Posted on 09/20/2006 7:22:53 PM PDT by presidio9
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, longtime foes in American politics, forcefully defended Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday against a wave of Muslim criticism over a speech last week.
When asked about the controversy prior to her speech at an American Cancer Society event, Clinton, D-N.Y., said the pope's follow-up statement should have been enough to settle the matter.
"It's just outrageous and offensive that people would be threatening violence against him based on what he said, especially when there is so much they should be working on together," Clinton said.
The former first lady has a huge lead in her Senate re-election bid this year. Her opponent, Republican John Spencer, had criticized her Tuesday for not speaking out in the pope's defense.
After appearing onstage with Clinton at the cancer event, Gingrich was even more outspoken about the religious tension.
"I think what he said in his entire speech ... is that Islam has to come to grips with having a genuine dialogue of mutual respect," said Gingrich, a Georgia Republican when he was in the House. "Everything you've seen of the viciousness and the evil that has been said since then by fanatics reinforces the pope's speech."
Both Clinton and Gingrich, who as House speaker sparred for years with President Clinton, are considered potential presidential candidates in 2008.
Benedict angered much of the Muslim world with a speech that cited a Medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith." He later said he was "deeply sorry" if Muslims were offended, but some Muslims demanded a more forceful apology.
The comments led to mass protests in several Muslim countries. In Somalia, a Catholic nun was slain, a shooting that may have been motivated by anger at the pope's remarks.
"I think it's amazing that a 65-year-old nun who's serving as a nurse in Somalia can be killed over words, and people aren't outraged by the vicious barbarians that killed her," Gingrich said.
Thank you Mr Speaker!
What the heck took her so long?
Wait for the polls to come back, did ya, Hillie?
No he isn't. Il Papa is a formal name.
I was punning. He misused the word right instead of write.
Seriesly?
This sure shows she had her ear to the ground and her finger on the pulse of world events, "especially when there is so much they should be working on together," Clinton said. sarc/
FWIW, according to my AP Stylebook, the rule is capitalize when used as a formal title before a name (Pope Paul came, saw, went....); lowercase in all other uses (Afterwards the pope did x, x, z...)
But what does AP know :)
"Pope" is part of the man's name. It signifies that he is the direct successor to the apostle Peter, the first pope. The AP might be clueless, but it is more likely that they are aware of this and choose to disregard it.
Pandering, plain and simple. Clinton believes in nothing but her political career. If she has his back, he better watch out for the knife she will soon stick in it.
Can you get anymore weak than that?
HELLO. Who the hell do you think you are talking about Hitlery? They are terrorists. Flat out positively vicious killers. They are not offensive or even outrageous. They are KILLERS you stupid idiot viper. Talking is not one of their strong points.
Hey cankles. you miss the point. It is what the pope read from their Islamic propaganda that pissed off Islamofacists. These people are so dense they don't even know it.
I didn't capitalize "pope" because I'm not a Roman Catholic.
I googled "hildebeast" as in the animal to get a picture to post here, and all the hits came up about the democrat Hildebeast senator from NY.
That's funny.
Amazing? it's an outrage. Before you can negotiate with savages you have to be able to speak their language. And their language is savagery.
Hillary speaks out in defense of the Pope and "moderate Muslims" stay silent. That speaks volumes.
Actually, I think it's right, strictly speaking anyway.
The phrase "the pope" indicates the current holder of an office, just as "the president" describes the holder of an office. Those usages do not require capitalization.
OTOH, the proper name "Pope Benedict" should be capitalized, just as "President Bush" is capitalized.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.