Faith in McCain

Some are wondering where – and what – it is.

Traversing the country this week on a tour of places that have shaped his life and informed his values, John McCain spoke in strikingly personal language to introduce himself to the American public.

But missing so far is any significant mention of religious faith.

In an Oprah Winfrey era in which soul-baring and expressions of faith are the norm for public figures, the presumptive Republican nominee, open and candid about much else, retains a shroud of privacy around his Christianity.

Funny, how recently the media expected public figures, and especially political candidates, to keep their religious beliefs private. Now, John McCain is being scrutinized for being too private about his faith.

In this way, McCain, 71, is a throwback to an earlier generation, when such personal matters were kept personal. To talk of Jesus Christ in the comfortable, matter-of-fact fashion of the past two baby-boom-era presidents would be unthinkable.

This gives them a chance to get a shot or two in there about McCain’s age, the undercurrent of most criticism about him.

What drives him — at least outwardly — is precisely what he has been talking about this week: a love of country and sense of duty instilled by a military family with a long legacy of service.

His first book, part ancestral tribute and part personal memoir, was titled “Faith of My Fathers,” and it’s their tradition of sacrifice, commitment and honor, a brand of martial noblesse oblige, in which he seems to believe deepest.

Not good enough, they say. He’ll have to be more public about those deeply held beliefs.

But…..pardon the overused expression….it’s one thing to ‘talk the talk’…

Gary Bauer, the socially conservative former GOP presidential candidate who got behind McCain in 2000 after withdrawing from the race, recognizes Obama’s comfort level in a world that makes many Democrats uneasy.

“But in spite of him identifying with or using language that rings a bell with faith-based voters, he then comes to public policy conclusions that are out of step with them,” he argues.

How much the talk guides the walk – for any candidate - is the next question for scrutinizing media, who keep changing their collective mind on this subject.