[Stingy Jack]

I watched the debate last night, and was really looking forward to it because domestic issues are a major concern for me. I agree with Arioch in that I was disappointed in how much clout both candidates put in faith. But I can understand it. If you're going to win the votes of as many Americans as you can, you'd better talk about how faith and religion are important (even if you don't believe it). I think Kerry did a better job than Bush in emphasizing that people of all faiths (and even those of us with no faith at all) deserve equal rights. And Kerry was more clear with the point that he would not legislate in such a way that his faith is pushed on others (hence his stances on abortion, stem cell research, and gay marriage.) Granted, he does agree with Bush that "marriage" is defined as the union between a man and a woman. But Kerry is more accepting of gay couples than Bush is, and is willing to extend the same rights to gay couples that married couples already enjoy. Basically, even though Kerry did talk about how his faith is important to him (he HAD to say that -- anything else would have been death for him, unfortunately), he was pretty clear -- albeit, in a roundabout way -- that he does not believe in governing a nation in such a way that everyone is forced to conform to the religious ideas of the President -- meaning: he is so very much for separation of church and state.

Can't say the same for Bush.