When George W. Bush ran for President I knew he was a very dangerous man. Before I discovered Daily Kos I followed TPM. I wrote a rant to Josh Marshall during the 2000 campaign in which I said that Bush "would tell any lie and break law to get what he wants." Mr. Marshall responded tersely, "Hmmmmm, interesting." I might have gotten the number of "m’s" wrong. It was frustrating to me because I knew some of Bush’s history and some of his friends and both were bad. But what are you gonna do?
When Al Gore chose Joseph Lieberman to join him on the Democratic ticket as a candidate for Vice President, it was okay with me. I liked Gore, still do, and I figured he would choose a good man to run with him. I didn’t have an opinion about Lieberman one way or the other, and frankly during the campaign I paid little attention to him. But I don’t like him today and I think Al Gore made a mistake. I wonder what Al Gore thinks? I don’t remember anybody at the time who was critical of Lieberman except some Republicans, so I discounted them of course.
Now we have John Edwards. He was number 2 on my list behind Hillary Clinton. Bill Richardson was third. I liked Edwards when he ran, but I thought he was sometimes a little too careful. But I wrote it off to his chosen career – a lot of lawyers I have known, not all, but a lot, tend to speak in oblique terms, terms that my father called "weasel words."
Habits are hard to break and politicians need to be careful, no doubt about it. So I forget about it – until 12/31/06 when Edwards and his wife appeared on George Stephanopolous’ show on ABC. The interview went along fine until the following exchange, which made me sit up straight:
Stephanopoulos: You got a few boos in New Hampshire. The issue is gay marriage.
Edwards: There were no boos.
Stephanopoulos: OK, well, that's what I read. We can go back to the videotape. But when you say&
Edwards: I'll be honest, I didn't hear them, if there were.
Stephanopoulos: But more important, more important, at that time, you said it's the single hardest issue for you.
Edwards: It is.
Stephanopoulos: Why?
Edwards: Because I'm 53 years old. I grew up in a small town in the rural south. I was raised in the southern Baptist church. And so I have a belief system that arises from that.
It's part of who I am. I can't make it disappear. And what I said when I was asked about this in Portsmouth, New Hampshire//
[John Edwards in New Hampshire: I personally feel great conflict about that. I don't know the answer, I wish I did. I think from my perspective it's very easy for me to say civil unions, yes, partnership benefits yes, but it is something that I struggle with.]
Do I believe they should have the right to marry? I'm just not there yet, me, I'm not there yet.
Stephanopoulos: Are you?
Elizabeth Edwards: Well, it's not particularly important whether I am, but I guess I come from a more eclectic background and so it's less problematic, I think, probably for me.
But I think both sides of this argument understand the desire for equality and equal treatment. I don't think there is anybody who is for or against it who doesn't understand it and I don't think there's anybody who is for or against it who doesn't understand the trouble people have, because it just seems something that they've not been around.
Of course, they haven't, because we haven't had it in this country.
[John Edwards in New Hampshire: My daughter who is 24 and goes to school in Cambridge -- her generation and all of her friends believe this issue will completely disappear with their generation.]
Elizabeth Edwards: And I have to say she's talked to children on both sides of the aisle who are her age, the children of our senators and politicians on both sides of the aisle and people who are her age, regardless of the political affiliation of their parents, all believe exactly the same thing.
This issue will not exist when they are the people who are sitting in these seats.
Stephanopoulos: So you can imagine changing your mind, but you're not there.
Edwards: I'm not there.
My concern stems from his statement he "was raised in the Southern Baptist church. And so I have a belief system that arises from that. Its part of who I am. I can’t make it disappear."
One of my two best friends, he grew up in the house I was born in, is a devout member of the Southern Baptist church. I love him like one of my brothers. I suppose I would do almost anything for him, except vote for him to be president. There is just too much weirdness going in that church. I was raised in the very same church as my friend. He graduated from Howard Payne and I from Baylor, both Baptist colleges.
I know that Edwards was talking about gay marriage, and it is a tough issue for some people. But it is not tough for my friend who said about gays, "Hate the sin, love the sinner," whatever the hell that means.
My friend is free to believe whatever he wants and he is free to do pretty much what he pleases in the confines of his church, but he is not president. John Edwards wants to be President.
I have inserted my concerns in several diaries in recent days, and some folks say that Edwards is "struggling" as if I should ease up. But it is a little late for "struggling" because what he is struggling with is whether his belief system places the Constitution or the Southern Baptist Church first.
That choice should be easy for him. How long do we have to wait? When will he decide that the Constitution is first and the Church is second? So I warn all within sound of my voice: Do not elect a man to the highest office we have if he says that he cannot overcome the Southern Baptist upbringing of his childhood. The fact that that upbringing still governs his life marks him as a dangerous man, too dangerous to put in office.
Update: It has been correctly pointed out to me that I should have been saying the "Southern Baptist Convention" everywhere I said "Southern Baptist" alone. I do indeed mean to criticize only the Southern Baptist Convention, especially the leadership. The old Southern Baptist Convention was hijacked some years ago by fundamentalists who adopted doctrines which are repellent to me and which led Jimmy Carter to submit his resignation in 2000.