it's just too much

i must be a masochist.
i keep looking at the presidential race and i always end up finding something that scares me. the presidential election period (especially when there is no incumbent) is an amazing time. all of the vast differing viewpoints come together and we find out
what it is that is important to other parts of the country. for example, i am relieved to find that the vast majority of my countrymen aren't so blood-thirsty anymore and that there is a possible chance that there might be some kind of end in site for the bush manifest destiny franchise being built in the middle-east.

i'm still not sure if i'm for hillary or obama. i'm honestly not. however, i find that i am watching with rapt attention the republican race. as of the time of this writing, it seems that Giuliani is leading just over fred thompson. when fred thompson became a serious contender, i don't know. i assumed he would end up falling off like bill brady.

what fascinates me is the writhing in the fundamentalist right to try and find someone as crazy as they are. i don't pretend to be a journalist, and i am certainly not impartial. i have a very clear and personal stake in Giuliani for the republican ticket. like bush he has used the momentum of 9/11 to his benefit, but he also has some credit for cleaning up NY. i still haven't forgotten the chris offili/saatchi show incident, though.

anyway, i found this article and it had some interesting points. here's my favourite quote:

"There are now more Mormons that used to be Southern Baptist than any other denomination," said Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, a 16-million strong group."

"As a consequence, Southern Baptists and other evangelicals have taught their people what Mormons believe and why it's beyond the boundaries of the Christian faith, to inoculate them against those Mormon missionaries," he told Reuters.

and then there is this one:

"There are a lot of conservative Christians who are going to look at the Mormon thing and say, 'Wait a minute, he may be conservative but he's a Mormon,' and they're not going to go there," said Steve Swofford, a pastor in the city of Rockwall, near Dallas, and former president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention."

lately, the recurring theme in this blog has been how insane the mormons are. when the southern baptist have to stop and say "whoa", you have to ask yourself "what is wrong with this picture".

what is lamentably more amusing is the fact that there are some people who have said, "you know what, southern baptists are crazy enough for me. bat-shit crazy mormonism, now that's the way to go."