July 19, 2004
POLITICAL TOOLS:
Kerry Keeps His Faith in Reserve: Candidate Usually Talks About Religion Before Black Audiences Only (Jim VandeHei, July 16, 2004, Washington Post)
Outside of black churches or meetings with African Americans such as those at the NAACP convention yesterday, Kerry has been largely silent about the personal Catholicism that once inspired a flirtation with the priesthood and the Christian beliefs friends and family say guide his life and political thinking. [...]"If you listen to Bush and Kerry talk, you would be excused for thinking Bush is an incredibly religious man and Kerry is not [religious] at all," said Amy Sullivan, a former aide to Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and one of a growing number of Democrats pressuring party leaders to talk more about religious faith. If Kerry confines his sermon to black churches, "that's a huge problem," she added.
Writing in a recent issue of Democratic Leadership Council's official publication, the Blueprint, Sullivan said speaking about faith to minorities alone is "not only a condescending strategy, but a foolish one."
We eagerly await the evidence that it hurts liberals to condescend to blacks. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 19, 2004 11:36 AM
Outside of the black churches, where is Kerry going to find a Democratic audience that wants to hear anything about faith?
Surley much of what is said to Republican audiences (not necessarily by Bush) is boilerplate, but Kerry doesn't even have a place to go to serve that.
Posted by: jim hamlen at July 19, 2004 1:45 PMNow maybe it is because I am a dunnoist, but the phrase "...flirtation with the priesthood ..." doesn't seem at all the best light in which to put Kerry's religious, um, convictions.
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at July 19, 2004 2:28 PMJeff --
I haven't done the homework, but my off the cuff impression is that no article can be written about a liberal Catholic politician and religion or abortion without a claim that he considered the priesthood. "Considered" is, of course, not a particularly helpful term; I, too, can truthfully say that I've considered the priesthood. I'd bet there's not Catholic boy outthere who couldn't say, if he thought it helpful, that he had considered the priesthood. Harry?
Nevertheless, this particular journalistic macro is now 25 or 30 years old, and probably ought to be reconsidered.
Posted by: David Cohen at July 19, 2004 3:02 PMHeck, I'm considering the priesthood but The Wife refuses to pony up for Divinity School.
Posted by: oj at July 19, 2004 3:09 PMThat's one of the nice things about the Mormon church, it doesn't cost anything to become a priest, one has only to affirm that one is righteous.
In fact, the overwhelming majority of male members over 12 hold the priesthood.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at July 19, 2004 3:39 PMHe stopped flirting with the priesthood when he got to the part about poverty. Clearly, marrying rich has worked better for his plan.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 19, 2004 4:41 PM