A lot is being said about Sarah Palin these days. Some people see her as the heir apparent to the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States. Others see her as a bumpkin who is in too deep, way over her head. Another group is more ambivalent, and they can be persuaded, but in their eyes she comes to the table carrying heavy baggage.

Ein Gedi

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Today’s Feature

Yahweh Has Physical and Spiritual Characteristics

For some people, Genesis 1: 26 is very controversial. It says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’”

This verse suggests that God is talking with a manifestation of His Divine Being, an interpretation that is consistent with the meaning of the Hebrew word for God, “Elohim.” “Elohim” is a plural word that “expresses the majesty and fullness of God’s being.” (The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday, New York, 1985, p. 19) Also, the Hebrew word translated as “image” in Genesis 1: 26 is “tselem” (tseh’-lem). This is a “concrete term implying a physical resemblance” (The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday, New York, 1985, p. 19) between God and man that is similar to the physical likeness between Adam and his son. Moreover, Genesis 2: 7 says that Adam became “a living being” when Yahweh breathed His Spirit into him. Thus, Genesis 1: 26 suggests that Yahweh has physical and spiritual characteristics and that He gave both traits to mankind through Adam.

Targum Yonasan and the Midrash suggest another interpretation of Genesis 1: 26. Targum Yonasan says, “And God said to the ministering angels who had been created on the second day of Creation of the world, ‘Let us make man.’” (Scherman, Rabbi Nosson, The Stone Edition Tanach, The ArtScroll Series®, Mesorah Publications, Brooklyn, New York, 1996, p. 4)

The Midrash expands on this notion: “When Moses wrote the Torah and came to this verse (let us make), which is in the plural and implies that there is more than one Creator, he said: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Why do you thus furnish a pretext for heretics to maintain that there is a plurality of divinities?’ ‘Write!’ God replied. ‘Whoever wishes to err will err…Instead, let them learn from their Creator Who created all, yet when He came to create Man He took counsel with the ministering angels.” (Scherman, Rabbi Nosson, The Stone Edition Tanach, The ArtScroll Series®, Mesorah Publications, Brooklyn, New York, 1996, p. 4)

It’s obvious that Genesis 1: 26 says one thing and that Targum Yonasan and the Midrash say something entirely different. Thankfully, the Bible provides information that sheds light on this important but contentious issue. I want to be perfectly clear about this fact. The Bible makes clear from the beginning that Elohim has three manifestations, and one of them is a literal physical manifestation. That person is the Messiah. That’s why Yahweh told Jeremiah that His Name is Yahweh Tsidkenu. (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)

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SnyderTalk® Commentary

A lot is being said about Sarah Palin these days. Some people see her as the heir apparent to the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States. Others see her as a bumpkin who is in too deep, way over her head. Another group is more ambivalent, and they can be persuaded, but in their eyes she comes to the table carrying heavy baggage.

In this commentary, I am going to explain why I think it is in the Republican Party’s best interest to abandon the idea of nominating Palin for either president or vice president. Additionally, I am going to offer my unsolicited advice to Governor Palin. I think she has a role to play, an important one, but it’s not as an elected official at the national level.

Let me make this clear at the outset. I bear no malice or ill-will toward Governor Palin. In fact, there is much about her that I admire. First, I think her credentials are more impressive than were Barack Hussein Obama’s prior to his being elected president, but that’s water under the bridge at this point. This question still remains. Has Sarah Palin’s experience prepared her for the highest office in the land? Second, her stands on issues like abortion, family values, energy, and healthcare are perfectly in line with my thinking, but there is a sizeable group in our country that is violently opposed to her no matter what she says or does. Finally, people at the center of the political spectrum have to be convinced that Sarah Palin is the right person for the job or they will stay with Obama. As president, he has enormous power, and he will use all the tools at his disposal to secure a second term in the White House. You can bet that very soon he will direct most of his energy and attention toward the political center. By the time the 2012 election rolls around, he will probably have them in his pocket if the Republican Party is leaning toward a candidate who in their eyes is marginally qualified at best.

