What role should a presidential tickets religious faith play in
a voters decision on which lever to pull on election day?
Certainly the presidential and vice presidential candidates personal
faiths have become major talking points this election year. Surprising amounts
of media time and space have been given to present the religious beliefs of
George Bush, Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Joseph Lieberman. Even third party candidates
religions are spotlighted.
What role should a presidential tickets religious faith play in
a voters decision on which lever to pull on election day?
Certainly the presidential and vice presidential candidates personal
faiths have become major talking points this election year. Surprising amounts
of media time and space have been given to present the religious beliefs of
George Bush, Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Joseph Lieberman. Even third party candidates
religions are spotlighted.
Why this attention to the religious beliefs of the candidates?
If candidates and the media are making this much of the religion issue, one
can know for sure this attention is driven by polls that reveal this is what
the public says it wants to know. If polls indicate the public thinks candidates
religious beliefs should be strictly personal matters or did not matter, one
would likely hear not a single peep from them about their faith.
Actually, candidates religious faith seems to be a secondary concern
for the public and the media. The primary concern is the candidates character,
personal ethics, values and morality. After the last four years of Bill Clintons
administration in which his relationship with a White House intern and other
women were splashed over the everyday lives of Americans, they are saying personal
character is a major concern for Americans this election.
It makes sense for the public to expect that candidates religious convictions
should determine their conduct and character, so the public wants to have at
least this tipoff from the candidates religious and therefore moral underpinnings.
The only time in recent history where a presidential candidates religion
received this much attention was when Roman Catholic, John F. Kennedy, ran for
president. People worried that the Pope might have undue influence on his presidential
decisions. The matter was laid to rest when Kennedy basically said his primary
loyalty would be to the United States, not the Pope. In other words, he would
not take his religion to extremes.
How far we have come from the presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter. The peanut
farmer from Georgia ran down the campaign trail talking openly about his faith-driven
values and his born-again relationship with Jesus Christ. Such talk was so foreign
to political reporters they went running off to find anyone who could provide
sound bites of information that explained what born-again means.
Now, such talk is an expected part of a candidates presentation of himself.
Al Gore and George Bush talk openly and eagerly about their born-again relationship
with Jesus Christ. Joseph Liebermans orthodox Judaism has been headline
grabbing.
How ironic that in this day when moral standards seem to be sliding down the
abyss of immorality for society in general, we are focusing intently on the
morality of presidential candidates.
Do Americans want more from their national leaders than they themselves are
willing to live? Is there some kind of self-justification in saying that we
at least demand high standards from our leaders?
Or, perhaps we do want moral leadership in our highest office as an example
of how all should live. Along with government leadership, the public may think
it is fitting to have moral leadership.
Unfortunately, moral character does not ensure the ability to lead the country,
and the ability to lead the country does not ensure moral character.
Jimmy Carter, by all counts is a person of high moral standards and actions.
He demonstrated his faith as president, and continues that noble characteristic
today. He has grown to be the most admired living past president, surpassing
even Ronald Reagan. Still, the majority of Americans gave him a failing grade
when evaluating his presidential leadership at the time they could have reelected
him as president.
Hopefully, the first presidential election of the new millennium will bring
about a renewal of religious values and moral conduct in the White House. Goodness
knows the country needs it and it seems things could develop that way.
But remember, office seekers are people who must have votes to win and they
calculate carefully what they say and to whom they say it toward that end. When
evaluating a presidential tickets faith and values, one is wise to remember,
“Listen to what they have done and do, not what they say.”