A decidedly Utahn, Mormon view of things.

McCain’s “faith statement” to Time.

Obama’s “faith statement” to Time.

I believe we could, and should, live without such things.

[Lowell: It seems just a bit profane to me to force such statements out of presidential candidates.]

They keep trying to pretend Evangelicals will vote for Obama in droves. This time “they” is NPR. Not if he keeps saying stupid stuff like this. (HT: Hugh Hewitt)

From First Things some of the wisest words I have read to date. Here is a tease:

The unexpected relative success of the Huckabee campaign—sustained by a shoestring budget, a makeshift staff, and a policy platform that seemed to be thrown together overnight—showed just how big an impact the so-called values voters can have. Actually, it understated that impact, since many values voters went with other candidates (like Romney). So one lesson learned from the Giuliani and Huckabee campaigns was the continued political relevance of social conservatives.

Yet that shouldn’t be the only lesson we take away, for Rich was right about one thing: The leaders of the social conservative movement do not speak for mainstream America. And they never will, so long as they follow the Huckabee model.

That’s gonna leave a mark!

Late addition by Lowell:  The First Things piece, by Ryan Anderson, is terrific and does not lend itself to excerpting - you need to read the whole thing.  I liked this paragraph about the for social conservatives to appeal to reason, rather than solely to scripture, in order to win voters over to their cause (an approach Huckabee did not take):

While Huckabee mobilized many social conservatives to show up at the polls, he did not persuade anyone outside their world to join them. This failure replicated that of social conservatism writ large. Adding Huckabee to the McCain ticket might get evangelicals to vote for McCain in November, but will it get anyone else to? Will it add anyone to the social conservative roster? To be successful, hearts and minds need to be changed. Minds are changed by rational arguments.

For an excellent example of the more rational approach,  see Gov. Romney’s speech on receiving the Canterbury Medal for Courage in the Defense of Religious Liberty.  I like that kind of leadership in defense of faith and values in the public square a lot more than Huck’s unctuous but ultimately doomed efforts.
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