Blog 4: God in the White House

In his preface to God in the White House, Randall Balmer asks, "How did we get from John F. Kennedy's eloquent speech at the Rice Hotel in Houston on September 12, 1960, in which he urged voters effectively to bracket a candidate's faith out of their considerations when they entered the voting booth, to George W. Bush's declaration on the eve of the 2000 Iowa precent caucuses that Jesus was his favorite philosopher?" Watch Kennedy's speech here. What does Kennedy argue in the speech and why did he deliver the speech? Can you imagine a major presidential candidate making a similar statement to today's electorate? Why or why not?