But at least two of his budget proposals could already be dead.

Roxanne Conlin is wealthy, but not as wealthy as her critics accused.

Terry Branstad’s engaging in balancing act on same-sex marriage.

Conservative blogger goes inside his very cordial local caucus.

Transparency key to avoid poor budget decisions.

High Republican disapproval makes Obama the most polarizing president ever — and by a wide margin.

The New Republic reported late Sunday night that Democrats are “almost certain” to negotiate informally rather than convene a formal conference committee. That would keep Republicans from continuing to stall the legislation, something party leadership has vowed to do at every step.

One reason Democrats expect Republicans to keep trying procedural delays is that the Republicans have signaled their intent to do so. On Christmas Eve, when the Senate passed its bill, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell memorably vowed in a floor speech that “This fight isn’t over. My colleagues and I will work to stop this bill from becoming law.”

Staffers in both the House and Senate said Democrats will likely send legislation back and forth to each chamber until a final version of the bill can be agreed upon. While it will be far from easy to merge the two bills, the process will certainly move much faster than it would if Republicans were included.

Sen. Chris Dodd signed books and stumped after announcing that he was moving a large portion of his staff here.  Gov. Bill Richardson campaigned around Iowa, emphasizing his pro-gun record in rural areas (and wearing an American flag lapel pin).  Sen. Hillary Clinton rode her new bus, “The Middle Class Express,” across the state.  Sen. Barack Obama continued his criticism of Clinton’s Iran vote in a series of speeches here, which received mixed reviews in terms of style.  Former Sen. John Edwards highlighted his opposition to the Iraq War on his “Take a Stand” tour.  And Sen. Joe Biden held an event with Republican candidate and Sen. Sam Brownback to highlight their Iraq plan at the end of the week.

On Tuesday, most in the Democratic field announced that they would take steps to remove themselves from the Michigan primary ballot because Michigan’s primary date violates the Democratic National Committee’s rules.  Most notably, Clinton did not, opting to stay on the ballot.  Rep. Dennis Kucinich attempted to remove himself but was unsuccessful.  Sources told Iowa Independent that the move was an attempt by other campaigns to damage Clinton’s standing in early states like Iowa.

Obama’s and Edwards’ criticism of Clinton intensified.  At the end of the week, Biden and Richardson squared off in an aggressive series of dueling press releases attacking each other’s plans for Iraq.  There were also many state legislative endorsement announcements from several campaigns.  And it was revealed that Edwards would receive an endorsement from the SEIU’s Iowa Local on Monday.  As the weather cooled down, the Democratic campaign heated up.

On the Republican side, Sen. Sam Brownback, who made a joint appearance with Biden to tout their plans for Iraq, said that he must win fourth place in Iowa if he is to stay in the race.  Gov. Mitt Romney launched a new TV ad attacking jihad, although he has only spent three of the past 60 days in the state.  Sen. John McCain rode the Straight Talk Express across the state.  And Rudy Giuliani received the support of former candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Republican Party State Co-Chair Leon Mosley confirmed speculation that the GOP supports a Jan. 3 caucus date.  Influential columnist David Yepsen seemed to support splitting caucus dates for the two parties, although others disagreed.  At this point, conventional wisdom is that the caucuses will be either Jan. 3 or Jan. 5, but the issue is far from settled.

Ken Silfven, a spokesman for the Michigan state office, said earlier this morning that the Kucinich campaign did not follow proper procedures while submitting an affidavit to remove the candidate from the ballot. Specifically, according to Silfven, Michigan law requires an affidavit be signed by the candidate and notarized.

The campaign contends that it followed the directions supplied by the Michigan agency.

In a Sept. 13 letter to the Kucinich campaign, Secretary of State Terri Land wrote, “If you do not wish to appear on Michigan’s Presidential Primary ballot, you may withdraw by filing a sworn statement expressing your desire to have your name removed from the ballot. The affidavit must be on file with the Michigan Department of State’s Bureau of Elections no later than 4:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) on Tuesday, October 9, 2007.”

The Kucinich campaign faxed a letter, notarized by Justice of the Peace Alan Greene and signed by Campaign Manager Mike Klein. The Michigan office acknowledges this document was received with a 3:02 p.m. time-stamp.

