This is a 48-48 country. The crucial votes needed to knock a candidate over the 50 percent line will come from swing voters -- and whether you like it or not, many of them are socially conservative and don't respond well to aggressive secularism. I will shout this from the rooftops if necessary: YOU DON'T NEED TO PANDER TO THEM. But don't, don't thumb your noses at them. There's no need. Really. Unless you are secretly looking forward to another four years of W.

"Let's get into a little religion here," Dean said at a morning meeting with voters in response to a question about his beliefs. "Don't you think Jerry Falwell reminds you a lot more of the Pharisees than he does of the teachings of Jesus? And don't you think this campaign ought to be about evicting the money changers from the temple?"...
Yesterday, Dean said, "So we can talk a lot about religion, and you're going to find out that there are a lot of people who are religious in this country and not every one of us feels obligated to talk about it all the time."...
At the Waterloo event, Dean seemed primed and ready to talk about religion when an audience member pressed him to elaborate on his views. But he seemed exercised by criticism he had encountered since unveiling his plans to share his religious beliefs with voters. Yesterday, Dean told voters in Waterloo, "I think religion is important and spiritual values are very important, which is what this election is really about," before looping back to a regular line in his stump speech lamenting the loss of jobs in America. The line that drew applause, though, was this: "I am pretty religious. I pray every day but I'm from New England, so I just keep it to myself."

That said, the meatier segments of Clark's "True Grits" kickoff speech weren't half bad. Instead of babbling about the joys of NASCAR, Clark waded in to talk about core Southern values like patriotism, family, and faith--areas where Democrats absolutely cannot cede the field to W. The general was particularly clever when tackling the God question, noting that faith isn't just about where or to whom you pray, "but the values your faith teaches you. Charity, integrity, kindness. Growing up in Arkansas, we always knew a few people who could preach a revival, but who didn't live it. And now we've got one in the White House. George W. Bush talks a lot about his faith, but he hasn't exactly backed up his words with deeds. In fact, the only charity he's given is to big business and the very rich." Clark then enumerated a few of the ways in which W.'s uncharitable policies have undercut American families.