Karl Rove has recently proffered some campaign advice to John McCain in a War Street Journal editorial. Certain liberal bloggers have noted the odd suggestion from Rove that McCain should do more to share “his faith”.
Opines The Carpetbagger Report:
“For one thing, by all appearances, McCain simply isn’t particularly religious. He could fake devout spirituality, but the faithful would almost certainly notice his insincerity.”
My take: the ability of the fundagelical crowd to detect “insincerity” is vastly overrated. I will admit that McCain is pretty clumsy liar, but then again, so is George W. Bush. And in case you’re tuning in late, the fundagelicals pretty much bought his Jesus-freak act hook, line and sinker. The real reason McCain can’t electrify the Christianist faction of the GOP has far more to do with the fact in American politics perception dominates reality, and over his 26 year long political career McCain has accumulated the perception of having insufficient fealty to domestic Republican social causes.
For my own part, I don’t honestly think McCain, or George W. Bush for that matter, are any more religious than I am (if not in complete lack of belief, in lack of genuine enthusiasm and practice). But liberals shouldn’t comfort themselves with this recurring misapprehension of the Republican base.
