I don't get it. What the hell is wrong with "We have a righteous wind at our back."?

[DeepModem Mom]

I've heard this phrase, used in a speech by Obama, discussed all day by the pundits.

Palin says God will do the right thing on Election Day, etc. -- not to speak of any number of outrageous things said on the other side.

It sounds like more or less a figure of speech to me -- like, we're doing pretty well, but we have to continue to work hard. Am I missing something? Help me here.

*

ON EDIT: In light of the discussion of the meaning of the word, from Merriam-Webster --

Main Entry: righ·teous
1: acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin
2 a: morally right or justifiable <a righteous decision> b: arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality <righteous indignation>

synonyms see moral

[Bicoastal]

1. Oh, who knows anymore....

...they gotta talk about something.

[Snotcicles]

2. Nothing wrong with it. I like it and agree with it. nt

[CatsDogsBabies]

3. I like it too.

[RedSpartan]

4. I think the implication is that "righteous" implies some kind of divine intervention.

Which is fine if it's a GOP candidate but, as we all know, God hates liberals, so Obama is committing heresy.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Yeah, I think it can mean that. But I think it can also mean just...

working for the cause of right.

[southpaw]

12. Bingo!

'Righteous' has meaning independent of religion.

Leave it to the jesus maggots.

[Greyskye]

5. You've got to be kidding me.

What would these neanderthals think about the political oratory that used to be so common before the dummification of America?

Here's a clue, Punditocracy: Just because you don't understand it, doesn't make it "anti-American". :eyes:

[Beacool]

7. Frankly, I wish both campaigns would leave God out of it.

:shrug:

[kestrel91316]

16. Like the poster said above, "righteous" has a meaning outside of

religion, LIKE MOST ENGLISH WORDS.

Get a grip.

[Beacool]

20. Get a grip?

I have a grip alright, I'm just not a fanatic who thinks that whatever our candidate or party do is infallible.

[kestrel91316]

28. I was referencing your complaint about inserting God into everything, and

the word "righteous" does not contain the word "God" anywhere in it.

So yes, I'll repeat myself: GET A GRIP.

If you don't like Obama you are free to run along and play elsewhere, but if you work to undermine him here you will swiftly earn yourself a pizza.

[DeschutesRiver]

8. Nothing. I say that, and I am not even religious (in any organized way)

but there was nothing wrong with that expression.

That a republican would try to make a meal out of that phrase by Obama is about as stupid as the Brad dude who is trying to make a deal over Obama using the campaign's 767 to see his ailing grandmother. These are simply not full-meal deals.

[Cha]

9. I heard it..loved it.

And they can go take a flying fuck at a doughnut..that's all they do 24/7 anyway.

[ShortnFiery]

10. Amen! It was righteous. The GOP don't have a lock on The Divine.

;)

[Mz Pip]

13. Or with what is right

for that matter.

We do have what is right on our side.

[WinkyDink]

21. "Lock"? Republicans don't have a TOEHOLD on "what is right". They are EVIL, and I do not jest.

[Cha]

24. Yes, you're right..it's a classic

case of good vs evil and we got that righteous wind.

[ErinBerin84]

11. I don't even really associate that necessarily with religion,,,

I've heard that expression by non-religious people. Maybe they are trying hard to push the "he's measuring the drapes!" meme being pushed by the McCain camp?

[skooooo]

14. It could have sounded pretty weird, except Obama followed up...

...by saying how much hard work there was left to be done.

[Overseas]

15. Could be the hint of social justice in the phrase, just like the dreaded

wealth sharing.

Since they are pretending "we belong to a center right nation" it is hard for them to accept that all kinds of Dems and Repubs are flocking to a guy who talks about spreading the wealth and now says they have righteousness to their cause.

It doesn't fit their narrative. The public is supposed to have been successfully dumbed down with the flashy cable TV shows and decades more shopping and SUVs and stuff. We're supposed to be apathetic fun seekers who don't care about economic justice or ecology. We're supposed to be leaving the politics up to the self-proclaimed party of family values and permanent war against the super scary enemies who can somehow always manage to threaten "the greatest country in the world."

Whoops.

[suston96]

17. Here. Try this at another thread.....The "Righteous Brothers".......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7571438&mesg_id=7571517

"They adopted their name in 1962 while performing together in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called The Paramours, which featured John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard Movement, on keyboards. At the end of one particular performance, a black Marine in the audience shouted, "That was righteous, brothers!", prompting the pair to adopt the name when they embarked on a career as a duo."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Brothers

[WinkyDink]

18. NOTHING. Republican morons will attack EVERYTHING NOW. They are DESPERATE, CORNERED.

[Batgirl]

19. There is nothing wrong with it. In fact, I think it's a true statement.

When this is all over people will write about the convergence of many different historic forces that are propelling Obama to such a strong lead in the polls. (Don't wanna jinx anything by talking about victory). But the experience of watching it happen, of watching the GOP deploy their vicious, tried and true tactics of divisiveness, only to have them fizzle (and even backfire as McCain/Palin's numbers decrease) it's hard not to experience an eerie sense of "it's meant to be." I'm not religious but I feel it.

[Morning Dew]

22. did you say righteous?

"Well he's very popular, Ed. The sportos and motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wasteoids, dweebies, d**kheads... They all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude."
- Grace (Edie McClurg)

[Claire Beth]

23. nothing wrong with it...the mcshame people are just

trying to grasp at anything they can. Shows their desperation.

[babylonsister]

25. Who said it was wrong? I like it! nt

[DeepModem Mom]

26. They're not really saying what's wrong with it. As in the responses above...

I guess it has something to do with its religious connotation. But, that's ignorance. I edited in the definition, which I thought was the case -- it can have a religious connotation, or it can have only a connotation about what is right.

[barack the house]

27. Helping people is the right thing to do. All they are saying is STARVE! or words to that effect.