Among theologians, Niebuhr was unusual for his wide influence in the secular political world. McGeorge Bundy called Niebuhr “probably the most influential single mind in the development of American attitudes which combined moral purpose with a sense of political reality.”[7] His “Christian realism” (as opposed to what he regarded as naïve or idealistic optimism) won the admiration of many secular intellectuals and politicians, including Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Hubert Humphrey, and Jimmy Carter. Even in the present time, President Barack Obama has called Niebuhr one of his favorite
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