The Wardman Wire

This is Simon Sarmiento’s fourth Guest Column on the Wardman Wire, while David Keen is on holiday from the blog.

This week looks at American politics, and in particular at the Saddleback Forum - a debate hosted by one of the USA’s Evangelical Megachurches. And he explains why he will be taking on the role of Fat Controller of St Albans in mid-September.

American Politics is Weird

I have to admit that since Hillary Clinton withdrew from the Democratic primary race, I haven’t been following the American election very closely. I first realised this when somebody quoted Paris Hilton to me. I hadn’t known she was a politician. But anyway, two more recent events have caught my eye, and now I am trying to pay more attention.

Sexism trumps racism

First, there was a report on Channel 4 News this week, about former Clinton supporters who are now openly and actively backing John McCain. Their reason: they believe Clinton was the victim of a sexist campaign to deny her the nomination. You can watch Sarah Smith’s video report, and there is another account of this in today’s Sydney Morning Herald. Checking around the web, I now see that this story has been running in US media for several weeks, but I only just caught up with it. Given the ideological gulf between the two US political parties, this seemed just weird to me. Here’s what the Herald says:

…of a New York “Hillary’s women” group that has stayed in touch, about a third have vowed to vote for John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, so convinced are they of the unfairness of Clinton’s treatment and Barack Obama’s lack of readiness for the White House.

Opinion polls suggest one in four Clinton Democrats feel similarly aggrieved. A Rasmussen July 31 poll found 30 per cent of conservative Democrats intended to vote for McCain, and a CNN poll in June found 22 per cent of Clinton supporters intended abstaining, while 17 per cent would vote for McCain.

One supporter said:

She knows so much about the issues so many of us care about, like families and children and education and the future. She can speak on any issue … the history of it, the future of it, why it matters. When [Obama] first arrived on the scene I was open to him, but then he started talking and everything he said was just corny. I can’t imagine pulling the lever for that guy. No way.

The God Vote

The second event was the Saddleback Civil Forum. This got relatively little coverage and some weird headlines in the UK media but has provoked a storm of comment in the USA.

It’s just so impossible to imagine any kind of British counterpart to this event. I mean, would Sky News give time to Joel Edwards (Ed: General Director of the Evangelical Alliance) interviewing David Miliband about his atheism?

But it is a relief to find that some thoughtful Americans were also critical. Here for example is what Martin Marty said about it:

No, it is not violating the separation of church and state to ask and answer “soul” questions, and yes, you cannot keep faith and politics apart. But “faith” as it affects policy is one (admittedly tricky) thing; faith as faith cannot be enlarged upon in the public forum without coming close to exploiting religion and making God part of campaign slogans.

And Susan Jacoby had stronger words:

This event was so disrespectful of our best American traditions, on so many levels, that I hardly know where to begin. The Constitution, of course, prohibits only legal religious tests for office. It does not prohibit the extralegal but equally powerful religious test that Warren was conducting. But Obama and McCain should both have thought about the spirit of the Constitution, and the intent behind the prohibition of religious tests, before they started pandering to a Christian minister on national television by talking about their trust in Jesus Christ. Will they now be obliged to undergo interrogation by a rabbi or a Roman Catholic bishop?

Colour me liberal if you like, but I find the view that Warren is a new guard evangelical, and calling him the next Billy Graham, and being glad that James Dobson isn’t doing this no comfort at all. As Jim Naughton pointed out, it was Warren who wrote this pean of praise for Peter Akinola.

Architecture is Fun

As this is the August Bank Holiday weekend, I will mention now two events that occur every September, for readers who may like to plan ahead.

The first of these is the Heritage Open Days, this year on Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 September. This covers 50 counties of England and involves 3,500 properties.

The second is its London counterpart, London Open House, this year on 20 & 21 September. This will have 700 locations.

Both of these involve the opening to the general public of interesting buildings, some of which are never otherwise accessible to ordinary people. Over the years, I have visited a number of places that I would not even have known about, let alone visited, through these schemes.

Although churches form an important part of the opportunities offered, these are not what I generally look out for, as I already spend more than my fair share of time in religious buildings of one kind or another.

Just starting from my house, I find that the location nearest to my home is in fact a railway signal box, which I have never visited even though it is less than a mile from my home. The St Albans South Box dates from 1892 but has been out of use for over thirty years. It was acquired in 2002 by a group of enthusiasts who formed a Building Preservation Trust. I look forward to finding out at last what it looks like inside.

In London, another interesting possibility is the Phoenix Cinema in Finchley, an outstanding Art Deco building. There will be tours of the interior on Sunday the 21st.

Or go and see some buildings that don’t exist yet at the Olympic Park Viewing Gallery at Holden Point.

You can use the Search engines on either of the websites to find what’s going on near your home.