“I am the national campaign manager for Dennis Kucinich and I am responsible for all ballot access activity for the campaign,” wrote Klein. “I affirm with this notarized statement that we do not want to participate in the Michigan Democratic Primary.”

Roughly 30 minutes later, the campaign faxed a second letter, this one signed by Kucinich. This letter reads, “With this communication I affirm that I wish to withdraw my name from the ballot of the Michigan Democratic Primary.”

The second statement came from the Congressman himself “to attest to and corroborate the legitimacy of the sworn statement by his campaign manager — just in case there were any questions as to whether Klein had the authority to submit a sworn statement on behalf of the candidate,” said Andy Juiewicz, the campaign’s national spokesman.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections has indicated that in order for Kucinich to be removed from the ballot, his campaign will need to begin litigation. Juniewicz says that is something the campaign will consider.

“We believe we have complied with the language, the intent and the spirit of the legal requirements that were supplied to our campaign in the September 13 letter,” he said. “It is unfortunate that the Republican Secretary of State’s office has chosen to interpret this matter differently.”

Joe Biden, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson all took their names off the Jan. 15 Michigan ballot on yesterday’s deadline, leaving Hillary Clinton to face Chris Dodd as the “anybody but” candidate, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel as the “what the hell” choices, and Mickey Mouse on the write-in line.  (Note: seems Team Kucinich tried to drop out but botched the paperwork.)

In New Hampshire, the Democratic Party hinted this may affect New Hampshire’s date decision.  “Today’s turn of events only further amplifies the fact that the Michigan primary is irrelevant,” said party spokesman Ray Buckley. “Our Secretary of State, Bill Gardner, now has more flexibility in his scheduling decision because the Michigan event is no longer a ’similar event’ to the New Hampshire primary.”

But Gardner disagrees, telling the Manchester Union Leader, “If one party has a primary, just as the Republicans in South Carolina are, then it still matters and it’s a similar election. Even if all the Democrats come off the ballot, the Republicans in Michigan are having a primary on that day.”“Similar event” is the phrase that pays in New Hampshire’s first in the nation law (um… what if some other state passes the same law?) written by state representative Jim Splaine.  At the Blue Hampshire blog, Splaine makes his case for a December primary, before Iowa:

If Iowa does go January 3rd or 5th, the problem with setting our date for Tuesday, January 8th would be that for the entire Holiday Season, the Presidential candidates of both parties may well camp out in Iowa. 

A NH Primary on or around December 11th would mean that after our event, the “winners” and those “exceeding expectations” would be exposed to a great deal of nationwide analysis during the Holiday Season as to just why they did so well, or not, and how their showing in New Hampshire will affect the next race in Iowa and other states beginning the first week of January.  That contributes to the respected “impact” of the NH lead-off primary, and sets us in good position to remain first and relevant for 2012 and beyond.

Meanwhile Gardner, the New Hampshire secretary of state who holds the date in his hands, is a little concerned that the Iowa GOP is moving forward on a date, according to MSNBC.

Around the blogosphere, reactions are predictable.  Iowan iPol grumbles at Clinton and Dodd and Bleeding Heartland has a concise, R-rated headline.  Iowa hater Kos thinks this will have a November impact:

Whoever the nominee is will have to go back to Michigan during the general — a swing state, let’s not forget — and explain why they gave them the big “f’ you” during the primaries.

But do Real People who aren’t geeks about nomination rules trivia going to remember or care in a year?  And are the party activists going to be so mad at, say, Obama or Edwards that they would vote for Romney or Giuliani?  Didn’t think so.

Back in Michigan, the Republicans were debating last night, and Brian Dickerson of the Detroit Free Press predicts mischief:

In an eyeblink, Republican presidential candidates who’d come to Dearborn to court the GOP base found themselves confronting a diverse primary audience that might also include liberal supporters of Obama and John Edwards, independents turned off by the reduced Democratic field and mischief makers determined to sow confusion in the Republican camp… crossover voters may be drawn to mavericks like Ron Paul or Tom Tancredo.

