Bewitching hour

The Obama campaign is emotionally appealing but not very specific | Marvin Olasky

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

During February, Black History Month, PBS stations around the country have been showing The Better Hour, an excellent documentary about William Wilberforce, the great British anti-slavery reformer (see WORLD, Feb. 10 and Oct. 13, 2007). The documentary is part of a project that includes local gatherings and an essay contest for high-school students (TheBetterHour.com).

As that documentary is making black (and white) history come alive, another reformer, Barack Obama, is making history in his race against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. He is also turning on many young evangelicals turned off by politics, in part because, like Wilberforce, he speaks smoothly and doesn't rage at opponents.