One—Sarah Palin’s credentials

I think it is counterproductive to expend money and energy trying to convince people that Governor Palin has the kind of experience she needs to assume a prominent role on the global political stage. People in this country on the conservative side of the political spectrum already support her so you won’t win many new converts there. To liberals, she’s regarded as a leper. You can’t win them over no matter what you do. The center can be won over, so this is the question. How does she look to them? Keep in mind that I like Sarah Palin. I’m just trying to show you what will be said about her in a general election. Despite the importance of a mayor’s role in a small town, the center can be persuaded that it is idiocy to buy the notion that serving as mayor of a small Alaska town is great training for running the most advanced nation in the world. Furthermore, Palin did not complete her term as Governor of Alaska. You may not mind the fact that she abandoned her position, but that detail can and will be used to prove that she is a quitter who can’t be counted on to stay the course during tough times. That argument will carry a lot of weight with people at the political center.

Katie Couric was able to show the world that Sarah Palin was ill-prepared because she was not properly prepared for that interview. She stumbled on other occasions as well, but that interview can and will be replayed over and over. Can Sarah Palin get up-to-speed on the important issues of the day? You bet she can because she’s smart, but you only have one chance to make a first impression. To people on the left, that interview proved that Palin is incompetent. Even people on the right had to admit that she didn’t do her homework before that interview, and people in the center were alarmed that the Republican Party nominated someone for vice president who didn’t know enough to bone up on the issues before taking center stage. This is my point. People on the left have unalterably negative impressions of Palin; people on the right are positive; and people in the center tend to lean against Governor Palin. A bestselling book and countless stops on the lecture circuit can’t undo the damage that was done to Palin’s persona during the 2008 campaign.

Palin’s stands on important issues suit me just fine

As I said, Governor Palin’s stands on abortion, family values, energy, and healthcare are perfectly in line with mine. But the first thing people look at when they are considering candidates for president is the person—not the issues. If they don’t trust the person, stands on issues don’t matter because they know politicians change their stands to win votes. So this is the question? Do the voters trust Sarah Palin? The right does; the left doesn’t; and the center leans against her. I think trying to win over the center of the political spectrum while a sitting president is using every weapon in his impressive arsenal will be counterproductive unless he does something that is widely-regarded as incredibly stupid. So far, Barack Obama has shown a willingness to abandon unpopular positions and people before he gets irreversibly tarnished. Just look at the czars who are being thrown under the bus right now, and look at how he is deftly maneuvering away from the public option. Barack Hussein Obama is not an amateur politician. For Sarah Palin to beat him, he has to commit political suicide. I don’t think the odds of that happening are very good.

Can Sarah Palin win the center?

I think the answer to that question is no. For her to win a general election against Barack Obama, he will have to make mistakes he didn’t make in 2008. Keep in mind that he beat Hillary Clinton for the Democrat Party’s nomination for president. Do not underestimate the significance of that achievement. Inside the Democrat Party, she was regarded as a shoo-in, and her husband was and still is a very popular person. Candidly, as much as it hurts me to say this, I think Hillary Clinton is a much more formidable political competitor than Governor Palin. If Obama beat her handily, I’m not optimistic about Palin’s chances of beating him now that he has his hands on the levers of power.

My conclusion

I’ve done my best to offer you good, objective analysis. I’ve tried to eliminate my personal biases and my leanings to draw reasonable conclusions, and this is the bottom line from my perspective. Can Sarah Palin win a national election? I think the answer to that question is no. Therefore, I believe any attempt to push her to the head of the pack will have serious negative consequences. Her role, the role she is uniquely qualified to play, is to rally the faithful and mobilize their support behind a person who can win a national election. Unfortunately, I don’t think she can win no matter what she does.

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Today’s Events Shaping Our World

Spinning Globe

U.S. and Western Hemisphere

Video (click title)—Iran ups pressure on Obama with missiles

Video (click title)—Obama: health reform means more jobs

Video (click title)—Violence condemned at funeral of beaten teen

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Israel and Middle East

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind Yahweh, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

Isaiah 62: 6-7

The Mount of Olives from Caiphas’ House

DSC00518 edited with picasa and photoscape

The Jezreel Valley

The Sea of Galilee 2

The Sea of Galilee

Video (click title)— Iran nuclear dispute shifting to cooperation

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China, Russia, India, and Asia-Pacific

Video (click title)—world digs deep to help Indonesian quake victims

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Europe and Africa

Video (click title)—Barroso calls on Czechs to complete Lisbon ratification ASAP

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