Beware The Dangers Of Understated Candidate Faith

Exactly who has determined that a candidate's faith has no bearing on his or her ability to govern?

The American people are fancied as being so politically astute that the faith of a candidate for President, or any other public office, has little or no bearing on their vote-worthiness. Platform and politics over prayer. Spin over spirit. Facts over faith. The electorate needs to reconsider its position in the coming season of elections, especially as it votes for the next President of the United States. The vote should not be political, the vote should be prayerful which means it will require faith.

If Governor Romney's potential Presidency will not be influenced by his faith, what will it be influenced by? Every human being has faith at his or her core, even if it is anti-faith. But one who claims a faith privately, who is not also willing to confess it publicly whether to their glory or to their shame, must not be asked fewer questions, but additional questions.

A candidate's knowledge, as defined by education, experience, and intellect, is important. But, it is what a candidate believes in that, as evidenced by their faith, shapes the value system which will serve as the foundation for their ability to govern. Every candidate should have an inherent level of integrity within their composition that demands singularity of purpose. Any candidate that purports that their choices will not be influenced by their faith is deceived about what faith really is, and as a result, not worthy of a vote. According to the old adage, stand for something or fall for anything. It is not acceptable for candidates to have a so-called life of faith and a "real" life as a political candidate. A candidate's faith must be the foundation upon which their candidacy rests, and if this is not the case, they are not fit to run the concession stand at the Friday night football game let alone a country.

America deserves to know what every candidate believes. The faith question must be answered by anyone who wants to see their name up in lights in November 2008. The faith declaration must be made, honestly and openly, by every candidate. Spin-free. Why? Because candidates are not robots despite the fact that they many times seem to be. Candidates are human. No amount of compartmentalization will prevent them from ultimately responding out of their humanness; this will be particularly true in times of challenge. In the times of personal or national crisis that are certain to ensue, the incumbent will not persevere because of what they know or how much experience they have had. Their university, their party, and even their constituents will not be enough to get them through. The only force that any candidate can instinctively rely upon in times of tragedy and crisis will be the force of their faith, what they believe, their ideology. Faith, then, should not be just an issue in the next Presidential election, it must be the issue that decides the next Presidential election.

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