I’m not much of a political animal, but a news report came out this week that caught my attention. And while it revolved around US politics, I couldn’t help but hear the ring of alarm bells for Australia in it.

David Kuo was a Special Assistant to President George W Bush, and the number two official at the White House Office on Faith-based Initiatives (from 2001-2003). Kuo has now released a book called Tempting Faith in which he alleges, amongst other things, that his government manipulated Christian voters.

Kuo says he was ‘dazzled’ by President Bush and his idea of ‘compassionate conservatism’. But the promises never eventuated. The well-publicised Faith-based Initiatives program—where church and faith-based organisations could get government funding for their service to the poor—only received one percent of the $8 billion promised to it. And the money that was given, Kuo says, favoured organisations friendly to the government’s political agenda. At the same time, other programs for low-income families had their funding reduced to pay for tax cuts that predominantly favoured the wealthy.

Kuo talks about White House strategies to mobilise religious voters, with efforts focussed on conservative evangelical Christians and traditional Democratic allies in ethnic communities who would be sensitive to religious messages. Their strategies worked, with the ‘religious’ vote loudly sounded as the reason for the Republican’s campaign successes.

But as Christian talk was peppering policy speeches, Kuo describes a cynical side to the Faith-based program. While publicly praising religious leaders as their allies, Government officials would privately ‘roll their eyes’ at and ridicule them. ‘National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person,’ Kuo says, ‘and then were disdained behind their backs and described as “ridiculous”, “out of control” and just plain “goofy”.’ ‘You name the important Christian leaders,’ Kuo told the American 60 Minutes program, ‘and I have heard them mocked by serious people in serious places.’

As you can imagine, there’s been plenty of rebuttal from the Bush administration over David Kuo’s claims. Only God knows the full truth. But as talk on faith and politics heats up in our own nation, and as some parties are now specifically appealing to religious voters, there’s probably a lesson or two for us to learn from the US experience.

Firstly, it seems to me that Christians should be wary when politicians start appealing to their faith. They shouldn’t be cynical, just wary. Christians must be honest and recognise that we can be vulnerable here. When a person of power or prominence claims a Christian faith we’re quick to put them on the front covers of our magazines, feature them on our TV and radio programs, and claim them as ‘one of us’. It’s not hard for the savvy party script writer to put a few Christian phrases in the mouths of their political leaders and we can soon think we’ve found an ally.

Secondly, if politicians really want the Christian vote, will they be patient enough to earn it? Because, while politics asks us to vote for someone based on what they will do if they get into power, the Christian approach to leadership is the reverse—the person is judged on what they have already done. Church leaders are chosen on whether they’re already serving well. Why not for leaders of the nation? Words are cheap; promises are easily forgotten. For a Christian, the past is the real proof of a politician’s values and priorities.

The politician courting the Christian vote will need to show over years of local service that they really mean what that say, truly live out what they believe, and will move earth and sky to do what they’ve promised. To require any less will be to let down the nation and, yes, leave ourselves open to manipulation.

If David Kuo is right, I hope we can learn from the mistakes of our US friends.