Matt Watson is the opinion editor at The Reflector. He can be contacted at [email protected].Starkville made its way into the New York Times as a result of the gubernatorial debate between Gov. Haley Barbour and John Arthur Eaves Jr.
The Times’ angle was quite different from the angle of most local news sources and focused on Eaves’ preachiness, underscoring a very weak strategy in his campaign.
The strategy Eaves employs is quoting the Bible and bringing up prayer in schools as much as possible to offset any assumption that Democrats are a bunch of liberals who have a personal vendetta against God.
During the debate, which I admittedly didn’t have the opportunity to attend, Eaves accused Barbour of dealing with “the money changers,” according to several news reports.
Eaves said he is a Democrat because Democrats help people, which is “Jesus’ mission.”
“We are neither black nor white, neither rich nor poor. We are all one people, we are all children of God. We need a governor who will serve the people,” Eaves said, borrowing concepts from the apostle Paul.
Another major issue Eaves has brought to the forefront is prayer in schools, which he feels is very vital for the furtherance of the state.
I mean, where else other than public schools could children in Mississippi ever pray or worship God?
And Eaves wants all of us to know how angry he is that the National Rifle Association endorsed Barbour instead of him. The Commercial Dispatch reported that Eaves fought hard during the debate to assure the audience he owns guns and that even his kids are trained to use them. He also bragged about skinning four deer last year. How much more manly can one person possibly be?
Actually, Barbour beats Eaves on the issue of manliness. Barbour defended against Eaves’ expert knowledge in gunship by pointing out that he supports policy that actually allows people to shoot someone who may be trespassing on private property.
While taking pride in one’s religion and values and arguing for prayer in schools are not necessarily bad things, none of Eaves’ religious talk matters. It is a political and sorry attempt to sway voters in the Bible Belt, and it pulls the spotlight from issues that really matter, issues such as – well, I don’t know – Katrina recovery.
Although Eaves points out that Barbour has profited from Katrina, Eaves hasn’t really been able to criticize the governor’s handling of the situation and leadership of the state. Barbour says he will “let the record speak for itself” with hardly any real challenge from Eaves.
Even Barbour, a Republican, can see that Eaves’ deliberate preaching is unnecessary.
“I’ll spare you the sanctimony,” Barbour countered, saying public policy is what matters in a campaign.
He is right, and it is disappointing that the opponent of the governor can’t rise above touting around his Christianity. If there was a worthy opponent in this campaign, we could hear healthy criticism of Barbour’s last four years, and Barbour would actually have to defend himself.
Any truth Eaves uses against Barbour can easily be overshadowed by his scripted sermons. All Barbour has to do as of now is sit back, relax, take advantage of the rescuer image he has made for himself and let Eaves look foolish.