Christian leader: Vitter a setback for the movement Michael Roston

Published: Friday July 20, 2007 Print This Email This Sitting for an interview with Newsweek, an Evangelical Christian leader acknowledged that Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter's admission that he had been a client of 'DC Madam' Deborah Jeane Palfrey would be a setback for the Christian political movement in the United States. "It sets it back," said Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, when interviewer Susannah Meadows asked him if Vitter's admitted visits to prostitutes would harm the political strength of the evangelical movement. "There are people who are pouring their lives into caring for the sick and the dying. They dont get the attention. They see this stuff and put their head into their hands." However, Cromartie tried to sound an optimistic tone. "But the message transcends the messenger and the message is more important than the periodic mistakes and hypocrisy of the leaders," he said. The practicing evangelical said he hoped Vitter's travails would make him more modest. "This will surely change his posture and tone in a good way," he said. "It will make him a little more modest and humble. Hell learn to say, 'These are the things Im committed to,' but do it in a way thats less cocky and sure of himself. A little more modesty is a good thing, especially among politicians." Still, Cromartie echoed one part of Vitter's defense by pinning some blame on the media for what he saw as blowing up the meaning of one politician's personal foibles. "Weve seen a lot of counterfeit people," Cromartie argued. "And a lot of those people get promoted. And thats embarrassing. The medias problem is you baptize someone to be the spokesperson for a group that the group had not, and would not, have chosen. The media has made Pat Robertson more powerful than he is. His periodic odd theological comments make for good copy." Meadows' full interview with Cromartie can be read at this link.



