A couple of points, please, before commenting on this article.

First, I wish you all a pleasant Memorial Day. Amidst your other activities this weekend, I hope you take the time to attend a ceremony or to at least sit for a few minutes on the significance of the holiday.

Second, I want to acknowledge to you that I have been distracted by house guests and other commitments. I'm behind on putting out my Ezine, for example, and intending on working on that today. You will see several significant postings by me over the next week or so.

Back to this article about McCain. McCain has repudiated the endorsement of two televangelist ministers for inflammatory remarks made by the ministers about other faiths. The article has the particulars. In fact, I'm going to post another undercover article by a reporter who went to Hagee's Church and participated in its indoctrination processing.

Some thoughts for you. Seeking the endorsement of a televangelist is an attempt to move votes your way in the hopes that those who are committed to the televangelist will follow the lead of the televangelist in voting for the endorsed candidate. The comparison might be made that getting the endorsement of a televangelist and his or her flock is no different than getting the endorsement of a union leader and the membership of that union.

For me, the difference and the concern is this. The endorsement of a union is for economic purposes in the marketplace. The candidate is pledging to support the interests of the union and its membership to gain a level playing field in negotiating wages and working conditions with employers.

But what does a candidate pledge when he or she gets the support of a televangelist and their flock? One thing that should not be pledged is the imposition of religious belief through the actions of government. It is the perception of that very pledge which has led to the affiliation of so many people of faith to the Republican Party. It is my opinion that the Bush Administration's confidence in the loyalty of that affiliation made them feel invulnerable at the polls. Further, that feeling of invulnerability caused them to govern with arrogance, refusing to consider or accomodate other points of view. As a result, the Republican Brand has been significantly damaged and they face an uphill climb for November's election.

Here is a link to the article.

 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mccain23-2008may23,0,5141859.story