Does Your Politician Meet the Religious Test?
There might actually be politicians who are sincerely religious – think Jimmy Carter – but I wouldn’t trust the words of any of them when it comes to describing their religious faith and what it has to do with their stand on national issue. They’re so successfully coached. If they’re really good at it, they know what religious language, metaphors, and allusions work. And they know that getting elected requires the making of a brand, embodying an image they can appear to live in order to sell themselves. It means treating everything they do as advertising. It’s the public relations industry at work. It’s the selling of a product. And it’s as believable as most advertising that describes itself in terms of what the consultants tell them will move people to buy. In this climate politicians realize this, including current and previous presidential publicity teams. Selling himself as a brand with a Pepsi-like logo and a short, catchy slogan, Obama’s ads actually won the best adv