Sue Everhart: John McCain is Kind of Like Jesus Christ on the Cross

It used to be common for Republicans to claim or believe that God was responsible for George W. Bush being president. It seemed to strike them as reasonable to think that their god would place Bush in the presidency to deal with problems like the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but not reasonable to wonder why their god didn't just stop the attacks in the first place. Given all of Bush's blunders throughout his presidency, I guess it's not surprising that they have forgotten to say that Bush was God's choice, but the principle of giving their candidates divine sanction has not disappeared entirely.

Sue Everhart, chairwoman of the Georgia Republican Party, was quoted as saying:

"John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross," Everhart said as she began the second day of the state GOP convention. "He never denounced God, either." ..."I'm not trying to compare John McCain to Jesus Christ, I'm looking at the pain that was there," she said.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

I realize that some Republecans may be looking for a "savior" after eight years of unmitigated disasters and a clear demonstration that Republican theories of government are more like theories of mismanagement, but even so this strikes me as a bit extreme and even sacrilegious. It doesn't affect me personally when Christians compare their favored politicians to God or Jesus, but I really have to wonder about the nature of their professed religion when such comparisons roll so easily and readily from their lips. Surely there was a time when orthodox Christians would have condemned such statements... right?

And what's with Sue Everhart's attempt to deny that she said what clearly just said? How can she seriously believe that she can say that John McCain is "kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross," but then say that this isn't an attempt to compare John McCain to Jesus Christ? Of course she is comparing the two — maybe she didn't intend to compare them on every level, like to suggest that John McCain has a divine nature, but the comparison is there.