The Secular Debates

Massimo Calabresi notes something I missed:

...the fact that both Obama and McCain chose so assiduously not to invoke “God” in any form in any of their debates is noteworthy, not least to people who care about the presence of religion in politics. "Whether intentional or not the discussion of God and the role of faith appears to have been relegated to the Saddleback forum in this general election,” says Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, who calls the development “troubling.”

"Troubling?" To anyone who takes religious faith seriously, the secular tone of the debates comes as a huge relief. Of course, the power of the Christianist veto in the GOP is demonstrated as much by what hasn't happened as by what has.

Mitt Romney, despite being willing to sell every last morsel of his soul and mind, couldn't get past the Mormon issue with the Christianists who run his party; and Joe Lieberman was ruled out as veep because he's a Jew who believes in social toleration (why else are we stuck with this delusional absurdity as veep?). Obama and McCain have both been forced to prostrate themselves at Rick Warren's lugubrious electoral altar. McCain was even forced to run an ad based on a religious epiphany he somehow failed to remember for twenty-six years, and have a running mate who would take health benefits away from gay spouses and force the victims of rape and incest to have children under penalty of law.

Apart from that, this is a really secular campaign.