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Monday, October 27, 2008

Christian PAC Casts Wider Net With Pro-Obama Spots

Filed under Third-Party AdFiled under Radio Ad
Posted at 4:50 PM
Click here to listen to "Source Of Hope."

A pro-Barack Obama Christian PAC, the Matthew 25 Network, is expanding its advertising into new battleground states, hoping to boost the Illinois senator among a group of voters who have traditionally gone Republican, but whom John McCain seems to be having trouble securing -- evangelicals. The PAC, which has already run ads in Ohio, is now running a pair of new radio spots in Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

"Source Of Hope" (subscription) features an audio clip from a 2007 Obama speech in which he discusses the origins of his faith. "Kneeling beneath that cross, I felt that I heard God’s spirit beckoning me," Obama says of his own spiritual experience. "I submitted myself to his will, and dedicated myself to discovering his truth." He goes on to discuss why he believes people should "embrace Christ" and how he came to see faith "as more than just a comfort to the weary, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world -- as a source of hope."

"Welcome" (subscription), meanwhile, features Douglas Kmiec, former legal counsel to Ronald Reagan, explaining to listeners how they can reconcile supporting Obama with being pro-life. "There's more to building a culture of life than just hoping the next Supreme Court justice deals with Roe v. Wade," Kmiec says. He argues that Obama's "bottom-up, faith-based approach" to dealing with maternity leave, health care for children and adoption will decrease the number of abortions in the U.S. "John McCain says he’s pro-life, but he has voted against health care for poor children and support for pregnant women," Kmiec asserts, concluding: "Let’s elect a president who will protect life today: Barack Obama."

Matthew 25 is highlighting a survey from the Barna Group, a Christian polling firm, that shows Obama making huge inroads with Christian voters -- particularly born-agains and young evangelicals -- compared with John Kerry's performance against George Bush in 2004.