- Richard Greene
- 3 Nov 06, 10:18 PM
You probably hadn't heard of Ted Haggard - "Pastor Ted" - 48 hours ago.
He's the head of the - or he was, 48 hours ago.
Leading the NAE didn't make him a household name in America, but since about one in 10 Americans belongs to a church associated with his umbrella movement, his name was very well known in the country's most famous evangelical household: the White House.
And the White House will be high on the list of those wondering what it means that Ted Haggard's career is now in tatters over gay-sex-and-drugs allegations.
Most immediately, it bodes ill for his shopping-mall-sized, 14,000-member in Colorado Springs, says James White, a retired - and much more liberal - pastor in the same town.
"When the shepherd is struck, the sheep scatter," Pastor White says in his Biblical baritone.
It is hard to gauge the broader effect on the elections on Tuesday, says John C Green, an expert on religion and politics at the in Washington.
It may doom a ban on gay marriage for which Mr Haggard had been campaigning in Colorado. Mr Haggard's accuser, Mike Jones, says he hopes so - and supporters of gay marriage will certainly be cackling loudly over the scandal.
But nationwide the impact may be smaller. Some evangelicals will be left wondering who they can trust, and stay home in despair. Others will be furious at the attack on their leader and be even more motivated to vote, Mr Green says.
Incidentally, it is not only evangelicals who should be disheartened by the fall of "Pastor Ted".
Within the evangelical movement, he has been a leading voice for broadening the Christian agenda to include subjects like the environment and Darfur - positions many liberals would embrace. With his fall, Mr Green says, "one of the major moderate leaders will be removed".
Richard Greene is the ±«Óãtv News website's Washington reporter
- Jamie Coomarasamy
- 3 Nov 06, 06:50 PM
While the focus on Iraq suggests that national issues will have more of an impact than usual on what are essentially local elections, in South Dakota, a vote on a local law could have a nationwide impact.
Among a rather daunting list of 11 ballot initiatives being put to voters there is a to the state's tough new abortion law. The law, which permits abortions only if the mother's life is in danger, makes even quite a few opponents of abortion feel uncomfortable, but it has become the focus of a lot of pre-election discussion on Christian radio stations.
As you cross the state's rolling plains, it is hard to miss the light blue signs in support of the legislation - part of a very energised and well-funded that's being run from a huge warehouse near Sioux Falls airport.
The building is piled high with literature, DVDs and other family-friendly paraphernalia - from baby milk bottles to dolls - bearing the "vote yes" slogan.
Rushing from interview to interview (we were allocated eight minutes) is the head of the campaign, Leslee Unruh. She had an abortion herself 29 years ago - and has regretted it ever since, she says.
She couches her fight in the language of feminism and deliberately steers clear of the shocking pictures of aborted foetuses traditionally used by pro-life groups. South Dakota's law may be more extreme than most, but the aim of the campaign is to appeal to moderates.
Will it work? Well, the to overturn the abortion ban has an advantage in the opinion polls, but it has rather more modest headquarters and rather more modestly-sized yard signs.
Still, as Election Day approaches, the "vote no" volunteers are bashing the phones with plenty of enthusiasm and everyone agrees that there's a lot at stake.
If the law is approved, several other states are likely to follow South Dakota's lead and challenge the Roe v Wade ruling which forms the federal basis for US abortion rights.
Jamie Coomarasamy is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óãtv News.
- The Reporters
- 3 Nov 06, 06:15 PM
California Conservative says that the Democrats' pouring resources into races they were once considered unlikely to win is not a sign the tide is shifting in their favour - it is an indication "they wouldn't know a safe seat from a vulnerable one if their life depended on it".
But Five Before Chaos is so delighted at the scandals wracking the Republican party, he wants to postpone the election for a week "so we can have a few more gifts - pleeeeze".
Finally, Blacknell laments that the entire US political system is broken: "Maybe it's just because we, as a society, don't give a damn about democracy anymore."
- Andy Gallacher
- 3 Nov 06, 01:06 AM
has battled on here in Florida despite her staffing problems and a considerable gap in the polls.
The woman best remembered for backing George Bush in the imbroglio has lost campaign staff in droves and initially didn't have the backing from state Republican leaders.
But the 49-year-old is hoping that her final debate with Democratic incumbent may have closed that chasm.
"I just hope that I reached out to the hearts and minds of people," she said after a debate that was dominated by Iraq.
It was a heated exchange, with both Ms Harris and Mr Nelson repeatedly interrupting each other. At times Mr Nelson wagged his finger at Ms Harris, shaking his head in frustration.
Katherine Harris wouldn't say whether she would have voted for the war in Iraq if she'd known there were no weapons of mass destruction, while Bill Nelson told the audience he would have voted against the war.
Ms Harris did call for a "new strategy" in Iraq, suggesting that the country be divided up into three regions for the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds. She also told voters that Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice-President Dick Cheney had performed "adequately" in their jobs.
According to the , Katherine Harris trails her opponent by more than 12 points. She may once have been the darling of the Republican Party for her role in the 2000 recount - but during this campaign she's been dogged by problems and abandoned by her own party.
Andy Gallacher is the ±«Óãtv's Miami correspondent.
