Say A Prayer for Rudy

Apparently the desire of religious people for others to reaffirm their questionable beliefs is wide and deep. And political candidates are now learning that if they kneel in the same way or pray in the same church, they can get a pass on just about anything.

Enter Rudy Giuliani. He asked churchgoers in Florida to pray for him (and Rudy didn't mean Him, he meant pray for him, i.e., pray for his campaign). If prayers mean anything to religious people, why didn't Giuliani get any criticism for pushing past starving children and dying patients on the way to the front of the prayer line?

I think this is why - when someone makes adeliberate show of being religious, they're not so much saying, "This is what I believe;" rather they're saying, "I am one of YOU." And the desire of many religious people to see their beliefs affirmed is so strong that they will give the genuflecter a pass on everything else.

The inevitable result is pandering politicians who have learned to clasp their hands together as reflexively as a canine sits for a treat.

Here's my recent post on it including Rudy's remarks, at Political Relief.