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The news of poll results showing that two thirds of all British Muslims students do not believe that it is OK to kill people in the name of Islam creates an interesting case study of poll coverage. Or something like that.
Considering how many Christians follow the liturgical calendar, the media seem not to get it. In a news environment that seeks change and conflict, the liturgical calendar is a constant.
A day or two ago, I ended a post about the announcement that Sen. Joe Biden would be Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate with the following question:
Please trust me that the journalists here at GetReligion understand that newspaper and wire service reporters in this day and age are dealing with new challenges.
Give credit to Ben Smith and Jeffrey Resner of The Politico. The reporters unearthed a 1990 Harvard Law Review article written by none other than its president, Barack Obama. The story provides an interesting early glimpse into Obama’s thinking about abortion and fetal rights, as the authors explain:
Before the Olympics wrap up, we must highlight a story that has been covered primarily by newspaper columnists. Becky Hammon, a WNBA player for the San Antonio Silver Stars from South Dakota, signed up to play with the Russian Olympic basketball team after she received a four-year contract worth $2 million to play with one of the country’s professional teams. This meant accepting Russian citizenship, marching into the Olympic Stadium under the Russian flag and wearing the Russian uniform.
While the religion angle was soft in first-day coverage, expect plenty of references to Sen. Joe Biden and his rosary beads in the days ahead.
Have you read Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy? The book is a favorite of mine. Its greatness lies not only in the story, but also its accumulation of detail. In reading the book I felt as if I knew all about Clyde Griffiths– his shame at his poor Christian parents, his envy of the wealthy guests at the Kansas City hotel where he worked, his cold-blooded plan to murder his working-class pregnant girlfriend.
If you want to see what American life looks like through the eyes of the Los Angeles Times political specialists, then by all means click here. The headline on the story: “Obama and McCain in a statistical tie — A Times/Bloomberg poll finds that Obama shows few signs of winning new voters. The issue of experience goes McCain’s way.”
