I wonder how many here will be willing to condemn Democrats Blumenthal for his fantasy claims of service in Vietnam....

Anyone?? Anyone????? Buehler?????

Michale.....

Michale....

I don't really have any nits to pick, save one..

But first...

But, again, this is pre-judging a candidate solely on their religious beliefs (or lack thereof). The most brilliant legal mind of the century would simply be passed over for such an appointment, if he worshipped the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Don't forget. Linus blew the election for {school} President when he professed his belief for The Great Pumpkin.. :D

Now, my nit..

Americans believe in the concept of freedom of religion.

Americans SHOULD also believe in the concept of freedom FROM religion as well..

Sadly, as you point out, this is not the case...

Great commentary.. So far, yer 2 fer 2.... :D

Michale.....

Here's two more for you:

"One man's religion is another man's belly laugh."
-Robert A. Heinlein

"Among the Anglo-Americans there are some who profess Christian dogmas because they believe them and others who do so because they are afraid to look as though they did not believe in them."
-Alexis de Tocqueville, "Democracy In America"

LewDan -

I agree. We're always striving to achieve the ideal, which is part of what makes America the place it is. We don't ever reach the ideal, and sometimes we even backslide, but we are, in general, committed to the notion that we should indeed be striving to get there.

Osborne Ink -

That's interesting. The first Japanese-American woman I ever knew said something similar. She said that Japan was so humiliated by WWII that they dedicated themselves to one simple idea to save face: my children will be better educated than I am. This, generations later, has proven to have had a profound influence on Japanese-Americans, to the point now where if some universities didn't have a quota for white people, the entire student body would be Asian. It is interesting to consider how highly some groups of people value education, and the societal trends it can bring about later.

-CW

The reason is that Judaism (unlike the largest protestant denominations in the south) encourages children towards educational achievement and more-rewarding employment. The rabbi at Temple B'nai Israel in my hometown once explained to me that he had watched every Jewish child in town grow up, become valedictorian, earn a degree...and leave to find greener pastures. The last three generations in particular have seen southern Jews migrate to larger cities like Atlanta, or out of the region altogether, in pursuit of jobs and salaries that small southern towns simply do not offer.

Why is this relevant to the question of Jews and Catholics on the SCOTUS? Well, Catholicism has a similar academic bent; but the largest and fastest-growing forms of protestant religion in America don't share that educational ethic. The last few decades have seen American protestantism subsumed in culture wars. Just look at what passes for "Christian" educational values in Texas!

So if anyone is to blame for protestants falling behind, it is people like Buchanan. They have retarded social and educational progress. Instead of finding a new theology, key protestant leadership insists on protecting old ones from innovation. Just look at the Southern Baptist Convention on gender issues, for instance.

First, you are correct.

Second, though the constitution prohibits any religious test for government office, the founders considered the law to be "the will of the people" and the constitution to be "the permanent will of the people." I've always considered that a fair assessment. Though we, as a nation, have never fully met our constitutional obligations or lived up to our ideals we have moved ever closer to doing so.

The hypocrisy and de facto religious tests represent politicians, as you suggest, expressing the will of the people. But the ever broadening range of "acceptable religions," the hypocritical consensus that there should be no religious test, as well as generally held observations and opinions such as yours indicate that the constitutional injunction against such tests also truly represents "the permanent will of the people." Religious tolerance really is one of our core ideals and not just hypocrisy.

We're simply weak and imperfect--real imperfect, but we are trying--and we are learning.

"Every man thinks God is his side. The rich and powerful know he is." -- Jean Anouilh

and from H.L. Mencken:

"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the same sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart."