Christopher Hitchens on Rick Perry

I wish I wasn't such a big fan of Christopher Hitchens. The man can write better than just about anyone that I know and, even if I disagree with his religious perspectives, he is very insightful and thought-provoking.  About Rick Perry, he writes:

Is there any evidence, if it comes to that, that Perry has ever studied the theory of evolution for long enough to be able to state roughly what it says? And how much textual and hermeneutic work did he do before deciding on the "inerrancy" of Jewish and Christian scripture? It should, of course, be the sincere believers and devout faithful who ask him, and themselves, these questions. But somehow, it never is. The risks of hypocrisy seem forever invisible to the politicized Christians, for whom sufficient proof of faith consists of loud and unambiguous declarations. I am always surprised that more is not heard from sincere religious believers, who have the most to lose if faith becomes a matter of poll-time dogma and lung power.

More is not heard from sincere believers because, despite his ignorance of modern science, Perry resonates with his evangelical base. He hasn't said anything that a large majority of them would disagree with. In most of rural America (fly-over country for the DNC), young earth creationism is lingua franca and this is the base he is trying to reach. He also knows, however, that he can't alienate the rest of the country so he hedges his bets by waffling on the age of the earth. I doubt he knows what that is, either.