{"id":127,"date":"2008-09-07T10:11:37","date_gmt":"2008-09-07T10:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/progressiverevival\/2008\/09\/change-and-experience-matter-s.html"},"modified":"2008-09-07T10:11:37","modified_gmt":"2008-09-07T10:11:37","slug":"change-and-experience-matter-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2008\/09\/change-and-experience-matter-s.html","title":{"rendered":"Change and Experience Matter – So Does Character"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have to admit that speeches delivered by candidates at the recent national political conventions do not sway my opinion of that particular candidate.  <\/span>I also know from experience that these same speeches are written by professional speech writers and based on what is politically popular at the time.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t have any problem with this old political dynamic.  <\/span>It certainly doesn’t diminish the speaker in anyway, as far as I’m concerned.  <\/span>I also don’t leap to my feet to cheer on a rousing speech.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Senator Obama certainly delivered an outstanding speech as did Alaska Governor Palin.  <\/span>I am more impressed and influenced by what the candidates have done leading up to their speeches rather than what they promise in the future.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Russia<\/span> is a growing economic and military power.  <\/span>At this particular time, it is the greatest concern for me as an American.  <\/span>How does the next president of the <\/span>United States<\/span> use his power to deal with <\/span>Russia<\/span>?  <\/span>It is not known how our country will deal with <\/span>Russia<\/span> over the next several years.  <\/span><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

What did we hear during both conventions that gave us hope for the future?  <\/span>Did anything stick out and impress me?  <\/span>Yes, of course.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Change v. experience might be the battleground issue for the media in the upcoming national election.  <\/span>For me, it’s too generational. This debate lacks substance.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

For example:  <\/span>What type of change are we talking about?  <\/span>The overriding concern is the moral character of the person.  <\/span>This also includes the people around the candidate (and next president).  <\/span>If I knew who some of these officials might be, my decision as to who to vote for might be much easier.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

I was certainly impressed by Mrs. Cindy McCain and her quiet, humanitarian efforts throughout the world.  <\/span>Her record of commitment to the poor and needy was inspiring to me.  <\/span>She quietly but effectively demonstrated her love and compassion for others.  <\/span>Very few public figures have unselfishly helped those struggling in life.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

As a social and economic justice Catholic, deeds of charity are more important to me than a great speech.  <\/span>Love thy neighbor as thyself is not just a Biblical phrase with me.  <\/span>It’s also my political compass.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Pundits and pollsters have not yet figured out how American’s will vote.  <\/span>Yes, change and experience matters.  <\/span>So does character. <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have to admit that speeches delivered by candidates at the recent national political conventions do not sway my opinion of that particular candidate.  I also know from experience that these same speeches are written by professional speech writers and based on what is politically popular at the time.    I don’t have any problem…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-election-08"],"yoast_head":"\nChange and Experience Matter - So Does Character - Progressive Revival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2008\/09\/change-and-experience-matter-s.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Change and Experience Matter - 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Flynn is a best selling author, writer and national public speaker. He is a regular political commentator and is also a frequent political and religious analysts on national and local television, including, Meet the Press, Nightline, ABC, NBC, CTV, PBS Jim Leher News Hour, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, EWTN, BBC, CBS News and many other national newspaper, magazine and radio programs. He has been praised as one of the most insightful and foremost experienced political - religious analysts in the United States. As U.S. Ambassador, Flynn served as America's Envoy to the Vatican, the government of the worldwide Catholic Church. He has also been selected by both Democratic and Republican U.S. Presidents to represent our country at official Vatican events. On behalf of the United States, he assisted the Vatican in the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel. He also represented the U.S. efforts that helped win Vatican support for the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, for U.N. peace-keeping efforts in the Balkans, and for U.S.-backed efforts to restore democracy in Haiti. While Ambassador, Flynn also served as the United States representative in relief efforts around the world and helped establish a compact between the U.S. government and the Catholic Church with other religious and non-profit organizations to deliver humanitarian aid to countries suffering from natural disasters, famine, disease, and political unrest. Flynn was first elected Mayor of Boston in 1984, and won reelection twice each time by record margins. In 1991, he won every ward and percent in the city, the first mayor to achieve that distinction in the history of the city of Boston. As mayor, Flynn's day-to-day involvement in the life of the city, his tireless energy and hands-on style led him to be called the \"Mayor of the Neighborhoods.\" He was widely credited with ensuring that all the people of Boston's neighborhoods shared the prosperity of the city's downtown and led efforts to achieve a new sprit of racial harmony to Boston. By the time he left office, a newspaper poll showed that his favorability rating was nearly 80% - and that almost half of the city's residents had actually met him. Prior to serving as Mayor of Boston, Flynn served as a Massachusetts State Representative (1971-1978) and an at-large member of the Boston City Council (1978-1983). He is a graduate of Providence College where he was a Dean's List Student, an Academic All-American basketball player, and the Most Valuable Player in the National Initiation Tournament. He was the last player cut by the world champion Boston Celtics in 1964. In 2000, he was voted South Boston's Greatest Athlete of the Century and one of the best all around high school athletics to come out of Boston. Following a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, he worked as a teacher, coach and probation officer before entering politics. Flynn has written two inspiring books. His first book, a best seller, The Accidental Pope,(which he wrote with author Robin Moore) published by St. Martins Press. The second book is a non-fiction, John Paul II, The Pope and The Man. ,( He has written many articles for national publications. Flynn has a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University and an honorary doctorate degree from a number of institutions of higher learning.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/author\/rflynn"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}