This article reminds me of a chance meeting I had recently. I was traveling and wanted to make an entry here, but where I was staying didn't have Internet access. I went to a Panera Bread. While I was there I ran into an older couple who was buying some food. They came and sat down near where I was. I was curious about them because the man was wearing a "USAF Retired" baseball cap. I identified myself as retired Army and we began to talk. The man had flown Close Air Support in Vietnam. He told me his squadron commander found out he didn't drink, smoke or swear, so he got to fly the early morning missions. This is not a punishment. It was a simple acknowledgement that he would have a clear head every day when he showed up on the flight line.

This couple had been married for over 50 years. The woman first caught the man's eye when she was 12 years old and they have been together ever since. They were (as they should be) very proud of their lives, their marriage and their kids and grandkids.

They asked what I did and I told them I was a political writer. They quickly offered they intended to vote for McCain. We had a respectful exchange about various issues. One of the things they expressed to me was they would not vote for Obama because Obama would support gay marriage. Were Obama to become President and support gay marriage, they said, God would punish America.

With all respect to them and anyone else with that belief, I simply cannot share that belief. If you have this belief, then I strongly suggest you consider whether your faith has crossed over to superstition.

At any rate, this article reports on a new book asserting that the political strength of evangelicals is not as strong as previously believed.

Here's a link to the article.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/michael-duffy/strength-of-us-evangelicals-is-one-of-the-big-myths-of-our-time/2008/07/18/1216163153159.html