Keeping Jesus Off Camera

"Don't expect to see the reverends Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson or Franklin Graham at the podium during next week's Republican National Convention, whose planners hope to keep fire, brimstone and the Christian Right offstage at Madison Square Garden. About the only big name Christians making prime-time noise at Madison Square Garden at next week's Republican gathering will be Third Day, a popular [pro-Bush] evangelical Christian rock band. .. . Some say the prominent role of Christian conservatives at the 1992 convention turned moderate voters away from the Republican ticket. This year, President Bush's campaign strategists have made extraordinary efforts to mobilize conservative evangelical and conservative Catholic voters -- hoping the president's stand against abortion rights and same-sex marriage will get them to the polls and into the Republican column. But the four-day convention that opens in New York on Monday will highlight moderate Republicans -- such as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz."