With Scott Walker actively wooing conservatives, the Washington Post recently asked him if President Obama is a Christian. His answer? I don’t know.
For the record—the president has been clear.
Critics panned Walker’s reply as divisive or as proof that he’s not ready for prime time.
But others thought the question itself was unfair. The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby noted that lots of Americans aren’t sure if Obama’s a Christian, adding, "[W]hy should the governor of Wisconsin be expected to weigh in?" Walker has also dodged two other questions in recent days: one on evolution and one on Rudy Giuliani’s claim that the president doesn’t love America.
A Walker spokesman later told the Post, "Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian. He thinks these kinds of gotcha questions distract from what he’s doing." Maybe Walker should have just said that in the first place.
Dan Kennedy is an associate professor at Northeastern University.
Joanna Weiss is a columnist at the Boston Globe.
Jon Keller is a political analyst at WBZ
Justin Ellis is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab.
