Web Letters: Obama for America 2.0?

While it wasn't within the scope of this article necessarily, I've been somewhat disappointed that The Nation hasn't yet addressed Mr. Obama's pastor problem.

While admirable in many ways, with his selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, the President-elect has once more demonstrated that he has a very large blind spot when it comes to leaders in the religious community. The outcry and criticism he's receiving over what seems to be his latest fumble in this area could possibly provide him a great opportunity, however, if only he would seize it.

The excesses of the reverends Wright and Warren in their intemperate ventures into the political arena and his relationship with them provide an opening for one of the President-elect's signature speeches, this time on the current and the proper relationship between church and state. One would hope such a speech would redraw the line between church and state, sounding the death-knell for such such ill-considered attacks on that line represented by so-called faith-based initiatives funded with government money.

Sam Thornton

Burwell, NE

Ari Melber once again writes an informative, insightful piece about the future of the Obama campaign operation. As I argue in "Reflections on the Obama Movement," I continue to hope that the planning process underway at the moment in Chicago will produce a structure for an independent, grassroots organization that can undertake united action nationwide--with authoritative input from locally elected representatives. The current loose MyBO network is unable to express itself with a collective voice. For a winning presidential campaign to spin off that kind of organization would be unprecedented. But Barack Obama has blazed new trails before.

Wade Hudson

San Francisco, CA