By Michael Freeman, Managing Editor
Students filled Hart Auditorium to its capacity Monday night to listen to former speech writer for President George W. Bush Kasey Pipes speak in a Chapel forum on politics. The ACU alumnus’ lecture, titled “A Christian’s Responsibility to Government,” primarily covered evangelicals, the issues that matter to them and how the Republican and Democratic parties have been catering to them in the upcoming presidential election.
“It’s such a hot topic,” Pipes said. “It’s an important development in American politics now that both parties are competing for voters of faith. And I think that’s good for both parties and good for voters of faith.”
Pipes, who graduated from ACU in 1995 and was honored with the ACU Young Alumnus of the Year in 2006, began Monday night by reviewing the history of presidential elections in the past 50 years. Americans’ tendency to elect a president from a different party basically every eight years has been a trend since Dwight Eisenhower was president, Pipes said. Issues also have changed significantly. Abortion traditionally has been a key factor for evangelicals in determining whom they will vote for; but recently, life issues such as urban poverty, genocide in Africa and the environment have come to the forefront, Pipes said.
“If you look at the Gospels, there is very little Jesus says of a political nature,” Pipes said. “I don’t know if there is a particular ideology that’s attached to the Gospel, but there are certainly values that are attached to the Gospel. Both parties have different sets of issues that they think speak to those values. Democrats have social justice issues, and Republicans have protecting the unborn. It’s really just up to the voter to pray, read the Bible and come up with their own answer as to how they can best vote their values.”
Pipes discussed how religious issues play a part in this year’s presidential election and how both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama handle those issues.
“I feel like we’ve got two pretty good choices, but it’s a pretty stark choice,” Pipes said. “I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer for Christians. It’s really up to you to decide which issues matter most.”
Pipes’ speech lasted about 25 minutes, and then the audience asked questions. Students inquired about Obama’s motives for taking particular positions, Gov. Sarah Palin’s impact on the election and the reason why certain issues are more important to evangelicals than others. The questionand- answer segment went for about another 25 minutes.
“I thought the questions that were asked were very good questions,” said Dr. Gary McCaleb, vice president of the university. “I could sense that we could’ve continued this for quite some time, but we said it would start at 7 p.m. and end at 8 p.m.”
Pipes, who lives in Fort Worth, currently runs a corporate consulting firm and has written a biography on President Dwight Eisenhower, titled “Ike’s Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality.” Prior to entering the consulting business, he served as chief campaign speechwriter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. From 1999 to 2004, Pipes wrote speeches for George W. Bush. He also wrote speeches and provided policy advice for Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Bob Dole, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.
Pipes said he was encouraged to see ACU students interested in the political process.
“I think the students here are very informed, very aware and very knowledgeable,” Pipes said. “That’s a real tribute to this generation, that it is more involved in the affairs of the nation, and that’s a good thing.”
