Anyone who knows me or who reads this blog probably knows that, all things considered, I’m probably best described as a conservative when it comes to politics. I voted for George W. Bush twice. I even voted for Alan Keyes when he ran for Senate in Illinois.

But you should also know that I’m probably one of the harshest critics of both Republicans and the conservative movement. I like to consider myself something of a contrarian in that regard.

One of the things about American politics that fascinates me is the way that religious faith and public policy have become such marketable commodities in recent years. It’s no surprise that the Republicans have capitalized on President Bush’s faith during the last 8 years, in an effort to court voters.

However, it worthy to note that with the passing of Jerry Falwell a few weeks ago that a shift is occurring in American politics. After almost 30 years of Republican control of the faith and politics dialogue, it now appears that Democrats are beginning to get some of that old time religion.

Being the cynic that I am, I’m just as wary of Democrats talking about faith as I am Republicans. Quite frankly, I don’t think there’s any reason to believe the Hillary Clinton is any more sincere about her religious faith than Tom Delay. To me, if you’re explicitly using your religious faith to get elected, then I find the whole matter somewhat suspect. I’d much rather you quietly let your faith guide your thinking about public policy and keep the public displays to a minimum.

Barak Obama seems to be the Democrats best example of a candidate whose religious affiliation gives him the most street cred. I’ve written about this before, but I have yet to believe that Obama has enough of a grasp of historic Christianity to adequately synthesize his beliefs with his public policy. That partly because I don’t think he’s taken much a stand on much of anything and partly because his religious experience, from what I know of it, lacks much depth. Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m not judging the man’s faith. I certainly think he’s genuine in what he believes. I just don’t know that he’s committed to believing in much of anything.

What’s interesting to me is that in the 2008 presidential race, the so-called religious right doesn’t really have a candidate with the appeal of a George W. Bush. Neither McCain or Guliani seem to be resonating with conservative evangelicals. Romney has the whole Mormon issue that many evangelicals will refuse to overlook. Fred Thompson remains a huge unknown, but there’s no indication that his candidacy will do much to speak to the issues of religious faith in any compelling way. The most attractive candidate at this point would seem to be someone like a Sen. Sam Brownback, who converted to Roman Catholicism in 2002.