John McCain is supposed to be a maverick. He's also supposed to be a moderate. Then someone explain to me how he allowed the extreme right-wing evangelical Christian leaders in this country to hijack the party that he now leads. In picking the obviously unqualified Sarah Palin as his veep choice, he passed over many other well-qualified candidates, including Tom Ridge, Sen. Olympia Snowe, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and others, only because they were pro-choice. Why? Because the evangelical Christian leaders told him they would not accept anyone who was not a pro-life candidate as they obviously have their eye on overturning Roe vs. Wade. So where did he think they were going to go? They weren't likely to vote for Obama, so he ended up picking a candidate that basically preaches to the choir.
Unfortunately, in this country in 2008 it is unlikely that a non-Christian (even a Jew or someone of any other religion, for that matter) could be elected President. This is because the Christian right has decided they want THEIR religious views to control the legislative process (look at the travesty that was the Terri Schiavo case, for example). There should never have been a Faith Forum at all. The candidates should have said that religion is separate from politics, and a Faith Forum would be inappropriate.
Here is the text of the First Amendment to the Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
This is pretty clear -- "Congress shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion"... and yet the evangelical Christian right in this country wants to subvert the Constitution and insinuate themselves into the political process because they will never be happy unless they completely control this government and the law-making process.
Take a look at the 1994 case of Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District vs. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687. Writing for the majority, Supreme Court Justice David Souter wrote that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion".
In other words, this nation was NOT established as a Christian nation, nor should religion be allowed to intrude into the political system or be a litmus test for political office. If it was intended to be a Christian nation, the Constitution would have the words God, Christ, Christianity, and Jesus all over it. Yet I'm not sure that in my lifetime I will see a Presidential election where the Christian right does not force itself into a process that they clearly have no right to. And frankly, I find that really sad. Something to think about when the next President takes the oath of office, including the oath to uphold the Constitution. ALL of it, for ALL Americans.