And at the Politico, a early commenter notes the risk Clinton has taken: “What if she ends up head to head with Kucinich and only pulls 65% of the vote?”  Add “Dodd” to that sentence, but the point stands: Michigan is a yes or no vote on Clinton.

To help break the taboo of mincing religion and politics, Wallis disarmed the audience by telling political jokes that placed Democrats and Republicans on an equally-footed alter, only to make fun of them equally, yet justly. In doing so, Wallis was quick to point out that he used the jokes to illustrate the “silly notion that God is either Republican or a Democrat. God is nonpartisan,” Wallis said. “People of faith ought not to be in any political party’s pocket.”

Wallis, a preacher and an activist, used his deep, oftentimes baritone preacher voice to preach the resurrection of the next social movement in the absence of a broken political system. “Politics is broken in America, because it’s failing to address most of the moral issues of our time,” Wallis said. “And when politics is broken, what often happens is that social movements rise up and change politics, and the best movements always have spiritual foundations.”In the spirit of a revival, Wallis senses, as he crisscrosses the country and delivers lectures at colleges, that there is a change in the air and a movement building in America. He tells those gathered that he’s seeing the beginnings of a new revival, a revival for justice, and that maybe faith — which has been viewed for a long time as an obstruction — may now become the catalyst to help make social change possible. “The two big hungers in our world today are the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice,” Wallis said. “The message between the two is the one the world is waiting for, and a new dialogue has just begun. The new generation of people of faith is coming of age. They’re stepping up to a new kind of faith that engages the world.”

Speaking metaphorically, Wallis suggests that we’re faced with a number of mountains to move in our world. “We have 3 billion of God’s children — that’s half of us — who are living on under $2 a day,” Wallis said. “We have genocide in Darfur that everyone wants to stop, but we can’t seem to do so because of politics. We are faced with terrorism and endless wars against terrorism that are making matters that much worse. We have to move some mountains,” Wallis admits. “And people of faith, historically, have been in the mountain-moving business.”

Wallis went on to illustrate that the next revival will transcend political boundaries, in particular the labels Republican and Democrat, and all of the levels defined within each one of these labels. “In the spirit of `Great Awakenings,’ revivals will change things, and it won’t be confined to our political categories,’ Wallis said. “‘Right’ and `left’ are political categories, not religious ones, and they don’t fit people of faith. Our country is not hungry for a religious right or a religious left. What they’re hungry for is a moral center, and I don’t mean a soulless centrism for a mushy middle,” Wallis continued, before imploring the audience to take another direction in how they approach the crossroads of faith and politics.

“Don’t go right, don’t go left, go deeper. We need to go below the surface of the political debates. Candidates talk and talk and talk, but they hardly ever say anything.”

“I don’t know who or what your political leanings are, or who you want to win the presidential election, but I will tell you one thing: Whoever does win will not be able to change the big things in Washington unless, or until, there’s a social movement,” Wallis argued. “Lyndon B. Johnson wasn’t a civil rights leader until Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. made him one. The best political leaders of our time need a social movement to help move the mountains.”

Wallis told the story about an encounter he had with U2’s Bono, while the two of them were raising awareness about the plight of Africans. Wallis argues we need to change the public opinion about issues in Africa such as poverty, AIDS and genocide, and feels we’ve become dependent on our celebrities to change public opinion. Before reciting scripture, “Luke 4,” Bono agreed. “If we have to depend on our celebrities to change the public’s political opinion, then we’re in some serious trouble,” Bono reportedly said to Wallis.

As Wallis approached the apex of his lecture, he slowly shifted into preacher mode in an effort to inspire younger audience members to take action and move the mountain. By making an appearance on “The Daily Show” and lecturing at college campuses across the country, Wallis hopes to ignite the next generation to alter two perceptions of reality: what is acceptable and what is possible. “Until we no longer accept what is unacceptable, can we make what is possible, possible,” said Wallis. “What has long been tolerated, will not be tolerated any more. The question tonight is what are you no longer going to tolerate or accept?”

Wallis, his voice rising, as the IMU ballroom stage metamorphosed into a pulpit, asked, “Will it be acceptable to you (the) gap of life expectancy between the world’s richest and poorest countries? The gap is now 40 years,” Wallis answered, pausing before adding a point of exclamation. “Death has become a social disease.”

