Is there a Christian conservative voter in the house?

Folks, if you haven't noticed, not only is John McCain being written off early by the Democrats and the liberal media, so are the Christian conservative voters. Understand that early polling is designed to mold results, not measure them.

This battle goes far deeper than who takes the oath of the presidency on Jan. 20. This is a battle for faith, values, integrity and the hope that our children will have a future in which God will be allowed a place in the hearts and everyday lives of Americans.

Sadly, many of us have retreated to the sidelines and allowed ourselves to be reduced to mere spectators.

In an October 2007 column in the New York Times, David D. Kirkpatrick referred to the Christian voter demise as "The Evangelical Crackup." In the column, Kirkpatrick reflects on how the Christian political movement "could almost see the Promised Land" in the re-election of George W. Bush and how they turned out in record numbers to support him. He goes on to conclude the lack of movement by this same constituency this election year is not only due to the fact that none of the 2008 Republican front-runners came close to measuring up to President Bush in the eyes of the evangelical base, but the faith-based political pool is becoming all too shallow. The loss of visionary voices such as Dr. Jerry Falwell and Dr. D. James Kennedy seem to be irreplaceable.

Kirkpatrick calls the political activism of the Christian right a "phenomenon" and an "anomaly".

Was he right in his assessment? Are we going to be "fair-weather" Christian voters? Are we going to allow the far left liberal God-haters to roll out their agenda without opposition?

According to the column, there does seem to be a younger generation of evangelical pastors pushing the movement and its theology in "new directions." Rick Warren and Bill Hybels are such pastors.

Hybels, whose Willow Creek Association consists of 12,000 churches, when referring to the Christian conservative movement of the past, told Kirkpatrick, "The quickness to arms, the quickness to invade, I think that caused a kind of desertion of what has been known as the Christian right. People who might be called progressive evangelicals or centrist evangelicals are one stirring away from a real awakening."

The election of Barack Obama could be that "one stirring" and "real awakening."

John McCain may not be the ideal conservative candidate, yet I believe we are at a turning point in America in which the outcome of this election will affect our nation for decades to come.

I remember as a child in church, singing a song called, "I met Jesus at the Crossroads." The lyrics portrayed "where the two ways meet," or two paths from which to choose in life, each offering its own very distinctively different treasure.

I believe we are at a similar crossroad in America where Christian conservative voters must be actively engaged. Do not accept the future Obama liberals have planned for your children.

Vote.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald- Dispatch editorial page.

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