Reporting from Carrollton, Arkansas, the Washington Post finds some locals still upset with actions of a "Mormon militia" over 150 years ago. The Post reports:
President Obama's position on same sex marriage might be "evolving," as he's admitted himself, but he wasn't always so unclear about where he stood. Consider this interview from 2004:
Q: “Mr. Obama, you've said that your religious faiths, your religious faith, dictates that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Would you elaborate on that?”
President Obama hosted a pre-Easter prayer breakfast at the White House this morning with members of his administration and clergymen. Prominent breakfast attendees included Rev. Al Sharpton, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, and Rev. Julius Scruggs. White House aides told the press pooler at the breakfast that "heads of major denominations, non-profit leaders and prominent mainline, Evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic leaders from across the spectrum" were all in attendance this morning.
Caroline May reports that "More than 2,500 evangelical and ministry leaders from a range of denominations have signed a letter to President Obama voicing their opposition to the administration’s new mandate requiring that all health insurance plans contain contraceptive coverage."
But not all religious leaders are being critical of Obama--a number are even trying to provide him with cover.
Windham, N.H. The auditorium at Windham High School seats 660, but the fire marshal tells me the crowd for Rick Santorum’s fifth event on Thursday overflowed with more than 700 in attendance. But even with this big audience, Santorum looks tired and gives a low energy, pedestrian performance.
The archbishop of Canterbury is going to resign next year. At least that’s the story making the rounds of newspapers in London, and the interesting part is not that the 61-year-old Rowan Williams should be willing to give up another decade in the job. Or even, if the Telegraph is right, that the clergy and his fellow bishops are working to push him out.
On Sunday, the Episcopal Church’s National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. will host “A Call to Compassion” to commemorate 9/11. President Obama will attend and speak at the concluding “Concert for Hope.” Patti LaBelle will sing. CNN’s Anderson Cooper will host. After the recent earthquake and the collapse of a crane, the cathedral has gone “on the road” and relocated its 9/11 events to a nearby synagogue and the Kennedy Center. Controversy has surrounded the cathedral’s choice of spiritual representatives.
Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer believes he's gaining momentum. "My best fundraising week was last week," the former governor and congressman from Louisiana tells Slate's Dave Weigel. "I raised enough money to buy a ticket to one of Obama's fundraisers."
