If there were a goddess, I would be thanking her profusely that the Democratic and Republican party prayer and praise meetings, I mean pep rallies, uhh, for some reason they call them conventions, are now over! We’re now about two months away from the American presidential election, about which you’ve heard (lots of) bits and pieces for the past two years. By now, you know that the tickets are:

Democrats: Obama/Biden
Republicans: McCain/Palin

Common wisdom holds that Obama chose Biden as his running mate because of the latter’s extensive knowledge of foreign affairs. As far as McCain’s choice of Palin, common wisdom holds that McCain is hoping to capture a) disenchanted Hillary Clinton supporters and b) disenchanted evangelical Christians. It remains to be seen how successful he will be with (a), but he has scored some points on item (b). Dr. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family infamy, said,

“Sen. McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is an outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base of his party. She is a strong executive who hates corruption and puts principle above politics. After floating the names of Tom Ridge and Sen. Joe Lieberman in recent weeks – selections that would have created consternation among pro-family Republicans – Sen. McCain has chosen a solid conservative who has a reputation for espousing common sense.

“Gov. Palin’s commitment to the sanctity of life is not just a political position. She was advised to abort her fifth and youngest child when it was learned he had Down syndrome. She refused. That’s bravery and integrity in action.

“Gov. Palin’s views align with Sen. McCain’s own stated position that human life is precious and must be protected – and that gives us confidence he will keep his pledges to voters regarding the kinds of justices he would nominate to the Supreme Court and the way he would conduct our nation’s domestic and international affairs. This selection by Sen. McCain is a very encouraging sign for his campaign.”

I have two questions for evangelical Christians. The first one is directed toward Dr. Dobson and his evangelical band: do you honestly believe that abortion is the most pressing issue in either the USA or the world at large right now? For all your prattle about human life, one would think you’d pry your eyes away from embryos and fetuses for at least a few seconds and look at the thousands of American soldiers who have been killed in Iraq, plus the tens of thousands of American soldiers who have been maimed in Iraq, plus the scores of thousands of Iraqi citizens who have been killed and maimed in Iraq, and pay some attention to their concerns. There are also other issues besides Iraq, such as the shaky American economy (which is due, in part, to the Mess in Iraq), the USA’s poor standing in world relations, a struggling public education system, the obscene and obscenely growing gap between wealth and want in our country and the USA’s continued addiction to oil as our primary source of energy and global warming (which happens to be much more real than your god, regardless of your belief to the contrary). Since this is by no means an exhaustive list, I invite readers to add their contributions in the comments.

My second question, which I extend beyond Dobson and his minions to evangelicals in general, is this: are you going to allow McCain and the Republican party to manipulate you yet again? Can’t you see that they simply want to win the election by any means they deem necessary, and they’ll court your votes to do that? McCain has reversed himself shamelessly for more than a year to gain your votes. He’s an ambitious huckster with a volatile temper. Everyone should think long, hard and carefully before casting a vote for him. Moreover, he and the party movers and shakers will laugh behind your backs all the way to the White House. And they’ll be sneering at your gullibility all the way. For America’s sake, please read David Kuo’s insider’s revelations of what many Republicans think of you! They think you’re easily manipulated dupes. And if you go along with them yet again, you’ll prove them right.

With regard to Hillary supporters, I’m guessing that most of them us will see through this ploy and refuse to be hoodwinked. I, for one, am insulted that McCain expects women to vote for his ticket on the bases of gender and disappointment rather than issues. Excuse, me, Senator, but women have functioning brains and most of us care about issues. We want our country to make substantive progress in addressing women’s concerns. We will not reward your disgusting use of a woman as a trophy running mate. Governor Palin is smart, pretty and charismatic, but those attributes do not warrant voting for her. It so happens that Sarah Palin is on the wrong side of every women’s issue on the table. That fact alone should cause women to think long and hard about voting for the McCain/Palin ticket. The Republicans have combined Senator McCain’s frail health, questionable mental acuity and ever-shifting positions with Governor Palin’s charm and errant vision to create one of the most disastrous political combos in American history.

Obviously, I will not be voting for McCain/Palin. Let me state clearly that, while I honestly believe that Obama and Biden are better for the USA and the world right now than McCain and Palin (or nearly any of the current crop of Republicans), I have grave misgivings about the Democratic party. The Democratic party’s leadership of Congress over the past two years has been missing in action. It may be more accurately described as a mission dedicated to inaction. Instead of using the past two years to begin correcting the disastrous course initiated by our current commander decider-in-chief, the Democrats have continually acquiesced to the will of the least popular president in recent history. I can only surmise that their strategy has been to ride the wave of Bush’s unpopularity into a clean sweep of power in both houses of Congress and the White House this year. It’s a naked political ploy - and it may well fail.

How can the Democrats possibly fail now, you may ask? Easily, I answer. In the recent past, they’ve repeatedly demonstrated that they are remarkably adept at throwing away elections that should be theirs for the taking. The Democrats, by and large, are political amateurs compared to the Republicans. They almost always let the Republicans frame the issues and set the terms (and terminology) of their debates. To take one example, which is still in its embryonic stage, Obama and the Democrats must not allow the Republicans to turn this into a competition between Obama and Palin. It is not. Obama’s opponent is McCain. That is the only competitor to whom Obama should pay attention. The more often the Republicans can thrust the articulate and charming Sarah Palin into the limelight (and keep the awkward McCain out of sight), the better their chances at winning this election will become. The Democrats cannot ignore Governor Palin completely, but they must not elevate her to a primary role in the campaign. Moreover, Obama and Biden are both intelligent and articulate men. They can easily defeat McCain and Palin, convincingly yet gracefully, on the merits of their positions. Having said that, they must not make the common Democratic error of sounding too bookish. They must reveal their depth, their passion and their compassion without talking down to voters. The Democrats can win this election, but they must be smart about it, because the Republicans certainly will be. Neither the USA nor the world can afford for the Democrats to allow the Republicans to wrest yet another election from their grasp.

– the chaplain