As we have all heard, McCain and Obama were invited for a "debate" at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, a huge and hugely influential ministry run by Pastor Rick Warren, a multi-million selling author. Both of them displayed various degrees of brown-nosing. As a regular church-goer who seems comfortable talking about his faith, Sen. Obama is ostensibly better placed than most recent Democratic candidates to win over evangelicals and, except for his pro-choice stance, easily spouts scripture to placate their occasional displeasure. For his part, McCain's unswerving anti-abortion rhetoric served to keep the congregation happy.
Well, hooray for them! They both managed to kiss enough religious ass to convince christians of their piety. Now how about addressing our concerns? I'd like to know where they stand on a real separation of church and state. Which one will promise to stay out of our bedrooms and classrooms? Who will remove god from our courts and schools? Doesn't anyone have the balls to dismantle the Shrub's faith-based initiatives?
Are we not a bloc to be wooed? Where is the candidate who recognizes non-believers as an important group of voters? Who stands up for reason as opposed to blind faith? Where is the man (or woman) who sees us as the thinking, intelligent, open-minded group we are and who wants to be viewed in the same light? In other words, who is the atheist-approved candidate?