Andy Whitman: “Falling on the Sword”

I’ll stop linking to Mr. Whitman as soon as he stops writing stuff like this:

I don’t normally get overtly political here, and I promise I won’t do it again for a long time, but I have to say that the developments of the past month or so have left me cautiously optimistic. For the first time in 32 years there appears to be no presidential candidate (who has a chance of winning; sorry, Mike Huckabee) whose policies align closely with the religious right.

…in November I will vote for a candidate who will offer an imperfect solution to complex issues, and who will not be God’s President. And I will rejoice because, for once, and perhaps for all time, the stranglehold has been broken. Maybe, just maybe, we Christians will figure out that looking to any political party to embody God’s will is as much an idolotrous stance as worshipping a golden calf. And maybe, just maybe, we will be willing to serve in the prophetic role to which we have been called; standing apart from political systems, and working toward a social agenda that values loving and serving people — individuals unborn and aged and everywhere in between — as the means by which the Kingdom of God might be advanced.

On a related note, I have to say that I’ve been pretty amused by the various conservative leaders and pundits (e.g., James Dobson, Ann Coulter, etc.) “jumping ship” and saying that they’ll vote for someone else, or — gasp! — vote for a Democrat, should McCain get the Republican bid. I don’t know what they’re ultimately trying to prove or what statement they’re trying to make, but it smacks of desperation and reminds me of an old saying — something about a house being divided against itself.