To help illustrate his point about the gap between what is and is not acceptable, Wallis told a story about an education convention he attended in Dallas. A number of prominent Americans were in attendance, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates. During the convention, attendees learned that there are an estimated 800 million children worldwide who get no education at all. They calculated that it would take $20 billion a year to educate 800 million children, and while America is the richest country in the world, education experts were perplexed as to how they’ll raise the money. Sensing this as his cue, Wallis chimed in, “$20 billion is two months in Iraq. What makes us more secure — educating 800 million children or two months of war?”

Wallis finished his lecture by telling a story about a time he preached at a church in Atlanta, the same church where Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach. When he took hold of the microphone in the pulpit, he literally froze. It wasn’t until the congregation, realizing he had frozen, shouted out words of encouragement, thus freeing Wallis from his momentary paralysis, so he could preach what he perceived to be some of his best stuff.

To help break the taboo of mincing religion and politics, Wallis disarmed the audience by telling political jokes that placed Democrats and Republicans on an equally-footed alter, only to make fun of them equally, yet justly. In doing so, Wallis was quick to point out that he used the jokes to illustrate the “silly notion that God is either Republican or a Democrat. God is nonpartisan,” Wallis said. “People of faith ought not to be in any political party’s pocket.”

Wallis, a preacher and an activist, used his deep, oftentimes baritone preacher voice to preach the resurrection of the next social movement in the absence of a broken political system. “Politics is broken in America, because it’s failing to address most of the moral issues of our time,” Wallis said. “And when politics is broken, what often happens is that social movements rise up and change politics, and the best movements always have spiritual foundations.”In the spirit of a revival, Wallis senses, as he crisscrosses the country and delivers lectures at colleges, that there is a change in the air and a movement building in America. He tells those gathered that he’s seeing the beginnings of a new revival, a revival for justice, and that maybe faith — which has been viewed for a long time as an obstruction to change — may now become the catalyst to help make social change possible. “The two big hungers in our world today are the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice,” Wallis said. “The message between the two is the one the world is waiting for, and a new dialogue has just begun. The new generation of people of faith is coming of age. They’re stepping up to a new kind of faith that engages the world.”

Speaking metaphorically, Wallis suggests that we’re faced with a number of mountains to move in our world. “We have three billion of God’s children, that’s half of us, who are living under $2 a day,” Wallis said. “We have genocide in Darfur that everyone wants to stop, but we can’t seem to do so because of politics. We are faced with terrorism and endless wars against terrorism that are making matters that much worse. We have to move some mountains,” Wallis admits. “And people of faith, historically, have been in the mountain-moving business.”

Wallis went on to illustrate that the next revival will transcend political boundaries, in particular the labels, Republicans and Democrat, and all of the levels defined within each one of these labels. “In the spirit of `Great Awakenings,’ revivals will change things, and it won’t be confined to our political categories,’ Wallis said. “‘Right’ and `left’ are political categories, not religious ones, and they don’t fit people of faith. Our country is not hungry for a religious right or a religious left. What they’re hungry for is a moral center, and I don’t mean a soulless centrism for a mushy middle,” Wallis continued, before imploring the audience to take another direction in how they approach the crossroads of faith and politics. “Don’t go right, don’t go left, go deeper. We need to go below the surface of the political debates. Candidates talk and talk and talk, but they hardly ever say anything.”

“I don’t know who or what your political leanings are, or who you want to win the presidential election, but I will tell you one thing. Whoever does win will not be able to change the big things in Washington, unless, or until there’s a social movement,” Wallis argued. “Lyndon B. Johnson wasn’t a civil rights leader until Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. made him one. The best political leaders of our time need a social movement to help move the mountains.”

Wallis told the story about an encounter he had with U2’s Bono, while the two of them were raising awareness about the plights in Africa. Wallis argues we need to change the public opinion about issues in Africa such as poverty, AIDS, and genocide, and feels we’ve become dependent on our celebrities to change public opinion. Before reciting scripture, “Luke 4,” Bono agreed. “If we have to depend on our celebrities to change the public’s political opinion, then we’re in some serious trouble,” Bono said to Wallis.

