By Rachel Rose Hartman, Yahoo! News | The Ticket – 13 mins ago
The annual National Prayer Breakfast attended by the First and Second families is a celebration of faith, unity, togetherness, and spirit. But too bad it doesn't last a little longer.
President Barack Obama, a Christian, during his speech at the national breakfast Thursday morning at the Washington Hilton hotel lamented the current tone in Washington.
"I do worry sometimes that as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we've been talking about the whole time at the prayer breakfast seems to be forgotten. On the same day of the prayer breakfast," Obama said, and paused as the attendees laughed. "I mean, you'd like to think the shelf life wasn't so short. I go back to the Oval Office and I start watching the cable news networks and it's like we didn't pray."
Obama used his speech to call for the country's most powerful lawmakers, including himself, to conduct themselves with humility to God, and for Americans and lawmakers alike to strive to find common ground. Obama noted fights over the deficit, taxes, and education.
"This morning I want to summon the resolve that comes from our common faith," Obama said, speaking of the country at large.
Obama used Thursday's speech to reflect on the bibles he used during his inauguration last month: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s traveling bible; and the bible President Abraham Lincoln used for his swearing-in in 1861. He noted the adversity and challenges they each faced as president and their desire for guidance from God.
Obama also reflected on his personal faith and his use of the scripture, saying:
"As president I sometimes have to search for the words to console the inconsolable. Sometimes I search scripture to determine how best to balance life as a president and as a husband and as a father. I often search for scripture to figure out how I can be a better man as well as a better president."
The annual National Prayer Breakfast attended by the First and Second families is a celebration of faith, unity, togetherness, and spirit. But too bad it doesn't last a little longer.
President Barack Obama, a Christian, during his speech at the national breakfast Thursday morning at the Washington Hilton hotel lamented the current tone in Washington.
"I do worry sometimes that as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we've been talking about the whole time at the prayer breakfast seems to be forgotten. On the same day of the prayer breakfast," Obama said, and paused as the attendees laughed. "I mean, you'd like to think the shelf life wasn't so short. I go back to the Oval Office and I start watching the cable news networks and it's like we didn't pray."
Obama used his speech to call for the country's most powerful lawmakers, including himself, to conduct themselves with humility to God, and for Americans and lawmakers alike to strive to find common ground. Obama noted fights over the deficit, taxes, and education.
"This morning I want to summon the resolve that comes from our common faith," Obama said, speaking of the country at large.
Obama used Thursday's speech to reflect on the bibles he used during his inauguration last month: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s traveling bible; and the bible President Abraham Lincoln used for his swearing-in in 1861. He noted the adversity and challenges they each faced as president and their desire for guidance from God.
Obama also reflected on his personal faith and his use of the scripture, saying:
"As president I sometimes have to search for the words to console the inconsolable. Sometimes I search scripture to determine how best to balance life as a president and as a husband and as a father. I often search for scripture to figure out how I can be a better man as well as a better president."
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President Obama took a moment at this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast to ding the cable news networks, using them as a punching bag as to what can happen when a person forgets about prayer and everything discussed at the annual solemn breakfast.
“We have to do it everyday,” Obama said of staying in faith and humility. “Not just at a prayer breakfast. I have to say, this is now our fifth prayer breakfast, and it is always just a wonderful event. But I do worry sometimes, as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we’ve been talking about seems to be forgotten. On the same day of the prayer breakfast. I mean, you’d like to think the shelf life wadn’t so short. [LAUGHTER] I go back to the Oval Office and start watching the cable news networks and it’s like we didn’t pray.”
But never fear. MSNBC “Daily Rundown” Host Chuck Todd found a silver lining in the message. “The President acknowledged he’s watching [the cable news networks,” noted Todd. “Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn’t.”
President Obama took a moment at this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast to ding the cable news networks, using them as a punching bag as to what can happen when a person forgets about prayer and everything discussed at the annual solemn breakfast.
“We have to do it everyday,” Obama said of staying in faith and humility. “Not just at a prayer breakfast. I have to say, this is now our fifth prayer breakfast, and it is always just a wonderful event. But I do worry sometimes, as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we’ve been talking about seems to be forgotten. On the same day of the prayer breakfast. I mean, you’d like to think the shelf life wadn’t so short. [LAUGHTER] I go back to the Oval Office and start watching the cable news networks and it’s like we didn’t pray.”
But never fear. MSNBC “Daily Rundown” Host Chuck Todd found a silver lining in the message. “The President acknowledged he’s watching [the cable news networks,” noted Todd. “Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn’t.”
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