At Georgetown University today, while sitting in the press section at Gaston Hall awaiting the arrival of President Obama for a "major address" on economics, I overheard a reporter discussing the advance text of the speech.
The reporter said that senior presidential adviser David Axelrod had compared Obama during his European trip to one planting seeds for a harvest. Along the same lines, he noted, in today's speech, Obama was set to use another Gospel analogy: that of the "house built upon a rock."
And so it came to pass, beneath Gaston Hall's beautiful painting of Morality, Faith, and Patriotism, with gold letters on the wall behind him spelling the Jesuit motto "Ad majorem Dei gloriam"—"To the greater glory of God"—Obama shared his prosperity gospel at the nation's oldest Catholic university.
But there was one thing missing: Jesus' name.
I'm not just talking about Obama's failing to mention Jesus—though he did pointedly fail to mention the name of the One—that is, for him, the other "One"—who first told the "parable" he shared.
No, Jesus' very name, in the form of the ancient monogram IHS, which had been in gold lettering on the wooden archway above Gaston Hall's dais, was painted over (or otherwise expertly camouflaged) prior to Obama's arrival. Apparently, the Name that is above every other name is not permitted to be above Obama.
The photo above shows the archway "before." You can see the "after" clearly in C-SPAN's video, as Georgetown President John DeGioia emerges to give his fawning introduction.
From the Dawn Patrol.
Georgetown Says It Covered Over Name of Jesus to Comply With White House Request
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
By Edwin Mora
Photo of Gaston Hall stage that shows symbol "IHS" that was covered up during President Obama's speech to accommodate a White House request. (Wikimedia photo)(CNSNews.com) - Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”--symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the “IHS” monogram that had previously adorned the stage at Georgetown’s Gaston Hall was still covered up--when the pediment where it had appeared was photographed by CNSNews.com.
President Obama is greeted by Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia as he arrives to deliver remarks on the economy, April 14, 2009, atGeorgetown University. Georgetown had covered the symbol "IHS" on the pediment above and behind the two men. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)“In coordinating the logistical arrangements for yesterday’s event, Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind Gaston Hall stage,” Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown, told CNSNews.com.
“The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they’ve done for other policy speeches,” she added. “Frankly, the pipe and drape wasn’t high enough by itself to fully cover the IHS and cross above the GU seal and it seemed most respectful to have them covered so as not to be seen out of context.”On Wednesday, CNSNews.com inspected the pediment embedded in the wall at the back of the stage in Gaston Hall, where Obama delivered his speech. The letters “IHS” were not to be found. They appeared to be shrouded with a triangle of black-painted plywood.
Pediment in Gaston Hall with "IHS" covered as photographed by CNSNews.com, April 15, 2009. (Photo by Penny Starr,CNSNews.com)
3 comments:
If you don't want Christian symbols in the camera shot when you speak, don't speak at a (at least nominally) Christian institution.
Or maybe Georgetown should just leave the cover over the cross and IHS permanently.
WTF? How about putting the podium somewhere else?
I may be atheist but a know stoopid when I see it.
I don't approve of religious symbols in, say, courtrooms because justice is supposed to be equal for everyone. But this is a hall at a university. He's giving a speech using Christian references and he wants the IHS covered up? He planning to try that at Notre Dame too?
Good luck, Hussein. Next time just move the damn podium.
HEAD/DESK!!!
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