What's Most Important in the Next President - Christianity or Competence?

This post might fulfill the motto at the top of the blog:  "Guaranteed to make you think, make you laugh or make you mad".  As it says above, I'm happy with any of the three.

I've been thinking about the whole issue of the Christianity and the presidency, especially in light of comments I've seen from friends on Facebook expressing their disappointment in the announcement from Mike Huckabee that he wouldn't be running.   It was pretty clear that some of them were supporting Huck mainly because he's a former Baptist preacher and still professes his Christianity.  Others bemoan the lack of a "good Christian" among the remaining people it the GOP field.

But should faith be the primary consideration in choosing a president?

No.

For some it seems that faith is the only determining factor, and that my friends, is dangerous.

Mike Huckabee concerned me.  Although he may be a Bible-believing Christian, his social policies as Governor of Arkansas were pure big government liberal.

Jimmy Carter taught Sunday School in a Baptist church throughout his presidency, and his early post-presidency was a model of Christian charity.  But he was a disastrous president and his later years have been filled with anti-American/anti-Israel activism.

I don't think anyone would doubt George W. Bush's faith, but again when it came to government he gave us growing deficits, two wars and a Medicare prescription entitlement plan that we won't be able to afford.  "Compassionate conservatism" is a euphemism for big government.

And let's not forget the current president who claims Christianity after attending for 22 years a black separatist church run by a racist anti-Semitic pastor.

There's more to the job of president than faith.  Rick Warren is a terrific Christian, but I wouldn't vote for him for president.  I want somebody who knows how to be president, not how to lead a megachurch.

There are elements of our faith that some seek to enshrine in our Constitution, and I don't want that.  I'm pro-life, but I don't want a pro-life amendment in the Constitution.  Federalizing abortion was the biggest mistake of Roe v. Wade.  Rather than try and change the rules our government operates by, let's get Roe overturned and return the authority over abortion to the states where it belongs according to the 10th Amendment.  You're then welcome to work within the political system of your state to change the abortion laws to your liking.

Same with gay marriage.  The Constitution was made very difficult to amend because the Founding Fathers didn't want future generations to be able to bend it to the whims of the day.  The concept of a "living Constitution" is an abomination if "living" is defined as "meeting the politically correct standards in place that day".

Bottom line:  I want to see a president who understands that the Constitution was designed to put limits on federal government, not allow it unfettered power to run rampant over the lives of Americans.  I want a president who's honest, believes in American exceptionalism, understands the importance of peace through strength, and is not afraid to get in the faces of the rest of the world when they're working against our best interests.  I want a President of the United States, not a President of the World.

And if he or she happens to be a Christian, all the better.  But with this nation teetering on the brink of some very bad times, I'd take an atheist who would lead the country according to the bottom line mentioned above before I'd want a Christian who wouldn't or couldn't do it.  Any president who truly supported the Constitution as written would be operating under Christian principles whether they wanted to or not because the founding documents of this country were based on Christian ideals.

We need a return to competence in the White House.  A president, not a national preacher.