As Wallis approached the apex of his lecture, he slowly shifted into preacher mode in an effort to inspire younger audience members to take action and move the mountain. By making an appearance on “The Daily Show” and lecturing at college campuses all over the country, Wallis hopes to ignite the next generation to alter two perceptions of reality: what is acceptable and what is possible. “Until we no longer accept what is unacceptable can we make what is possible, possible,” said Wallis. “What has long been tolerated, will not be tolerated any more. The question tonight is what are you no longer going to tolerate or accept?”

Wallis, his voice rising, as the IMU ballroom stage metamorphosed into a pulpit, asked, “Will it be acceptable to you gap of life expectancy between the world’s richest and poorest countries? The gap is now 40 years,” Wallis answered, pausing before adding a point of exclamation. “Death has become a social disease.”

To help illustrate his point about the gap between what is and what is not acceptable, Wallis told a story about an education convention he attended in Dallas. A number of prominent Americans were in attendance, including Bill Gates. During the convention, attendees learned that there are an estimated 800 million children worldwide who get no education at all. They calculated that it would take $20 billion a year to educate 800 million children, and while America is the richest country in the world, education experts were perplexed as to how they’ll raise the money. Sensing this as his cue, Wallis chimed in, “$20 billion is two months in Iraq. What makes us more secure, educating 800 million children or two months of war?”

Wallis finished his lecture by telling a story about a time he preached at a church in Atlanta, the same church where Martin Luther King, Jr. used to preach. When he took hold of the microphone in the pulpit, he literally froze. It wasn’t until the congregation, realizing he had frozen, shouted out words of encouragement, thus freeing Wallis from his momentary paralysis, so he could preach what he perceived to be some of his best stuff.

To help break the taboo of mincing religion and politics, Wallis disarmed the audience by telling political jokes that placed Democrats and Republicans on an equally-footed alter, only to make fun of them equally, yet justly. In doing so, Wallis was quick to point out that he used the jokes to illustrate the “silly notion that God is either Republican or a Democrat. God is nonpartisan,” Wallis said. “People of faith ought not to be in any political party’s pocket.”

Wallis, a preacher and an activist, used his deep, oftentimes baritone preacher voice to preach the resurrection of the next social movement in the absence of a broken political system. “Politics is broken in America, because it’s failing to address most of the moral issues of our time,” Wallis said. “And when politics is broken, what often happens is that social movements rise up and change politics, and the best movements always have spiritual foundations.”In the spirit of a revival, Wallis senses, as he crisscrosses the country and delivers lectures at colleges, that there is a change in the air and a movement building in America. He tells those gathered that he’s seeing the beginnings of a new revival, a revival for justice, and that maybe faith — which has been viewed for a long time as an obstruction to change — may now become the catalyst to help make social change possible. “The two big hungers in our world today are the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice,” Wallis said. “The message between the two is the one the world is waiting for, and a new dialogue has just begun. The new generation of people of faith is coming of age. They’re stepping up to a new kind of faith that engages the world.”

Speaking metaphorically, Wallis suggests that we’re faced with a number of mountains to move in our world. “We have three billion of God’s children, that’s half of us, who are living under $2 a day,” Wallis said. “We have genocide in Darfur that everyone wants to stop, but we can’t seem to do so because of politics. We are faced with terrorism and endless wars against terrorism that are making matters that much worse. We have to move some mountains,” Wallis admits. “And people of faith, historically, have been in the mountain-moving business.”

Wallis went on to illustrate that the next revival will transcend political boundaries, in particular the labels, Republicans and Democrat, and all of the levels defined within each one of these labels. “In the spirit of `Great Awakenings,’ revivals will change things, and it won’t be confined to our political categories,’ Wallis said. “‘Right’ and `left’ are political categories, not religious ones, and they don’t fit people of faith. Our country is not hungry for a religious right or a religious left. What they’re hungry for is a moral center, and I don’t mean a soulless centrism for a mushy middle,” Wallis continued, before imploring the audience to take another direction in how they approach the crossroads of faith and politics. “Don’t go right, don’t go left, go deeper. We need to go below the surface of the political debates. Candidates talk and talk and talk, but they hardly ever say anything.”

