This struggle to embrace modernity without abandoning faith falls on one of the fault lines in the modern world. It is arguably the critical fault line, the tectonic rift that is advancing the bloody borders of Islam and the increasingly sectarian boundaries of American politics. As humankind abandons the secular totalitarianisms of the last century and grapples with breakneck technological and scientific discoveries, the appeal of absolutist faith is powerful in both developing and developed countries...

You cannot confront the complex challenges of domestic or foreign policy today unless you understand this gulf and its seriousness. You cannot lead the United States without having a foot in both the religious and secular camps.

I've been reading Andrew Sullivan's blog over the past few days because he has served as a hub for information and opinion critical of Palin. There have been a number of insightful things posted there but I've generally refrained from posting them here as I've made my views about her pretty clear.

I'm still not sure what I think about Obama. Sullivan supports him, and offered up this explanation, which, I think is worth reading in spite of its length. I think at times it reaches too far, particularly the alarm about Iraq, which is a problem that seems to have been constantly fading away since the strategic shift last year. But my alarm about Islamic extremeism certainly hasn't faded, and there are some interesting insights here that are more complicated than a list of issue stances.

Have you read The Philosopher of Islamic Terror?

Andrew Sullivan on Why Obama Matters