president's. Obama watched intently as Carson spoke for more than 25 minutes."
In his address Carson held little back, condemning political correctness as "a horrible thing" that is "dangerous," as it hampers freedom of thought and expression.
Carson also cautioned that moral decay and fiscal irresponsibility can have dire consequence, relating how nobody could challenge Rome militarily, but instead Rome was destroyed from within.
In an affront to Obamacare, Dr. Carson advocated for health saving accounts and railed against the idea that Americans should be sending money into a large bureaucratic system.
There are reports that Obama appeared sleepy at the National Prayer Breakfast, "looking like he was having trouble staying awake while others spoke and delivering his own remarks ponderously, with heavy eyelids and a tired visage." Also noted is that Obama's eyes were frequently downcast, he appeared drawn, and he was chewing gum, "presumably the Nicorette he is known to chew to satisfy his nicotine addiction without smoking." http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/02/07/obama-appears-sleepy-ch...
Worth noting is that although Obama has taken strong positions in the past year on issue that concern the religious community -- same-sex marriage, immigration reform, abortion, and the contraception mandate in his healthcare reform law -- his 19-minute speech made no mention of these controversial issues
Sprinkled instead throughout Obama's speech were references to the Scriptures and God. At one point Obama told the audience how he looks at scripture to learn how to become "a better man as well as a better president."
The president also asked politicians to be humble, "for no one can know the full and encompassing mind of God."
Speaking about the divisiveness that exists in this nation, Obama related how the power of faith humbled Lincoln, allowing him to see God in those who vehemently opposed him.
In what seemed like a dichotomy to Obama's actions during the past four years:
"In a democracy as big and as diverse as ours, we will encounter every opinion. And our task as citizens -- whether we are leaders in government or business or spreading the word -- is to spend our days with open hearts and open minds; to seek out the truth that exists in an opposing view and to find the common ground that allows for us as a nation, as a people, to take real and meaningful action." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/national-prayer-breakfast-2...
Ever since the beginning of time man has been known and judged by his deeds and his actions. It might be fair to conclude that so much of Obama's prayer breakfast rhetoric was not in sync with his actions. He is the most uncompromising of Presidents who uses ceremonial occasions not to unite the country, but to divide it into warring classes.
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