A Show of Hands

At last week’s debate between the Republicans running for president there was one of those moments that sticks in the mind, without a word being said. The moderator, Chris Matthews, asked the candidates to raise their hand if they did not believe in evolution.

There was a pregnant pause on the stage as each candidate appeared to momentarily weigh the question, or perhaps the answer. Then, two hands went up – from Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. After another short pause, perhaps after confirming that he wasn’t going to be alone, Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado joined the elite minority. No other hands appeared to flinch.

My wife reacted in disbelief, as though she couldn’t believe what she’d just seen. She hit the “Rewind” button to play back the scene.

The next day she said, “I will have that scene emblazoned in my mind for a long, long time. When asked for a show of hands, ‘Who does not believe in evolution?’ three men running for President of the United States raised their hand. I never thought I would see that. Never. Next worst was hearing a candidate [former Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin] say that it was okay to fire a gay employee because it is a ‘private business.’”

While those moments might not fall into the politically infamous or ignoble category, I think they qualify for special attention. I agree with the implications of my wife’s observation – we should not elect a man or woman to the highest office in the land, and perhaps the most powerful in the world, if s/he does not believe the scientific evidence that supports basic evolution.

Americans are, of course, free to hold whatever belief they choose on matters at the intersection of faith and reason, but that doesn’t mean that those who adhere to the creeds of religious fundamentalism should be elected president, notwithstanding the fact that the voting citizens of various states have elected them governor, senator or representative. The President of the United States has to be capable of weighing the evidence at hand, no matter what his mommy, daddy, and pastor taught him or her when s/he was growing up in the holler.

As for it being OK to fire a gay employee in a private business solely on moral grounds, which is what the question asked – even Tommy Thompson had to back away from his answer the next day, claiming that he misunderstood the question. The question was not only clear, it was repeated, and then Thompson’s answer was confirmed. We shouldn’t elect a person to the presidency who can’t understand a clear question and can’t adhere to their confirmed answer for at least 24 hours.

So, stick a fork in these four guys – they’re done.