“I don’t know who or what your political leanings are, or who you want to win the presidential election, but I will tell you one thing. Whoever does win will not be able to change the big things in Washington, unless, or until there’s a social movement,” Wallis argued. “Lyndon B. Johnson wasn’t a civil rights leader until Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. made him one. The best political leaders of our time need a social movement to help move the mountains.”

Wallis told the story about an encounter he had with U2’s Bono, while the two of them were raising awareness about the plights in Africa. Wallis argues we need to change the public opinion about issues in Africa such as poverty, AIDS, and genocide, and feels we’ve become dependent on our celebrities to change public opinion. Before reciting scripture, “Luke 4,” Bono agreed. “If we have to depend on our celebrities to change the public’s political opinion, then we’re in some serious trouble,” Bono said to Wallis.

As Wallis approached the apex of his lecture, he slowly shifted into preacher mode in an effort to inspire younger audience members to take action and move the mountain. By making an appearance on “The Daily Show” and lecturing at college campuses all over the country, Wallis hopes to ignite the next generation to alter two perceptions of reality: what is acceptable and what is possible. “Until we no longer accept what is unacceptable can we make what is possible, possible,” said Wallis. “What has long been tolerated, will not be tolerated any more. The question tonight is what are you no longer going to tolerate or accept?”

Wallis, his voice rising, as the IMU ballroom stage metamorphosed into a pulpit, asked, “Will it be acceptable to you gap of life expectancy between the world’s richest and poorest countries? The gap is now 40 years,” Wallis answered, pausing before adding a point of exclamation. “Death has become a social disease.”

To help illustrate his point about the gap between what is and what is not acceptable, Wallis told a story about an education convention he attended in Dallas. A number of prominent Americans were in attendance, including Bill Gates. During the convention, attendees learned that there are an estimated 800 million children worldwide who get no education at all. They calculated that it would take $20 billion a year to educate 800 million children, and while America is the richest country in the world, education experts were perplexed as to how they’ll raise the money. Sensing this as his cue, Wallis chimed in, “$20 billion is two months in Iraq. What makes us more secure, educating 800 million children or two months of war?”

Wallis finished his lecture by telling a story about a time he preached at a church in Atlanta, the same church where Martin Luther King, Jr. used to preach. When he took hold of the microphone in the pulpit, he literally froze. It wasn’t until the congregation, realizing he had frozen, shouted out words of encouragement, thus freeing Wallis from his momentary paralysis, so he could preach what he perceived to be some of his best stuff.

To help break the taboo of mincing religion and politics, Wallis disarmed the audience by telling political jokes that placed Democrats and Republicans on an equally-footed alter, only to make fun of them equally, yet justly. In doing so, Wallis was quick to point out that he used the jokes to illustrate the “silly notion that God is either Republican or a Democrat. God is nonpartisan,” Wallis said. “People of faith ought not to be in any political party’s pocket.”

Wallis, a preacher and an activist, used his deep, oftentimes baritone preacher voice to preach the resurrection of the next social movement in the absence of a broken political system. “Politics is broken in America, because it’s failing to address most of the moral issues of our time,” Wallis said. “And when politics is broken, what often happens is that social movements rise up and change politics, and the best movements always have spiritual foundations.”In the spirit of a revival, Wallis senses, as he crisscrosses the country and delivers lectures at colleges, that there is a change in the air and a movement building in America. He tells those gathered that he’s seeing the beginnings of a new revival, a revival for justice, and that maybe faith — which has been viewed for a long time as an obstruction to change — may now become the catalyst to help make social change possible. “The two big hungers in our world today are the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice,” Wallis said. “The message between the two is the one the world is waiting for, and a new dialogue has just begun. The new generation of people of faith is coming of age. They’re stepping up to a new kind of faith that engages the world.”

Speaking metaphorically, Wallis suggests that we’re faced with a number of mountains to move in our world. “We have three billion of God’s children, that’s half of us, who are living under $2 a day,” Wallis said. “We have genocide in Darfur that everyone wants to stop, but we can’t seem to do so because of politics. We are faced with terrorism and endless wars against terrorism that are making matters that much worse. We have to move some mountains,” Wallis admits. “And people of faith, historically, have been in the mountain-moving business.”

