Faith Based Politics

There is a delicate balance that must be struck between religion and the voting booth in the American political system. While the seperation of church and state has been made clear for years, there is little use in denying that faith based politics play a major role in voting tendencies. Look at Rudy Giuliani for instance, he is reveered for his 9/11 heroics, he is economically to the right as they come, and is generally well-liked by the public. Yet, he only received one delegate in the primary elections and a main reason for this is his pro-choice viewpoint. The conservative right simply refuses to vote for those who stray from their own moral/religious code. For decades it has been up to the democratic left to have the chops to stand up against the moral crusaiding bible thumpers and take hard-fast stands, by seperating your political career from your religious personal life. For decades they have failed, by refusing to make stands when it matters the most. "Just another politician" is becoming something heard more and more often about presidential candidate Barack Obama. Is it true? As much as it pains me to admit, it might be, I'm not quite ready to bury him just yet, but he is dancing too much around the issues. While he has retained integrity in campaigning, he still hasn't set down firm stances on things and still dodges tough questions. He got absolutely slaughtered by McCain at the Saddle Back forum on Saturday because he didn't have the balls to make firm pro-gay, pro-choice remarks. If he stands for what he says he stands for, then stand for it, not just in front of your greatest admirers, but also your greatest adverseries.