Evangelical PR

As an unpopular Republican Administration winds down, it has been clear for over a year that the 2008 presidential election would be an uphill fight the Republican nominee. For the party's main line, this has encouraged the candidacy of electable moderates such as McCain and later Giuliani. For the evangelical religious right, the probability of failure has opened a new door.

The hard line positions encouraged by religious leaders such as the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have helped the church grow. This has come at a price for the movement, however, as the rest of the nation has grown wary of the right. Left-leaning voters are concerned about their staunch socially conservative policies, while the fiscal right is troubled by their populist economics. Furthermore, Falwell's and Robertson’s sometimes combative personalities have helped create an unfair stereotype of intolerant, even hate-filled evangelicals that may have hurt their primary goal: evangelism.

Mike Huckabee, though a part of the same movement, has a much more jovial and sincere image. Though he is very socially conservative, he has also extended his message to include popular moderate messages such as education reform that appeal to the general public. As a national figure, he will become a new evangelical symbol. Because the election may very well be doomed for the Republicans in 2008 anyway, this is a perfect evangelical PR opportunity. Whether or not he wins, Huckabee as a candidate will make the entire nation take a second look at the religious right, which is arguably a more important evangelical goal then a close election.