Wallis went on to illustrate that the next revival will transcend political boundaries, in particular the labels, Republicans and Democrat, and all of the levels defined within each one of these labels. “In the spirit of `Great Awakenings,’ revivals will change things, and it won’t be confined to our political categories,’ Wallis said. “‘Right’ and `left’ are political categories, not religious ones, and they don’t fit people of faith. Our country is not hungry for a religious right or a religious left. What they’re hungry for is a moral center, and I don’t mean a soulless centrism for a mushy middle,” Wallis continued, before imploring the audience to take another direction in how they approach the crossroads of faith and politics. “Don’t go right, don’t go left, go deeper. We need to go below the surface of the political debates. Candidates talk and talk and talk, but they hardly ever say anything.”

“I don’t know who or what your political leanings are, or who you want to win the presidential election, but I will tell you one thing. Whoever does win will not be able to change the big things in Washington, unless, or until there’s a social movement,” Wallis argued. “Lyndon B. Johnson wasn’t a civil rights leader until Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. made him one. The best political leaders of our time need a social movement to help move the mountains.”

Wallis told the story about an encounter he had with U2’s Bono, while the two of them were raising awareness about the plights in Africa. Wallis argues we need to change the public opinion about issues in Africa such as poverty, AIDS, and genocide, and feels we’ve become dependent on our celebrities to change public opinion. Before reciting scripture, “Luke 4,” Bono agreed. “If we have to depend on our celebrities to change the public’s political opinion, then we’re in some serious trouble,” Bono said to Wallis.

As Wallis approached the apex of his lecture, he slowly shifted into preacher mode in an effort to inspire younger audience members to take action and move the mountain. By making an appearance on “The Daily Show” and lecturing at college campuses all over the country, Wallis hopes to ignite the next generation to alter two perceptions of reality: what is acceptable and what is possible. “Until we no longer accept what is unacceptable can we make what is possible, possible,” said Wallis. “What has long been tolerated, will not be tolerated any more. The question tonight is what are you no longer going to tolerate or accept?”

Wallis, his voice rising, as the IMU ballroom stage metamorphosed into a pulpit, asked, “Will it be acceptable to you gap of life expectancy between the world’s richest and poorest countries? The gap is now 40 years,” Wallis answered, pausing before adding a point of exclamation. “Death has become a social disease.”

To help illustrate his point about the gap between what is and what is not acceptable, Wallis told a story about an education convention he attended in Dallas. A number of prominent Americans were in attendance, including Bill Gates. During the convention, attendees learned that there are an estimated 800 million children worldwide who get no education at all. They calculated that it would take $20 billion a year to educate 800 million children, and while America is the richest country in the world, education experts were perplexed as to how they’ll raise the money. Sensing this as his cue, Wallis chimed in, “$20 billion is two months in Iraq. What makes us more secure, educating 800 million children or two months of war?”

Wallis finished his lecture by telling a story about a time he preached at a church in Atlanta, the same church where Martin Luther King, Jr. used to preach. When he took hold of the microphone in the pulpit, he literally froze. It wasn’t until the congregation, realizing he had frozen, shouted out words of encouragement, thus freeing Wallis from his momentary paralysis, so he could preach what he perceived to be some of his best stuff.

To help break the taboo of mincing religion and politics, Wallis disarmed the audience by telling political jokes that placed Democrats and Republicans on an equally-footed alter, only to make fun of them equally, yet justly. In doing so, Wallis was quick to point out that he used the jokes to illustrate the “silly notion that God is either Republican or a Democrat. God is nonpartisan,” Wallis said. “People of faith ought not to be in any political party’s pocket.”

