The US Constitution is very explicit on this matter:
Article VI:The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
James Dobson, head of the most important conservative Christian group in the nation, Focus on the Family, apparently hasn't gotten the memo:
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday.
"Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.
Thompson and his spokesman naturally took offense at this, proudly declaring that he is in fact Christian, and that Dobson doesn't know what he was talking about. Rather than backtrack, however, Dobson's spokesperson went further:
In a follow-up phone conversation, Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger stood by Dobson's claim. He said that, while Dobson didn't believe Thompson to be a member of a non-Christian faith, Dobson nevertheless "has never known Thompson to be a committed Christian—someone who talks openly about his faith."
"We use that word—Christian—to refer to people who are evangelical Christians," Schneeberger added. "Dr. Dobson wasn't expressing a personal opinion about his reaction to a Thompson candidacy; he was trying to 'read the tea leaves' about such a possibility."
Now I realize that Dobson's test is not the same thing as a constitutional test, but in effect the result is the same. For Dobson and his followers, not only must our president be a Christian, they must be a very specific kind of Christian. It is, of course, their right as American citizens to believe such nonsense. And it was, from 2000 until 2004, a fairly successful electoral strategy. But look where it leads: Only Newt Gingrich, says Dobson, really excites him. Romeny is out because he is Mormon, Giuliani and McCain aren't, so far as he is concerned, acceptable, and Thompson is just the wrong kind of Christian.
If Dobson wants to hitch his wagon to Gingrich, I'm all for it. The result would be 1972 in reverse.
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