McCain talks law and order; Obama backs faith-based aid
Addressing sheriffs, McCain stresses respect for officers and 'judicial restraint.' Obama advances a proposal to expand federal funding for religious charities.
INDIANAPOLIS — Republican John McCain played up his law-and-order credentials while Democrat Barack Obama called for the federal government to help faith-based community groups, as the likely presidential candidates today turned to their political roots.
Speaking to a sheriff's conference here this morning, John McCain called for tougher law enforcement and pledged to appoint judges who stand for judicial restraint.
McCain took a tough stand in a speech at the National Sheriffs' Assn.'s 68th Annual Conference, bringing officers a message that was sure to please. He insisted that his criminal justice policies would also make available resources needed for law enforcement.
"In all of criminal justice policy, we must put the interests of law-abiding citizens first -- and above all the rights of victims," McCain said. "We must give active support to officers of the peace across America, by providing the tools you need to meet new dangers."
McCain also emphasized the need for appointing judges with "a proven record of excellence in the law, and a proven commitment to judicial restraint. They will be the kind of judges who believe in giving everyone in a criminal court their due: justice for the guilty and the innocent, compassion for the victims, and respect for the men and women of law enforcement."
Barack Obama traveled to Zanesville, Ohio, where he will announce plans to expand programs that steer federal dollars to faith-based groups.
Obama, a former community organizer, was scheduled to tour the Eastside Community Ministry, an arm of Central Presbyterian Church, which operates a food bank and provides other services for the poor.
Obama's announcement is part of his campaign's effort this week to stress traditional American values. On Monday, he discussed patriotism.
It is also part of the effort to position Obama as being in the mainstream of American politics, despite criticisms that he is too liberal.
To that end, the campaign distributed a statement from John DiIulio, who in 2001 was director of President Bush's White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, backing Obama's proposals.
"His plan reminds me of much that was best in both then-Vice President Al Gore's and then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush's respective first speeches on the subject in 1999," DiIulio stated. "His constitutionally sound and administratively feasible ideas about community-serving partnerships hold special promise for truly disadvantaged children, youth, and families."
Obama's proposals would allow religious charities that receive federal funding to consider religion in employment decisions, and that could create some problems for liberals who support a sharper divide between church and state.
But in a fact sheet distributed by the campaign, Obama was careful to reject religious tests for recipients of aid. He also opposes using federal money to win converts.
President Bush has supported broader use of tax dollars for religious charities, but he never got Congress to go along with his proposals. Much of his administration's efforts to support faith-based groups have been conducted through administrative action.
robin.abcarian@latimes.com
michael.muskal@latimes.com
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Abcarian reported from the McCain campaign in Indiana and Muskal from Los Angeles.
