Monday, November 08, 2004
The personal and the political
The name of Senator Gary Hart produces guffaws in British Liberal circles these days, less because of the sexual scandal that brought about his downfall in 1987, more because of the schadenfreude at seeing former Liberal Party leader David Steel's plan, to manoeuvre alongside a future US president, turn to ashes.
But you would be mistaken to dismiss Hart's article in today's New York Times, about the proper role of a politician's religious faith in a secular society.
Hart has avoided the hysteria of many other commentators and produced a sober argument, with which any reasonable person, whether liberal or conservative, ought to be able to agree.
In the highly-charged atmosphere of US politics, whether anyone will listen is another matter.
