Jewish World Review July 15, 2004 / 26 Tamuz, 5764

Terry Eastland

Eastland
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Edwards wasn't chosen just for his hair


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Among the most overlooked aspects of John Edwards' resume is that he is a Protestant, a Methodist in particular, a member of Edenton Street Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C.


Mr. Edwards' faith was not, strictly speaking, the reason John Kerry chose him as his running mate. On the other hand, religion was not an irrelevant consideration. Mr. Kerry is running a "values" campaign, and a value he wants to emphasize is faith.


The reason for the emphasis is apparent. There now exists a "religion gap" that disfavors Democrats, though it is more accurate to call it a "church-attendance gap."


The gap lies in exit poll and survey data showing that voters (other than black Protestants) who go to church services at least once a week tend to favor Republicans by wide margins. The same gap can be seen from another angle, of course, since those who go less often or not at all tend to support Democrats.


But because regular attendees are more likely to turn out on Election Day, they are deemed of more value in the eyes of political strategists (though not, one must hope, of pastors and priests).


Last year, a discussion opened inside the Democratic Party about how to narrow the church-attendance gap in this year's presidential election. It was evident, of course, that any attempt to narrow the gap would have to be undertaken by the party's presidential nominee, and he could not afford to radiate the secularism dominant among Democratic activists.


The Catholic Kerry made intermittent efforts to value faith during the primary season, yet those occurred mainly in black churches whose congregants vote overwhelmingly for Democrats. Elsewhere Mr. Kerry had, and still has, difficulty with the subject.


His New England reserve may be one explanation. Another may be a hesitation to talk about faith born of the fact that he is at odds on salient issues with his own church: He is for abortion rights and for embryonic stem-cell research. Mr. Kerry also likes to invoke the phrase "separation of church and state" in ways that suggest religion should be kept entirely separate from politics.

Donate to JWR


A Time poll taken last month found that only 7 percent of Americans regard Mr. Kerry as "a religious man." A Pew survey meanwhile reports that 70 percent of voters say they want their president to be a "man of faith."


Those numbers suggest a very personal religion gap for Mr. Kerry and help explain his decision to choose Mr. Edwards. The North Carolina senator grew up in a Southern Baptist church, but attended services irregularly as an adult. In 1996, his 16-year-old son Wade was killed in a car accident. Though he is reluctant to discuss it much, the tragic event led him to rethink his priorities.


He joined Edenton Street Methodist, where Wade had been active. He became part of a men's Bible study group and served on the church's administrative board. In the Senate he has been co-chairman of its prayer breakfast.


In contrast to Mr. Kerry, Mr. Edwards speaks comfortably about his faith ("my Christianity informs everything I do," he told The Washington Post earlier this year) and its social implications, especially the "moral responsibility," as he sees it, for government to do more to lift families out of poverty. The Kerry campaign aims to deploy Mr. Edwards in more culturally conservative parts of the country, places thick with regular churchgoers, both Protestant and Catholic.


Reducing the church-attendance gap by a percentage point or two in one or two key states in a tightly contested election could produce a Kerry victory. But it is an open question just how much Mr. Edwards can help Mr. Kerry.


In past presidential elections, few voters have made up their minds by looking at the face at the bottom of the ticket. Clearly, Mr. Kerry has work of his own to do, if more voters who value faith are to value him.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.




JWR contributor Terry Eastland is is publisher of The Weekly Standard.Comment by clicking here.


06/23/04: Special counsel law: Reform gone awry
06/14/04: Reagan's influence is apparent in federal judiciary
05/25/04: What do Bush's sagging approval ratings really mean for November?
05/17/04: We must make distinctions between Berg, Abu Ghraib
05/11/04: College costs rise with students' expectations
04/30/04: A country's declining birthrate into oblivion
04/26/04: Dems escalate the judicial war
04/09/04: Bush was right to permit Rice to testify on 9-11
03/25/04: Colleges doing away with their racially exclusive programs
03/02/04: What does a conservative beat mean for The New York Times?
12/31/03: America is right to press for religious freedom worldwide
10/22/03: Case involving pledge should be easy for justices to decide
10/15/03: Dean places political considerations ahead of national security
08/28/03: Colleges creating policies that discourage intellectual exchange
08/14/03: Progressive reform could end up limiting government
07/30/03: Congressman, please consult Miss Manners
07/23/03:Words reveal much about Bush: Maybe there is a reason he won't retract sentence
07/08/03: Justices also said affirmative action must end
06/25/03: Court's law school ruling isn't persuasive
06/24/03: Whatever the Lynch story, everyone wants it
06/18/03: A judge shows he can set aside his strong views
06/04/03: Boston church becomes politically important again
05/28/03: YWCA names culture warrior as its new head
05/23/03: Washington steps in to help teach history
05/13/03: It may take another election to change filibuster rules
05/07/03: Paige works to improve education from inside out
04/30/03: Iraqis have choice to make regarding religious freedom
04/16/03: Is it acceptable for an education secretary to state a personal preference for religious schooling?
04/08/03: University officials must put academics ahead of athletics
04/02/03: Support for our soldiers means support for their orders
03/27/03: 'Free Iraqi Forces' underscore Bush's sincerity
03/18/03: Dems misunderstand judge's job
03/13/03: Justices show right restraint in ruling on anti-crime measures
03/05/03: America's imperial intentions
02/25/03: The weakness of Dems' stated reason for their filibuster makes you wonder whether it is the real reason
02/19/03: Administration fine-tunes religious rights in public education
02/12/03: France and Germany need to be reminded of the necessity of a strong, even predominant America
02/06/03: Judiciary's 'balance' -- or lack of it -- is our doing
01/29/03: The child who almost wasn't
01/21/03: President decides to punt on affirmative action case
01/14/03: Bush's faith has influenced his conduct in public office
01/07/03: Dems need ideas, not more microphones
12/17/02: Gray Lady should learn that times have changed
12/10/02: Will High Court be guilty of activism?
12/03/02: The missing facts in news accounts of Saudi Princess Haifa's putative 'charity'
11/26/02: Americans don't have to be worried about Big Brother
11/19/02: Texas' reputation for flamboyance may be revised
11/11/02: Bush now can repair confirmation system
11/05/02: Dems shouldn't believe too strongly in history
10/30/02: Snipers had lots of motives
10/23/02: No one should be shut out of marketplace of ideas
10/15/02: Open hearings that could imperil the nation
10/08/02: Debating the clear and present danger
10/01/02: A great awakening in China?
09/25/02: Abortion, again? The settled but still unsettling law of Roe v. Wade
09/18/02: A relevant presidency--and irrelevant U.N?
09/10/02: Ashcroft's obtuse judicial statement
09/04/02: The Education Gadfly stings again
08/28/02: So then let the president declare war
08/21/02: Will Bush finally 'fix' affirmative action once and for all?
08/06/02: President must take up cause of Egyptian democracy warrior
07/31/02: With each war, civil liberties are curtailed less

© 2004, Terry Eastland