Sense and Insensibility

Last night night conservative columnist David Brooks spoke at Wheaton College and said a lot of funny, insightful, and sensible things.

But he also said a few things that left me scratching my head, such as his comment that all the people surrounding Barack Obama are "nice." Later he told a hilarious story of how Obama's chief of staff, the cut-throat Rahm Emmanuel, had been, in the words of Obama, rendered "mute" by the accidental loss of his middle finger.

Brooks also lauded Obama’s understanding of religion and said/implied that the new president would have a deeper understanding of human nature as it applies to policy (unlike the Bush administration, which misread the Iraqi thirst for freedom). But then he admitted that the Obama administration is returning to the secularistic, failed approaches of the ‘60s (involving government programs over heart issues and relationships) when dealing with the nation’s problems. So where’s that religious nuance he was talking about?

Makes me think that even some conservatives are star-struck by our bright young president. Steady, boys ... let's keep our eye on the ball.

Here's an audio recording of the speech.
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Update:

Q+A: David Brooks
The conservative New York Times columnist explains how socially conservative evangelicals can repair their public image.
By Sarah Pulliam, Christianity Today

Another update:

The Big Test

By David Brooks

President Obama has concentrated enormous power on a few aides in the West Wing of the White House. These aides are unrolling a rapid string of plans: to create three million jobs, to redesign the health care system, to save the auto industry, to revive the housing industry, to reinvent the energy sector, to revitalize the banks, to reform the schools — and to do it all while cutting the deficit in half.