Common Enemies Find Common Ground

Rick Santorum didn't just run against Harris Wofford for the U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania--he mocked him. Santorum ridiculed Wofford's interest in national service (a bunch of people singing "Kumbaya") and implied that his opponent was an out-of-touch, free-spending liberal.

I was personally offended, as I considered Wofford to be one of the greatest public servants of our time. (He was an aide to Martin Luther King, President Kennedy, a longtime advocate of service and civil rights). Who was this mean-spirited, smirky guy to denigrate someone who'd given so much?

So I was more than a bit surprised to see that Wofford and Santorum had teamed up for a project to find common ground on the issue of faith-based and community service. When I asked Wofford, "How could you?" he gave me a knowing smile that seem to say, "Someday you'll be old enough to understand that you can accomplish more in life seeking agreement than nursing grudges."

When Wofford, with whom I worked for a while when he was CEO of the Corporation for National Service, asked me to serve on this commission in my capacity as co-founder of the multifaith media business, Beliefnet, I was too curious to say no.

Continued on page 2: »