Madam, - Breda O'Brien (Opinion, February 9th) cites Nicholas Kristof's comment from the New York Times that no one would disparage Obama's race or Clinton's sex, while they can openly deride Mike Huckabee's religious faith.
The best riposte is the reverse of Winston Churchill's comment to a woman who accused him of being drunk: "Madam, you are ugly. In the morning, I will be sober, but you will still be ugly." Obama did not choose his race, or Clinton her sex, but Huckabee had a choice about his religion.
There is more. Barack Obama is not an extreme racist, nor Hilary Clinton a radical feminist. But when it comes to the influence of religion on politics, Mike Huckabee's views are more extreme than those of most believers or unbelievers in the United States. For example, he is on record as saying that the Constitution should be amended in favour of "God's standards". On examination, what are professed to be "God's standards" turn out to be identical to Huckabee's own opinions on lifestyles and dress codes.
This convinced theocrat is one of those "Christian Nation" Americans who believe that the founding fathers wished to establish Christianity as a state religion. This is in the face of the historical evidence that Washington, Adams, Jefferson and the others, while they were all professing Christians, did not seek to privilege any faith in particular.
Huckabee rejects the scientific fact of evolution, and the historical evidence about the founding fathers, because they do not fit his beliefs. It is right that his religious convictions are subject to sharp scrutiny, and are the subject of adverse comment, when they are at such wide variance with what scientists and historians agree are the facts.
There is no chance of him being elected president. However, with John McCain in need of support from the extreme right, a malign scenario is that Huckabee is aiming to become his vice-presidential candidate. Should the aged McCain be elected with him on the ticket, the US will have an unabashed "theo-con" just a heartbeat away from the most powerful office in the world. This is a frightening prospect. In many ways, Mike Huckabee is a warm, witty and likeable person, but a warm witty and likeable troglodyte, nonetheless. - Yours, etc,
TOBY JOYCE, Balreask Manor, Navan, Co Meath.
Madam, - It is refreshing to see how evangelical Christians let their faith influence how they vote; if a candidate does not support Christian ideals, they will not vote for him or her.
Why do US Catholics not take a similar approach? Do they regard Christian ideals on pro-life issues and poverty as seriously as their Protestant counterparts? I think not. The majority of evangelical Christians boycott Hillary Clinton because of her pro-abortion stance, yet the votes of Catholic Democrats have been a huge factor in the primaries Clinton has won. In New York, where some 44 per cent of the population is Catholic, Hillary won 66 per cent of the "Catholic vote". What this indicates is that "Catholic" is a mere label with perhaps some nice European trappings, not a decisive factor in something as fundamental as how to vote. - Is mise,
MARY O'REGAN, Firgrove Drive, Bishopstown, Cork.