God in Politics.

• Author: Dowd, Maureen
• Position: Brief Article

Should candidates emphasize personal religious views?

NO When the Republican Presidential candidates were asked in a recent debate to name their favorite philosophers, Texas Governor George W. Bush replied: "Christ, because he changed my heart."

When he was pressed to elaborate, Bush's mouth curled into that famous smirky look. "Well, if they don't know, it's hard to explain," he said. "When you turn your heart and your life over to Christ ... it changes your life. And that's what happened to me."

Former Clinton adviser Dick Morris immediately proclaimed that Jesus would play well with the public. Why not use the son of God to help the son of Bush appeal to voters?

When you take something deeply personal and parade it for political gain, you are guilty either of cynicism or exhibitionism. Vice President Al Gore has sunk to the same level. On 60 Minutes recently, he declared himself to be a born-again Christian. And in an interview with The Washington Post, he said he often asked himself "W.W.J.D.--for a saying that's popular now in my faith, `What would Jesus do?'"

It raises the question of whether the Vice President and the governor want Jesus as their personal Savior or political savior.

Genuinely religious people are humbled by religion and are guided by it on the inside. They don't need to wear Jesus on the outside as a designer label.

--MAUREEN DOWD Times columnist

YES When Governor Bush named Jesus Christ as his favorite philosopher, he wasn't using his religion as some kind of clever device to get votes. He was simply answering a question, and giving American voters an idea of where he's coming from.

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