KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS: [REGION Edition]

Abstract

The truth is, neither Texas Gov. George W. Bush nor Arizona Sen. John McCain is a religious bigot, at least not judging from their public records and observations by people close to them.

Before the issue erupted in Michigan's primary, Bush frequently took pains to temper his references to his Methodist beliefs,with at least a nod to other faiths. McCain, an Episcopalian who attends Baptist services because his wife, Cindy, prefers them, doesn't talk about his religious beliefs, let alone disparaging the faith of others.

After first denying any association with the effort, the McCain campaign has admitted financing phone calls to Michigan voters describing Bush's visit to Bob Jones University in South Carolina. The McCain callers mentioned that the Christian fundamentalist school banned interracial dating and that its president had made antiCatholic comments.

THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE

With all the talk of religious bigotry in the Republican presidential race, you might think the two front-runners are among the most intolerant people in American politics.

The truth is, neither Texas Gov. George W. Bush nor Arizona Sen. John McCain is a religious bigot, at least not judging from their public records and observations by people close to them.

Before the issue erupted in Michigan's primary, Bush frequently took pains to temper his references to his Methodist beliefs,with at least a nod to other faiths. McCain, an Episcopalian who attends Baptist services because his wife, Cindy, prefers them, doesn't talk about his religious beliefs, let alone disparaging the faith of others.

So why the accusations of bigotry from the camps of two nonbigots?

It's just another form of negative campaigning, the skunk of national politics - but one that often gets its smelly job done effectively, political analysts say.

"Negative campaigning is designed to suppress turnout, and it's been very effective in the past," said William Connelly, a political scientist at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va., who has written books about the modern GOP. "I don't think George Bush is antiCatholic, and I'd be shocked if you'd find bigotry lurking in McCain's heart."

After first denying any association with the effort, the McCain campaign has admitted financing phone calls to Michigan voters describing Bush's visit to Bob Jones University in South Carolina. The McCain callers mentioned that the Christian fundamentalist school banned interracial dating and that its president had made antiCatholic comments.

President Bob Jones III has written that one of the great challenges for fundamentalist Christians is to battle "cults that call themselves Christian, including Catholicism and Mormonism."

The McCain camp's calls prompted William Donohue, president of the Catholic League in New York City, which monitors antiCatholic activities, to defend Bush against the insinuation that he is prejudiced against Catholics. But Donohue also says Bush flubbed his response to the controversy by limiting himself to condemning religious bigotry rather than addressing the school's policy or Jones' views.

"He has offended Catholics, however unwittingly. He should come out and admit it, explain why he went to Bob Jones - that he was there because he lost in New Hampshire and wanted to solidify his base in South Carolina - and move on," Donohue said.

For his part, Bush, while not directly involved in religious sabotage against McCain, nonetheless stood by while the Rev. Pat Robertson and his Christian Coalition phoned potential voters in South Carolina, where there are many fundamentalist Christians.

The phone calls suggested that McCain was guilty by association with his adviser Warren Rudman, whom the callers described as a "vicious bigot" because he criticized religious conservatives in his autobiography.