As last night’s presentation at Saddleback Church demonstrated, the Christian Right remains swayed unthinkingly by Christian subtext. It will not be wooed to vote Democratic in the fall if the Democrats persistently try to soften their actual positions, especially when the original position is correct. For instance, if the Democrats say, well, okay offshore drilling we'll allow; or if they try to sound just as tough on Georgia, or if they back off on the problems of the environment, or don't challenge this international Islamic extremist conspiracy nonsense, whatever. Whether Democrats stick to their guns on issues or not, they are still the Heathen Party (which includes liberal Christians) and they need show first of all that heathen or not, their positions are in the best interests of Evangelical Christians.  At this moment, Right Wing Republicans (who are power-hungry, money-hungry demagogues of the worst sort) can play them for suckers unchallenged so that parishioners at Saddleback Church hear the irresistible siren song of McCain's POW experience, like the story of the guard who drew a crucifix on the ground at Christmas, and they don't hear much of anything else he says.

What Democrats have to do is say, we're not challenging your beliefs, we are trying to show you that the Republicans are in taking advantage your faith and values in their own interests.

This is tricky, obviously, but there is a growing school of Evangelicals, Warren among them, who are moving to see more of the Gospel as concerned with protecting the environment, helping the poor, not getting involved in unjust wars. These Gospel views can be shared by Democrats. That so many Democrats reacted with such visceral hostility to Obama's faith-based initiative idea shows that they are caught in a dangerously rigid position that impedes this reaching out. Because it shouldn't really matter in the long run of whether it is an Evangelical who wants to protect God's creation or help address social inequities because they are following in Jesus's footsteps or a liberal who wants to protect the planet because it's all he has or care for the poor because he is a social utilitarian. In both views, it is what is best for all of us.  

Obama should deconstruct McCain's message (forgive me for using the word) and show that McCain mixes offshore oil with his unassailable Christian human interest story so that Christians will support the offshore oil drilling.

The best of us are capable of self-deception, so it is quite possible McCain has come, as Bush seems to have, that Christianity supports offshore oil drilling and supports horrible messes in Iraq. So what you have to do is separate the two: show that Christianity doesn't support offshore oil drilling: that offshore oil drilling is another blow against taking care of our planet, whether it be God's creation or our only home. To show that having our young men die, and killing innocent civilians in Iraq and making 2 million of them refugees isn't working God's will, it is creating vast suffering, which Christians are supposed to be alleviating.

Andrew Sullivan pointed out in his blog last night that Warren never asked follow up questions. This permitted McCain to continue his linkage of Christianity with interests Republicans have. We need the follow up questions: do you know the facts about this offshore drilling issue? How much money would indeed it save? Do you know the facts about the suffering we've inflicted in Iraq? About the debt we have inflicted onourselves because ofit?  Do you know about torture in the US? Do you know why the war in Afghanistan is staggering? Do you understand the relationship between taxes and poverty? Between taxes and middle-class security? Between taxes and a decent infrastructure? An on and on.  He needs to answer the questions himself and ask them to John McCain.

Obama needs to NOT move to the right on the issues, but to educate better, and do so in a context that Christian conservatives can understand. Because while they may be in a minority, we tend to polarize, and we don't want people polarizing towards the Republican right that feeds on Christian conservatives.