Wallis, a preacher and an activist, used his deep, oftentimes baritone preacher voice to preach the resurrection of the next social movement in the absence of a broken political system. “Politics is broken in America, because it’s failing to address most of the moral issues of our time,” Wallis said. “And when politics is broken, what often happens is that social movements rise up and change politics, and the best movements always have spiritual foundations.”In the spirit of a revival, Wallis senses, as he crisscrosses the country and delivers lectures at colleges, that there is a change in the air and a movement building in America. He tells those gathered that he’s seeing the beginnings of a new revival, a revival for justice, and that maybe faith — which has been viewed for a long time as an obstruction to change — may now become the catalyst to help make social change possible. “The two big hungers in our world today are the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice,” Wallis said. “The message between the two is the one the world is waiting for, and a new dialogue has just begun. The new generation of people of faith is coming of age. They’re stepping up to a new kind of faith that engages the world.”

Speaking metaphorically, Wallis suggests that we’re faced with a number of mountains to move in our world. “We have three billion of God’s children, that’s half of us, who are living under $2 a day,” Wallis said. “We have genocide in Darfur that everyone wants to stop, but we can’t seem to do so because of politics. We are faced with terrorism and endless wars against terrorism that are making matters that much worse. We have to move some mountains,” Wallis admits. “And people of faith, historically, have been in the mountain-moving business.”

Wallis went on to illustrate that the next revival will transcend political boundaries, in particular the labels, Republicans and Democrat, and all of the levels defined within each one of these labels. “In the spirit of `Great Awakenings,’ revivals will change things, and it won’t be confined to our political categories,’ Wallis said. “‘Right’ and `left’ are political categories, not religious ones, and they don’t fit people of faith. Our country is not hungry for a religious right or a religious left. What they’re hungry for is a moral center, and I don’t mean a soulless centrism for a mushy middle,” Wallis continued, before imploring the audience to take another direction in how they approach the crossroads of faith and politics. “Don’t go right, don’t go left, go deeper. We need to go below the surface of the political debates. Candidates talk and talk and talk, but they hardly ever say anything.”

“I don’t know who or what your political leanings are, or who you want to win the presidential election, but I will tell you one thing. Whoever does win will not be able to change the big things in Washington, unless, or until there’s a social movement,” Wallis argued. “Lyndon B. Johnson wasn’t a civil rights leader until Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. made him one. The best political leaders of our time need a social movement to help move the mountains.”

Wallis told the story about an encounter he had with U2’s Bono, while the two of them were raising awareness about the plights in Africa. Wallis argues we need to change the public opinion about issues in Africa such as poverty, AIDS, and genocide, and feels we’ve become dependent on our celebrities to change public opinion. Before reciting scripture, “Luke 4,” Bono agreed. “If we have to depend on our celebrities to change the public’s political opinion, then we’re in some serious trouble,” Bono said to Wallis.

As Wallis approached the apex of his lecture, he slowly shifted into preacher mode in an effort to inspire younger audience members to take action and move the mountain. By making an appearance on “The Daily Show” and lecturing at college campuses all over the country, Wallis hopes to ignite the next generation to alter two perceptions of reality: what is acceptable and what is possible. “Until we no longer accept what is unacceptable can we make what is possible, possible,” said Wallis. “What has long been tolerated, will not be tolerated any more. The question tonight is what are you no longer going to tolerate or accept?”

Wallis, his voice rising, as the IMU ballroom stage metamorphosed into a pulpit, asked, “Will it be acceptable to you gap of life expectancy between the world’s richest and poorest countries? The gap is now 40 years,” Wallis answered, pausing before adding a point of exclamation. “Death has become a social disease.”

To help illustrate his point about the gap between what is and what is not acceptable, Wallis told a story about an education convention he attended in Dallas. A number of prominent Americans were in attendance, including Bill Gates. During the convention, attendees learned that there are an estimated 800 million children worldwide who get no education at all. They calculated that it would take $20 billion a year to educate 800 million children, and while America is the richest country in the world, education experts were perplexed as to how they’ll raise the money. Sensing this as his cue, Wallis chimed in, “$20 billion is two months in Iraq. What makes us more secure, educating 800 million children or two months of war?”

Wallis finished his lecture by telling a story about a time he preached at a church in Atlanta, the same church where Martin Luther King, Jr. used to preach. When he took hold of the microphone in the pulpit, he literally froze. It wasn’t until the congregation, realizing he had frozen, shouted out words of encouragement, thus freeing Wallis from his momentary paralysis, so he could preach what he perceived to be some of his best stuff.