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John McCain
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Friday September 28, 2007
McCain's Beliefnet Interview: How can the Religious Right Hate This Guy?
Watching Beliefnet's exclusive John McCain video, God-o-Meter finds it perplexing that the Arizona senator has long been a scourge of the Religious Right. After all, McCain told Beliefnet that the "Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation," that he's in talks with his pastor about undergoing a full-immersion baptism to become a full-blown evangelical, and that the prospect a Muslim presidential candidate makes him queasy because he wants someone who shares a "solid grounding in my faith." That certainly checks some big boxes on the Christian Right's presidential prerequisite list. (Not to mention that it offers a stark contrast to some of former Christian Right golden boy Fred Thompson's recent stumbles on matters religious.)
Yes, God-o-Meter realizes that McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform and McCain's "agents of intolerance" characterization of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson in 2000 have forever branded him an infidel in the eyes of Christian Right leaders. Can his new openness on faith appeal to Christian conservatives in Iowa and South Carolina, offering hope for his moribund campaign? God-o-Meter thinks it unlikely, but that McCain is making the right noises to make it happen.
Filed Under: Baptist, Episcopal, McCain, Religious Right, Republican
posted by Dan Gilgoff @12:48pm Permalink 
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About God-o-Meter
The God-o-Meter (pronounced Gah-DOM-meter) scientifically measures factors such as rate of God-talk, effectiveness—saying God wants a capital gains tax cut doesn't guarantee a high rating—and other top-secret criteria (Actually, the adjustment criteria are here). Click a candidate's head to get his or her latest God-o-Meter reading and blog post. And check back often. With so much happening on the campaign trail, God-o-Meter is constantly recalibrating!
God-o-Meter blogger Dan Gilgoff is Beliefnet's Politics Editor. A former political correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, he is author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War.
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Comments
Nice job Tony and Ann.I am a chritian who operates on faith. But you bring out many excellent points. Best of luck to you both.
Posted by: Lowell Browning | October 5, 2007 3:32 PM
When he was a POW, he confessed to being a war criminal to make things easier on him.
He's not a man. He'll say anything to make his life even easier than it already is. His dad and grandpa's power in the military, and their money got him not only into military school, but also into the military and into office. Just another daddy's boy, like Bush.
Posted by: Tim | October 6, 2007 6:44 AM
Tony and Ann...
Yes, it is true that the constitution does not explicitly say that we are founded as a Christian nation. But that is not what McCain said. He said the country was founded on Christian beliefs, which it was. And reading the consitution that is very clear.
How can you deny that the Pilgrims, Puritans, and almost EVERYONE who came over in the early days was not all about Christian beliefs. They were hardcore enough to leave their own country (Puritans twice (they went to Holland first)) and start a new nation in this remote wilderness.
And you cannot deny that many of the laws and beliefs that the country has now are carry-overs from that time. Separation of Church and State is only nomenclature.
You even mention yourselves that MA didn't remove religious requirements until the 19th century - so how can you say that the country wasn't founded on Christian beliefs when at least part of it clearly was for several hundred years! And Mass. wasn't the only state that did this.
We have been a Christian nation from the very beginning, and we will continue to be a Christian nation until the end. Look at the stir that JFK started when he wasn't the "right" type of Christian, and now the same thing with Romney. If we weren't a Christian nation than we wouldn't have a God-O-Meter or be concerned with any of that.
I too have read the constitution, but unlike you I have studied the history behind it and the history of our country is totally Christian based - as unfortunate as that is since many of those beliefs are holding the country back from even more prosperity.
Posted by: History Buff | October 6, 2007 9:26 AM
Great job Ann and Tony--finally somebody intelligent enough to write an accurate blog.
Posted by: Lisa Jones, Des Moines, Washington | October 7, 2007 1:50 AM
Best of luck to you both ? Luck ? Deut 18:10 is very specific about divination and sorcery of which the concept or belief in luck has it's roots.Poor choice of words.
Posted by: Peter | February 22, 2008 6:34 AM
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