In an unusual piece published in the Irish Times today, evangelical voters in Colorado Springs expressed their belief that the increasingly likely election of Barack Obama "brings to mind the prophecies that the Bible tells us about."
Daniel Lopez told the Times says "it is exciting for us as conservatives because we can actually see what God prophesied coming about; but on the other hand it is frustrating to see somebody become president who is a blatant liar."
Lopez made no mention of the Bush presidential lies on record at countless outlets around the world on weapons of mass destruction, Valerie Plame, or waterboarding, just to name a few.
Mark Hennessy, writing for the Irish Times, however, did remark upon American evangelicals' distrust of the media. After requesting an interview with leaders of Focus on the Family, he was told by an employee:
"No sir, I'm afraid there is no one you can talk to. They are attending a meeting on homosexuality and I cannot disturb them. It's quite a sensitive subject, you know."
Hmm... so sensitive, in fact -- so gay, really -- that discussion of it even must be restricted to the closet.
Commenting on the Irish Times website, Irelander Sudhakar Rao said, "This election will go a long way to improving the rest of the world's opinion of the U.S. The Democrats have long been a party of progress and real ideals. FDR, JFK to Clinton and now Obama. It's not an easy task, but look at who he's replacing. A lot of fences need mending thanks to W."
Hennessy's reporting on Colorado evangelicals and the comments of the paper's readers are especially significant as they underscore the kind of comic disbelief that has distinguished foreign coverage and reception of the American presidential campaign this year. Obama, already extraordinarily popular in Europe, gained support abroad particularly as Sarah Palin hit the trail, with international readers expressing shock at her incompetence and joy at Tina Fey's uncanny impersonations.
In recent weeks, European opinion of John McCain appears to have sunken to new depths as the Arizona senator's tactics clearly betrayed his early promise of running a clean campaign. Republicans' continued efforts to smear Obama as a friend of terrorists, as well as the more covert effort to inject race and incite Islamophobia into the campaign have tarnished McCain's image abroad. Also commenting on the wesbite was Irelander Dominic McGinley:
"It seems to me that Sen. McCain's campaign rests on arguments of little substance: that Sen. Obama's middle name (Hussein) automatically links him, in the minds of some, with the deposed and executed Saddam, and with radical Islamists. Perhaps a similarly absurd analogy could be drawn with Senator John's surname. In the Bible, Cain killed his brother Abel. Since McCain means 'son of Cain' Q.E.D. the senator must be related to the first known murderer!"
Hmm, it's tempting, but more than likely not enough to convince evangelicals to abandon McCain. 'Palling around with' the first known murderer isn't horrifying enough, I guess. With this crowd, I guess, you've just gotta be gay.