Tuesday December 4, 2007

Thompson: Me and the Lord, We're Fine

It's just the kind of comment God-o-Meter expects from a laconic former Senator from the South who's been accused of strolling--as opposed to running--for president. "I'm OK with the Lord, and the Lord is OK with me, as far as I can tell," Fred Thompson told CNN yesterday. Not too forceful. Not too definitive. And the latest example of why Thompson has failed to catch fire with so-called values voters, like he was supposed to.

More from the CNN interview:

Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson Monday said he didn't need to apologize for his faith, despite concerns from Christian conservatives that he does not express his religious beliefs enough on the campaign trail.

Fred Thompson says his campaign is in a strong position one month before the Iowa caucuses.

"As far as faith is concerned, I have not made any secret as to where I am. I am a Christian," Thompson said, noting that, while he does not attend church while at home in McLean, Virginia, he does attend church with his mother when he visits in Tennessee. "I have no apologies to make about my religion or my relationship to Jesus Christ or God."

In a column in USA Today Monday, David Domke, a University of Washington journalism professor, said Thompson has not done better in the polls because "he lacks a religious niche" and "Christian conservatives have not been amused or enthused" by his lack of church attendance and the few times he has talked of his faith on the campaign trail.

Though Thompson was publicly affirming his relationship with God and Jesus, he did it with so little gusto that God-o-Meter will forego raising its needle.

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Filed Under: casting stones, CNN, evangelical, Fred Thompson, Republicans

posted by Dan Gilgoff @ 3:16pm Permalink Email This Add to: