Shodan - not to stamp my little foot in dispute or anything - but if you have a cite that verifies that George Bush Snr. never said that about atheists - I’d appreciate it. Mostly because I had been led to believe that he did, and I was going to use that fact in an ongoing argument I’m having with someone. They probably wouldn’t go look it up - but I’d rather not use it if it isn’t a true quote.
thanks 
We can’t know what these candidates really think. It’s hard for me to believe that some of the dominion Christians we’ve had in various offices the last couple of decades are sincerely religious, like Rumsfeld, James Watt, possibly George W., etc. Their beliefs are self-serving and don’t seem to require any sacrifices. To me they seem like cynical opportunists, yet Rumsfeld, for one, engages in religious rituals that seem to show a genuine…something. It’s a conundrum.
That would be The Best Man. Excellent movie set at the Democratic convention (back when conventions took place without absolute certainty about who the candidate was going to be).
James Watt was something of a religious nut. During his Senate confirmation hearing to be Secretary of the Interior, addressing the question of preserving wilderness for future generations, he mentioned that he felt the End Times might not be far away, in which case future generations wouldn’t be an issue.
Why wouldn’t all presidential candidates be religious? It’s about the oldest propaganda tactic in the book.
Still works as well now as it did then.