In a story that is not totally off topic, I see the CBS news website has picked up this story I mentioned yesterday:

Possible earliest evidence of Christianity resurrected from ancient tomb

I also flagged the story as being “sticky”.

One reason I have a very wary eye at this story is because of the people involve, including Simcha Jacobovici, who is pictured at that CBS article. Jacobovici has history, a history that isn’t so flattering from an academic view. Jacobovici is a sensationalist, last getting fame from the now well known (due to Jacobovici’s promotion efforts) “Jesus” tomb, which he turned into a film as well as a book. He has pushed some strange ideas in the past, all to promote something or other. Indeed, that this latest discovery is already packaged in a book ready to sell is indicative of the nature of this thing.

Anyway, archeology aside, this is not totally off topic because it raises the point that there is a huge audience for this type of stuff, worldwide, but here in America too.

And why here? Because the US is a very religious nation, made up of very (and some are very, very) religious people.

And our politics reflect that fact.

The GOP is clearly in the eye of “conservative”, fundamentalist Christian men and groups. The GOP needs them.

The Democratic party is bigger and not so dominated by any one group, but traditionalists wrt religion abound in the Democratic party too.

So Mitt Romney, to be elected, needs to identify with this religious electorate. He has no other choice.