For a the official text of Obama’s speech at the University of Notre Dame, see here.

I think I detect a bit of Reinhold Niebuhr, a theologian Obama admires, in the discussion of Original Sin (how many presidents have addressed that theological thicket?), which Niebuhr once called “the only empirically verifiable doctrine of the Christian faith.” Because, hey, look around you, does this look like paradise?

Anyway here’s Obama: “Unfortunately, finding that common ground — recognizing that our fates are tied up, as Dr. King said, in a `single garment of destiny’ — is not easy. And part of the problem, of course, lies in the imperfections of man — our selfishness, our pride, our stubbornness, our acquisitiveness, our insecurities, our egos; all the cruelties large and small that those of us in the Christian tradition understand to be rooted in original sin. We too often seek advantage over others. We cling to outworn prejudice and fear those who are unfamiliar. Too many of us view life only through the lens of immediate self-interest and crass materialism; in which the world is necessarily a zero-sum game. The strong too often dominate the weak, and too many of those with wealth and with power find all manner of justification for their own privilege in the face of poverty and injustice. And so, for all our technology and scientific advances, we see here in this country and around the globe violence and want and strife that would seem sadly familiar to those in ancient times.”

Photo by NYT.