It’s hot now and it’s only getting hotter as President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry run in a dead heat during the home stretch of this controversial election year. As intense as this year has been, it’s going to get more and more intense as each day passes and the candidates release statements, television ads and speeches.
Yet, even as it’s getting more cutthroat, it’s getting a little softer. Each candidate seems to be straining to show some personal side, while casting an image of the other candidate as impersonal. However that works.
The Washington Times had a news story up yesterday titled, “Bush, Kerry turn to religion in final weeks.” The article talks about how Bush and Kerry have touted their religious beliefs – Kerry being a Catholic and Bush being an evangelical protestant – and how the religious talk has intensified in recent weeks.
President Bush has done a much better job in portraying his faith to the voters. He put together a socialist program to appease evangelicals, and he talks about his prayer time and Bible reading habits – and the voters are buying it. A search for “faith” and “George W. Bush” on Amazon.com results in many popular biographical books about the president’s personal faith.
John Kerry, on the other hand, has had a rough go of it. Being a Catholic, he’s talked about Catholic ideas and how they might translate into government. Kerry’s religious campaign guy, Mike McCurry, said, “What resonates with [John Kerry] is the community-building notion of the common good.” Still, John Kerry has been bashed on by leaders within the Catholic Church for his views on abortion and other issues. Despite that, he continues to talk up his faith.
The Bush campaign, being successful in public relations, has used his beliefs as simply a talking point; the reality is that his faith doesn’t set him apart from anyone else playing the game. Sure, he’s baited the religious right with faith-based initiatives and family talk, but his campaign has no more integrity than anyone else’s.
Additionally, having a relationship with God does not qualify a person to be president of the United States. Over a year ago, I wrote a column entitled “Robbing Peter to please Jesus” about Gov. Bob Riley of Alabama and his tax increase proposal. Riley’s public-relations campaign in August of last year proved to be another politician hawking Christianity to succeed in politics. The Alabaman governor used a Biblical example: “Jesus says one of our missions is to take care of the least among us. We’ve got to take care of the poor.” Yet, conservatives decried his false views then and the tax increase failed.
At this moment in time, I wonder why we’re using Christianity as a litmus test. It’s obvious politicians have realized this cheap opportunity and they’re honing in on it, talking up God. Unfortunately, more than sincerity, they’re prostituting the name of God to win an office.
Indeed, John Kerry saw the success President Bush had with his courting of the religious right through talking up Christ. Kerry would probably become an evangelical if he could get away with it. Why? Because conservative evangelicals are supporting anyone who talks the talk about Jesus and “politically Christian” ideas.
Why? Why is it that we immediately jump on the bandwagon of any politician who utters the name of Christ and follows the Republican Party? Sure, there’s nothing wrong with supporting a candidate because of it, but to bring Christ into this whole mess of a political system and say someone is chosen by God is really nothing more than being a political whore, saying anything to get a vote.
At the end of the day, neither party cares about Christianity. I’m sure they care that Christians vote, but beyond that, it’s just another voting demographic.
