Garrison Keillor divides the world into Dark Lutherans (all about sin) and Light Lutherans (all about grace). Obviously there needs to be a balance, but I lean to the dark side and am continually annoyed by liberals who think people are inherently good and conservatives who rely on God's (or the market's) intervention to unwind whatever catastrophes we bring on ourselves (e.g. environmental degradation).
In politics you can rarely combine doctrinal purity and actual passing of laws, so every leader is bound to be a disappointment. But despite a lack of significant achievements thus far, I still have hopes for the Obama presidency. I have trouble explaining exactly why I'm hopeful, but David Brooks's column today helps make my argument. Even if I disagree on many of President Obama's specific policies, his world view (at least as portrayed here) is one I find attractive.
