The facts are, that Barack Obama has consistently supported and voted for, not only abortion rights, but also some of extreme and abhorrent examples of the practice – including voting three times in the Illinois Legislature to thwart bills protecting the rights of clearly alive survivors of abortion.  In the U.S. Senate he stood against a bill requiring parental notification if a minor had an abortion across state lines. 

He has also intimated that early on in his presidency he would sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would not only re-legalize partial-birth abortion, but also lead to tax-payer funding.  

And is there any doubt about what kind of jurist Mr. Obama would appoint to the Supreme Court?  It is very likely that the next president will have a shot to replace a current liberal member of the nation’s highest court.   In a chronically 5-4 court, the next appointment will define its direction for years to come.

Pro-life conservatives are very close to critical mass on the court – but that is only possible with a John McCain presidency.  This is a vital thing for the current evangelical Diaspora to seriously consider before bailing on the Republicans this time around in favor of “change” they really can’t seriously believe in.

Rick Warren, who moderated the best debate of the year back in August, told the Wall Street Journal a while back that the notion that the evangelical vote is “up for grabs” and “over-hyped.”  And he held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart when asked about the “significance of the evangelical left.”

I hope so. 

There is much talk about the Bradley Effect this year – the idea that polls may be deceiving and some will simply vote differently than they have been indicating to pollsters.  The theory is that these votes will reveal a secret reluctance to vote for Obama because of his race. 

Frankly, I do not think this will be much of a factor at all.  I hope – and very much believe – that we are better than that as a nation.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. longed for a day when a person would be judged, “not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.”  Race is not a legitimate political consideration. 

Character, however, is. 

On the other hand, I do wonder about what I might call the Carter Effect.  By this I mean the idea that some, who have been enamored of Mr. Obama’s charm and charisma, and have connected with the whole idea of change, will have an awakening in the voting booth.  Will they remember how conservative faith-voters believed in Jimmy Carter and thought he was one of them?

Those 1976 voters soon felt betrayed.  And so will some who abandon long-held values for short-term political gratification this time around.

Though Barack Obama has reached out to evangelicals this year (particularly younger ones) in a way not seen by a Democrat in 32 years, this should not be interpreted to mean that he is, in fact, an evangelical.  He is not.

Stephen Mansfield, author of the book, The Faith of Barack Obama, recently told Christianity Today: “There is no question Obama is a Christian, but he is definitely of a post-modern, liberal, and, to some small extent, black liberation theology perspective.”

It is a free country, and I certainly believe he has the right to believe what he believes.  My point is simply that it would be wrong for evangelicals to vote for him because they buy into the idea that he thinks like them.  He does not.

Mr. McCain has his own history with evangelicals – and it has not always been a friendly one.  But his clear pro-family positions and fervent “country-first” patriotism is very Ronald Reagan. 

And Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter, who after four years in the White House, had proven himself to be – well – Jimmy Carter.