I am not a theologian, by any stretch, but I do know that for much of his career Niehbuhr was both a socialist and a pacifist, although he later modified those positions somewhat.
That Obama should be able to talk at length about a theologian who was a socialist and pacifist does not surprise me in the least. Brooks, instead of getting all tingly, should perhaps ask himself what it might mean to this nation if we elect a man who shares the socialist and pacifist beliefs of a Reinhold Neihbuhr.
But Brooks, like the effete Eastern establishment tooshie that he is, is so very impressed by the fact that Obama can talk about ideas, that he can not spare a thought as to what holding those ideas might actually mean for the future of this country.
But Brooks, like the effete Eastern establishment tooshie that he is, is so very impressed by the fact that Obama can talk about ideas, that he can not spare a thought as to what holding those ideas might actually mean for the future of this country."
Both of the above points are exactly right. The discussion should have been a turn off and flag raiser for Brooks regarding Obama. Instead it increased his admiration. Brooks is apparently non-selective about ideas; almost any old idea will do. The question I would pose to Brooks is, since being an intellectual and the power of thinking are so important to him, how is that intellectual?