Obama and Respect

In January of 2008, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Gordon Hinckley) passed away.

Barack Obama responded in a couple of simple, yet compassionate ways. First, he personally called President Monson (then the presumptive new leader of the Church) to express his condolences. This is what Obama said: "Last night I spoke with President Thomas Monson and expressed my deepest sympathies to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley". Surely, this is a simple gesture. Additionally, most people in this country probably didn't even know who President Hinckley was, or even cared that he died. It was a sign of sensitivity and class that Obama personally made a phone call to express his sympathies. Secondly, he cancelled a rally in Utah that happened to fall on the same day as President Hinckley's funeral. Obama understood that President Hinckley was more than just a religious leader--he was a man who was proactive in extending the hand of friendship to people of all walks of life throughout communities across the globe. Obama's gesture was a true sign of respect. There are groups of people who view the Mormon church as out of touch with mainstream Christianity--or even a cult. Even though he doesn't ascribe to Mormonism, Obama displayed a high level of class and sensitivity by acting in such a way. He could have gone on as scheduled--not paying any attention to the events of a seemingly insignificant western state--and the media would not have criticized him for doing so. However, his touch of sensitivity impressed me. His seemingly insignificant gestures didn't attract much media coverage, but for those of us who were paying attention, it gave us a glimpse of Barack Obama's character.

Other than Mitt Romney (who is a Mormon), I am not aware of any other Presidential candidate who expressed similar condolences. As somebody living in Utah, I was pleased to see that Obama valued what was going on in this state. It seemed that he truly cared about Utah's residents, and viewed Utah as more than just another state on his Super Tuesday campaign trail.