So what does a secular European think of Saturday’s Presidential election event with evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church?
Writing for Switzerland’s Nachrichten newspaper, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part:
“The absurdity of this entire affair was best illustrated when John McCain called for coastal oil-drilling and was cheered for it by his Christian-conservative audience. For the most part, this is an audience which believes that the earth is 6,000 years old, yet it applauded plans to look for resources that exist due to the organic remnants of prehistoric organisms that took millions of years to accrue … The fact that a future U.S. President has to suck up at this kind of a forum really gives global politics a surrealistic undertone.”
By Patrik Etschmayer
Translated By Patrik Etschmayer
August 18, 2008
Switzerland – Nachrichten – Original Article (German)
Thanks to the Olympic Games and the whistle-stop visit of the Russian Army to Georgia, the U.S. election campaign was almost blotted out of the local media. Nevertheless, on Saturday the first encounter of the two candidates was held on Saturday.
But the meeting wasn’t held in a conventional television studio and didn’t entail a lengthy debate between the two contenders: Obama and McCain met for a mere 36 seconds at a Mega-Church in Lake Forrest, California. When Obama left the stage, McCain entered for an hour (including commercial breaks) to answer the very same questions that his rival had just answered during the previous hour.
“Mega Churches” are virtually unknown in Europe. The faith-factory in question, for example, looks like a warehouse and seats about 3,000 people, so in terms of capacity it competes with even the biggest European churches. The church’s pastor, Rick Warren, penned a faith-based bestseller that has already earned millions. Faith in the United States is no private matter. And since Christian-conservative voters have made themselves a power to reckon with in the upcoming election, American politicians take every opportunity to suck up to this slice of the electorate.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated and non-translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. election.
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